SPANISH FLU - THE HISTORY OF THE PLAGUE
Kirizyu Dipowikoro 10/H History has shown that poor hygiene quality in the trenches of World War 1 contributed in spreading the Spanish Flu throughout the world. Another factor that contributed to this disease spreading as much as it did was the public negligence caused by the propaganda and censorship imposed on the journalists that seek to report on the situation in the frontlines. The 1918 Influenza (better known as The Spanish Flu) is a dangerous strain of H1N1 virus. It is a form of avian influenza that has evolved to be able to do cross species infection. This form of influenza infected humans worldwide later on during the end of World War 1. After this, it was also able to pass from humans to pigs. Now, almost every flu pandemic relating to influenza (Swine Flu, etc.) has mutated from these pigs. These pigs essentially became the "parent" of every flu pandemic since 1918 (Antoni, "The 1918 Spanish Flu in Spain"). The symptoms were similar to the symptoms of typical seasonal flu. What differentiated it was how fast it made people sick and killed them. Reportedly, people who woke up healthy got sick in the morning and were dead by nighttime. This is exceptionally quick compared to the typical five to seven days of flu symptoms. Another thing that differentiated this flu was its mortality rate, which is estimated to be around 10% or 20% ("Mortality of the Spanish Flu Pandemic"). Another major cause of death was secondary bacterial infection. If a person didn’t die from the flu, they would end up with bacterial infections (pneumonia for example) that eventually ended their lives. This is because of their immune systems focusing on treating the Spanish Flu. Secondary bacterial infections may later enter the body while the immune system is busy and attack the person's body, ultimately ending in their death. (Mark, "Spanish flu: the killer that still stalks us, 100 years on."). As stated before, the outbreak happened in 1918, the period where World War 1 still rages on but is coming to an end. The poor hygiene quality in the trenches was the perfect place for this virus to procreate. This disease hit Americans and Germans very hard, but both sides suppressed the news in fear of losing the morale of their soldiers. The only nation broadcasting the news openly at the time was Spain, hence the name of the disease. Alfonso XIII, the king of Spain at the time, was infected by the disease himself. Unlike leaders from the Entente or Central Powers, their neutrality in the war allowed them to broadcast the disease in their country openly. The flu infected an estimated of 500 million people worldwide (⅓ of Earth’s population at the time). It even reached places that were very remote and secluded from the outside world. For example, the disease infected Western Samoa, a small island in the South Pacific region. The disease came there through an island trader ship known as the Talune. It killed 8500 people there, almost one-fifths of the population of the islands at the time, hopping from both islands of Opulu and Savai'i before claiming thousands of lives ("Influenza hits Samoa"). The influenza also killed at least 20 to 50 million people worldwide with high estimates being at around 100 million people. 675,000 of these people were Americans, therefore there were many people who died from this disease. (Richard, "The places that escaped the Spanish flu"). At the time, there were no effective vaccines or drugs to treat this dangerous flu strain. Citizens were ordered to wear masks and they weren’t allowed to cough or sneeze in public. Schools, theatres, and businesses were shut down as bodies were piled up in makeshift morgues. This disease could spread this much because of the public negligence towards the disease that in itself is an effect from the propaganda and restrictions imposed on the journalists seeking to report on this disease. At the time of the first, second waves, the scientists weren't able to fully classify this disease due to the censorship from the government. As a result, there wasn't any permanent vaccines or treatment that could be given out from the government or the scientists. This is a major factor why the disease is very infamous to this day (Kristina, "1918 Flu Pandemic or the Spanish Flu."). Despite having a significantly high mortality rate, there were many famous people who were infected by this disease but survived to tell the story. Some of these people's sickness weren't broadcasted in fears of lowering the soldier's morale in wartime. In other countries that are neutral (did not participate in World War 1), they openly broadcast this disease and the people who are infected with it. Prominent figures such as President Woodrow Wilson of the United States, Prime Minister David Lloyd George of the United Kingdom, and Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany were infected by the Spanish Flu during the First World War. Their infection wasn't publicly announced since they were afraid that this would damage the morale of their troops in the frontlines. We could see this happen again in World War 2 where Winston Churchill hid his heart attack and pneumonia from the public so that British morale held firm during those trying times (Trickey, "In the Darkest Days of World War II, Winston Churchill’s Visit to the White House Brought Hope to Washington"). President Wilson and Kaiser Wilhelm II didn't report the Spanish Flu in their country at all, allowing the disease to spread easily throughout their unaware soldiers in the frontlines. There were other popular rulers that got infected with the Spanish Flu as well. Figures such as Haile Selassie I of Ethiopia and Alfonso XIII of Spain were also infected during this time period. Their infections were publicly announced because of their neutrality from the war. This was also why the influenza is named the Spanish Flu. It is due to the fact that Spain is the only country reporting this disease where other countries were hiding it to keep the war support and effort going. There are many other notable survivors of this disease as well, some are even very well known today. Walt Disney (the founder of Disney) and Franz Kafka (a very influential Austrian writer) were also infected but survived the Spanish Flu. (Benjamin, "14 Famous People Who Survived the 1918 Flu Pandemic"). Many medical historians speculate the disease to have originated from a British army base in Étaples, France, or at Fort Riley in Kansas (the location where the first American cases of this disease was recorded). Despite this, recent studies suggests that the disease may have originated from somewhere in China in late 1917 and moved throughout Europe through its many trade routes. It is speculated that the 140,000 Chinese laborers hired by the French and British governments to free up local troops for wartime duty. Regardless of where the disease came from, it damaged the world greatly as it took countless of lives. As stated many times before, the disease was shrouded in secrecy to hold the morale of soldiers firm. Historian Jim Higgins stated that the war had reached a turning point and neither side wanted to show their weakness to one another, even if it means hiding the fact that many people fell victim to this disease (Konkel, "Why Was the 1918 Influenza Pandemic Called the 'Spanish Flu'?"). CITATIONS
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AuthorKirizyu Dipowikoro is my name and I am a student in Highscope Indonesia. Archives
March 2019
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