THE GREAT INFLUENZA OF 1918

Good day. I am Lois Stanley, and I am here to deliver a speech on The Great Influenza
Pandemic of 1918. Firstly, what exactly is influenza?
Influenza, which is commonly known as flu, is a viral infection which attacks an individual’s
respiratory system. A flu can be caused by either a type A or B influenza virus, and it is
extremely contagious. Most times, the immune system of an individual can fight a flu in the
body but sometimes, especially when left untreated, a flu can be life-threatening.
HISTORY OF THE GREAT INFLUENZA OF 1918
The Great Influenza, which is also referred to as the Spanish Flu or the 1918 Influenza
Pandemic, was the deadliest influenza pandemic in history. It was caused by the Influenza A
virus subtype H1N1 which was discovered to be of avian origin (that is originating from a
bird). At that time, there was limited availability of advanced medical facilities and
instruments, thus, the exact geographical origin of the virus is unknown.
The Spanish Flu started towards the end of the First World War, and this aggravated the
damage that the World War had already caused in the world. The first identified case of the
virus was in military personnel in Kansas, United States of America in March 1918. Further
cases were observed in France, Germany, the United Kingdom, and so on. Just like the on
going COVID-19 pandemic in the world, the Spanish Flu broke out in three waves with the
second (which was around August 1918) being the deadliest as about 500 million people
globally were infected. About 25 to 50 million individuals died because of the Spanish Flu
which lasted till 1920. Once an individual was contaminated by the Flu, he was prone to other
respiratory diseases such as pneumonia which at times led to his instant death.
SYMPTOMS OF THE SPANISH FLU
The symptoms infected individuals exhibited was in no way different from normal flu
symptoms. They included high fever, extreme fatigue, sore throat, runny nose, headache, etc.
TREATMENT AND PREVENTION
Because there were no vaccines, medicines that were effective against the Flu or antibiotics
to treat other respiratory diseases that resulted from contracting the Spanish Flu, individuals
who had the Flu were not treated. Like the current day COVID-19 pandemic, preventive
measures were taken to curb the spread of the Flu. They included no crowded places, regular
hand washing, wearing protective gear like masks and gloves, not touching things outside,
etc.
PECULIARITIES OF THE SPANISH FLU
One distinguishing factor the Spanish Flu possessed from other flus was that it mostly killed
healthy and active individuals. Normal flus would have higher mortality rates in young
infants and people older than 65, but, the Spanish Flu had higher mortality rates in people
between the ages 20 to 40 years.
Another peculiarity was that the Flu did not originate from Spain. It was given the name
‘Spanish Flu’ because Spain decided to remain neutral during the first World War, and
because Spain refused to censor the news of the Flu’s outbreak like other nations were doing.
REFERENCES
https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/flu/symptoms-causes/syc-20351719

https://www.cdc.gov/flu/pandemic-resources/1918-commemoration/1918-pandemic-history.htm

https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/21777-spanish-flu?
__cf_chl_captcha_tk__=QBhndlP_1dlhxCXygxQ3h6fe1iRw3MzVuuBvhEYgE6Q-1636909238-0-
gaNycGzNB70

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC15547/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spanish_flu