Spanish flu

The Spanish Flu Pandemic, also known as the Great Influenza Pandemic, the 1918 Flu Epidemic, and La Grippe, was an unusually severe and deadly strain of avian influenza, a viral infectious disease, that killed some 25 million to 50 million people worldwide in 1918 and 1919. It is thought to have been one of the most deadly pandemics so far in human history. It was caused by the H1N1 type of flu virus.

Geographic origin

Many infections with similar but milder symptoms were recorded in the spring of 1918, with sore throat, headaches, dizziness, and loss of appetite. It has been proposed that the earliest known cases were in Haskell County, Kansas, in January 1918. Several local men were inducted into the army at Fort Riley, Kansas, where on March 4, 1918, company cook Albert Gitchell reported to the infirmary with a temperature of 103°F (39.5°C). He was soon followed by Corporal Lee Drake and Sergeant Adolph Hurby. Within two days 522 men at the camp had reported sick. In the summer, infections became much more severe. In August 1918 the more deadly version broke out simultaneously in three disparate locations — Brest, France; Boston, Massachusetts; and Freetown, Sierra Leone. Many of the worst outbreaks of the "Flu" were among soldiers, both at the front lines and in camps far away which soon spread into civilian populations. Severe outbreaks often required hospitalization and even with the best of care often killed one third of those infected.

Related Topics:
1918 - Throat - Headache - Appetite - Haskell County, Kansas - Fort Riley, Kansas - March 4 - Temperature - Brest, France - Boston, Massachusetts - Freetown, Sierra Leone - Outbreak

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