The 1918 flu pandemic that killed millions

In 1918, many people suddenly got sick. Soon, millions of people all over

the world were getting sick from the same illness. What made them sick

was something called "the flu." Doctors did not know of any medicines that

would help. Many people died. After a year, the flu ended. In time, doctors

learned how to protect people from the flu.

Flu facts

Influenza, or flu, is a kind of virus. A virus is a very small germ that makes

people sick. The flu virus affects the body's respiratory system. The

respiratory system includes our lungs. It is how we breathe. The flu hurts

the lungs and throat. It is easy to catch the flu if other people are sick with

it. They have the virus in their body. They cough or sneeze little drops that

have the virus in them. If someone else breathes in those tiny drops, they

can get sick.

Every year, many people get sick with the flu. Most people get better, but

some have to go to the hospital. Sometimes people die because of the flu.

A "pandemic" is what we call sickness spreading fast all across the world. A

flu pandemic is what happened in 1918.

In 1918, the flu virus started making people sick. Soon, millions of people

all over the world were sick.

Hospitals filled up. Doctors and nurses didn't know what to do. They had

no drugs to make people better. The doctors and nurses got sick, too.

Millions of people died.

The flu takes a heavy toll on society

Stores and schools sometimes closed because so many people were sick.

Theaters closed. Churches closed. Farmers had vegetables rotting in the

fields because there was no one to help.

Towns posted warnings. "Don't shake hands!" "Wear gloves!" "Don't spit!"

Some towns made people wear masks over their mouths to stop the flu

from spreading.

The flu wiped out families. Many children lost their parents. Many parents

lost their children.

In the spring of 1919, the flu pandemic ended.

Since those days, doctors have learned how to protect people from the flu.

Almost 100 years after the pandemic, doctors learned why so many people

died. The flu virus that year made people's lungs very weak. Then, they got
pneumonia. Pneumonia is an infection that causes the lungs to fill with

fluid. Pneumonia can make you very sick.

Questions:

1. What is this passage mainly about?

2. _________________________ is another name for the flu?

3. Which part of the body does the flu virus affect?

4. Read the last paragraph. It begins with the word “Since”. Fill in the
missing words in these sentences.

That year, the flu made people’s lungs ___________ ___________.

Then, they got _____________________________.

_______________________ is an infections that causes the _________

to fill with _______________________.
Science

Science takes its best shot at keeping

people safe from the flu

In this October 1918 photo, St. Louis Red Cross Motor Corps personnel wear masks as they hold
stretchers next to ambulances in preparation for victims of the influenza epidemic. A century after one of
history’s most catastrophic disease outbreaks, scientists are rethinking how to guard against another
super-flu. Photo from Library of Congress via AP

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The descriptions are scary. Some people felt fine
in the morning and then were dead by night. Patients coughed up blood.
Their faces turned blue.

That was what happened in 1918. A deadly flu killed tens of millions people
around the world. It is 100 years later. Scientists are thinking about how to
keep us safe from another super-flu.
No One Likes Getting A Shot
Dr. Anthony Fauci works for the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The
NIH in Maryland studies health and medicine. Fauci says we need one
vaccine that can protect against most or all types of the flu.

Scientists want to get rid of normal flu shots. They want a shot that people
could get every five or 10 years. Maybe someday we will need just one
shot. It could last our whole lives.

It will not be easy. Scientists have been learning about the flu for 100
years. Still, the flu often beats our best plans to stop it. That is because it is
always changing.

Learning To Trick The Flu

The immune system protects the body. It keeps us healthy by fighting
things that might harm the body. To get around our immune system, the flu
changes itself every year.

Scientists have a new plan, though. They are learning how the flu tricks the
immune system. They are finding which part of the flu stays the same each
year.

The 1918 flu outbreak shows why this is so important. Back then, there was
no flu vaccine. There was no way to stop it.

By winter 1919, the flu had infected one-third of the world's population. It
killed more than 50 million people in a short time.

Trying To Keep People Healthy

In 2009, scientists made a great discovery. They learned something new.
Sometimes, people's immune systems make a small number of special
antibodies. Antibodies are proteins in the blood. These proteins stop us
from getting sick. These special antibodies can stop the flu.

Scientists are trying different tricks to get people's bodies to make more of
those antibodies. They still need to learn more, though.

In the meantime, Fauci says it is silly to think about what the next flu might
bring. "We just need to be prepared," he said.

Questions:

1.Look at the picture at the beginning of the passage. Write a sentence of

your own that goes with the picture>

_________________________________________________________

2. Read the 2nd paragraph again. Use that information and answer this:

What year was it when this article was written? _____________ How do
you know? _________________________________________________

3.Use the section ​“No One Likes Getting A Shot”​ to answer these
questions:

A.) What does NIH stand for?_________________________________

B.) What does the NIH do? ___________________________________

__________________________________________________________

C.) Who is mentioned as working at the NIH?_____________________

4. Finish the sentences (one word for each blank line):

The immune system __________________ ________ _________.

To get around our immune system, _______ __________ __________

______________ _____________ ______________.

5. By the winter of 1919, how many people had the flu killed?
_________________________________

6. What are antibodies? ______________________________________

__________________________________________________________

7. In the last sentences, it tells us what Dr. Fauci thought back in 2018. Did
people listen to him? What do you think?

____________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________
 The Flu of 1918 vs COVID-19
Use what you know about the Flu of 1918 and COVID-19 and answer
these questions.

a.) Make a list of 5 - 10 things the Flu of 1918 and the Corona Virus have
in common (are the same)?
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b.) Make a list of 3 - 5 differences?

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c.) Now, use information from your lists and write 2 sentences that
describe the things they have in common, and 2 sentences that describe
what is different.

___________________________________________________________

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