Miss Harris "Influenza Pandemic"

Influenza Pandemic of 1918
Estimated to have taken 100 million lives, the influenza pandemic of 1918 seemed to have risen from the ashes of the war. It still remains unclear how it started- some even proposing to say it came from burning pigs' manure, though this is discouraged by the scientists. All we can say is that is greatly outnumbered even the black plague, and varied in it's symptoms and expectancy rates. You could start by having a migraine, and with any luck at all, within the next 8 hours you will have died. Also possible was the temperature of 103 F and coughing up blood-streaked pus. Those ones die of asphyxiation from their lungs filling with fluid. If 100 million people died this way, and each one of them left one person behind who cared about them, this certainly affected 200 million people right there.
There was one man who was in Toronto when World War I started, and volunteered to serve. In 1915 he was sent over to England. He wrote to his daughter often, telling her of all the men in his camp- how many of them were dying from influenza, and how frightening it was. He said this over and over. The problem was that they weren't supposed to be talking about anything, as the wartime secrecy was imposed upon them. The letters were not intercepted, thankfully, and this man and his daughter were able to communicate.

Unbelievable as it may seem, neither physicians, not city officials were required to record the cases of the flu in 1918. In Boston in the Receiving Ship in one week, more then 300 men were sick from influenza. It was not a surprise that influenza spread so quickly on the Receiving Ship- it was a holding station for soldiers on their way to war. It was overcrowded with people and rats alike, and was without soap, drinking water, and working toilets. How unfortunate for the men trying to do their part and help fight against this war that they had to fight against a more down-to-business killer first. The men really didn't stand a chance because we paid them no mind until The Boston Globe reported "unless precautions are taken the disease in all probability will spread to the civilian population". Why were precautions not taken in the first place, gentlemen?


"Spanish Flu"
More deadly statistically then the plague, more people died in 1 year
The war was greatly responsible for bringing the flu into the US.
Introductory mission statement:
281-tv
287,288-hiv
11,50-soldier flu impact
5-7, 195- aids