Influenza Pandemics
What is Influenza?
An influenza pandemic is an epidemic of an influenza virus that spreads world-wide and effects a large amount of the population. Throughout history, the influenza virus has mutated and has caused pandemics or global epidemics.
Background
On March 11, 1918, a solider in Fort Riley Kans, reports the infirmary with symptoms which was a first thought to be the common cold. Within only an hour, several soldiers reported to the infirmary with similar symptoms. Fort Riley was a military outpost where new recruits were trained before being sent to fight in Europe. After five weeks, 1727 were infected and 46 died in Fort Riley. Soon after, in several after military camps soldiers with similar symptoms were reported. Infected soldiers …show more content…
Local officials started to request for the PHS to send doctors and nurses to help the sick infected people, but with the PHS having less than 700 doctors and nurses on duty because of the war and influenza, it was hard for them to help the communities. When the PHS were able to send in help, most became ill whilst travelling and those who reached their destination often couldn’t provide any real medical assistance because they were unprepared to help the large amount of sick …show more content…
Because WW1 was raging at the time, the wartime press censorship stopped news and information regarding the spread of the pandemic reaching the public. This was because they thought that the information would be dangerous and stop the war efforts. The government was also too focussed on the war, when they should have been focussed on the influenza. The Spanish flu was a much larger threat than WW1 as it killed more people.
Because Spain was neutral during WW1, it meant that the press was able to print news about the flu because the news wasn’t controlled by the wartime censorship. Countries around the world including America learnt about the pandemic there. The general public didn’t have much knowledge on the disease, this meant that they were obvious that their celebrations were helping the virus spread more.
At this time there was no drugs and vaccines to treat or prevent the spread and the army was ineffective in quarantining their sick soldiers. If they were better in quarantining, this could off stopped the citizen population becoming infected, which decreases the death toll.
An influenza pandemic is an epidemic of an influenza virus that spreads world-wide and effects a large amount of the population. Throughout history, the influenza virus has mutated and has caused pandemics or global epidemics.
Background
On March 11, 1918, a solider in Fort Riley Kans, reports the infirmary with symptoms which was a first thought to be the common cold. Within only an hour, several soldiers reported to the infirmary with similar symptoms. Fort Riley was a military outpost where new recruits were trained before being sent to fight in Europe. After five weeks, 1727 were infected and 46 died in Fort Riley. Soon after, in several after military camps soldiers with similar symptoms were reported. Infected soldiers …show more content…
Local officials started to request for the PHS to send doctors and nurses to help the sick infected people, but with the PHS having less than 700 doctors and nurses on duty because of the war and influenza, it was hard for them to help the communities. When the PHS were able to send in help, most became ill whilst travelling and those who reached their destination often couldn’t provide any real medical assistance because they were unprepared to help the large amount of sick …show more content…
Because WW1 was raging at the time, the wartime press censorship stopped news and information regarding the spread of the pandemic reaching the public. This was because they thought that the information would be dangerous and stop the war efforts. The government was also too focussed on the war, when they should have been focussed on the influenza. The Spanish flu was a much larger threat than WW1 as it killed more people.
Because Spain was neutral during WW1, it meant that the press was able to print news about the flu because the news wasn’t controlled by the wartime censorship. Countries around the world including America learnt about the pandemic there. The general public didn’t have much knowledge on the disease, this meant that they were obvious that their celebrations were helping the virus spread more.
At this time there was no drugs and vaccines to treat or prevent the spread and the army was ineffective in quarantining their sick soldiers. If they were better in quarantining, this could off stopped the citizen population becoming infected, which decreases the death toll.