Spanish Flu Pandemic In 1918
Emily Pitroff
Ms. Parks
U.S. History
November 14, 2017
The Spanish Flu
The Spanish Flu, or otherwise known as “La Grippe”, is known as the most fatal pandemic in the world’s history, affecting around 500 million people worldwide from 1918 to 1919. It had a huge toll on not just population, but health concerning all people. This outbreak was considered to be a global disaster, as it had a major impact across the nation during this time.
The influenza is an extremely contagious virus that affects the respiratory system. A flu pandemic arises through a new deadly virus, causing people with little to no immunity to catch the flu and spread it across from person-to-person, resulting in an outbreak.When someone infected by the virus either talks, …show more content…
Despite this, those who were either over the age of 65, were pregnant, or who had specific medical conditions (such as heart disease, diabetes, or asthma) were at a higher risk to flu complications, such as infections, pneumonia, and bronchitis (“1918 Flu Pandemic”). The first appearance of pandemic came about in 1918, during the spring, but was generally mild. Those who were affected experienced minor flu symptoms, resulting in a low death toll. This, however, did not continue as it did in the spring. During the fall of 1918, a highly contagious outbreak of the influenza broke out. This outbreak had a huge toll on both health concerning all people and population, decreasing over this period of time.
Since there were no proper medical procedures, vaccines, or antivirals during this time, doctors were left unsure on what exactly what the sickness was and how to properly battle it. Because of these drawbacks, deaths gradually increased, as more and more people were infected. Influenza-related mortality rates were extremely high, ranging from 0.5 to 14.0 deaths per 1000 inhabitants (“Spanish Flu”). The effect of the influenza epidemic was so severe that the average life span in the US was depressed by 10 years (“The Influenza Pandemic of …show more content…
“1918 Flu Pandemic.” History.com, A&E Television Networks, 2010, www.history.com/topics/1918-flu-pandemic.
Billings, Molly. “The Influenza Pandemic of 1918.” The 1918 Influenza Pandemic, Feb. 2005, virus.stanford.edu/uda/.
Antoni Trilla, Guillem Trilla, Carolyn Daer; The 1918 “Spanish Flu” in Spain, Clinical Infectious Diseases, Volume 47, Issue 5, 1 September 2008, Pages 668–673, https://doi.org/10.1086/590567.
Vergano, Dan. “1918 Flu Pandemic That Killed 50 Million Originated in China, Historians Say.” National Geographic, National Geographic Society, 24 Jan. 2014,
Ms. Parks
U.S. History
November 14, 2017
The Spanish Flu
The Spanish Flu, or otherwise known as “La Grippe”, is known as the most fatal pandemic in the world’s history, affecting around 500 million people worldwide from 1918 to 1919. It had a huge toll on not just population, but health concerning all people. This outbreak was considered to be a global disaster, as it had a major impact across the nation during this time.
The influenza is an extremely contagious virus that affects the respiratory system. A flu pandemic arises through a new deadly virus, causing people with little to no immunity to catch the flu and spread it across from person-to-person, resulting in an outbreak.When someone infected by the virus either talks, …show more content…
Despite this, those who were either over the age of 65, were pregnant, or who had specific medical conditions (such as heart disease, diabetes, or asthma) were at a higher risk to flu complications, such as infections, pneumonia, and bronchitis (“1918 Flu Pandemic”). The first appearance of pandemic came about in 1918, during the spring, but was generally mild. Those who were affected experienced minor flu symptoms, resulting in a low death toll. This, however, did not continue as it did in the spring. During the fall of 1918, a highly contagious outbreak of the influenza broke out. This outbreak had a huge toll on both health concerning all people and population, decreasing over this period of time.
Since there were no proper medical procedures, vaccines, or antivirals during this time, doctors were left unsure on what exactly what the sickness was and how to properly battle it. Because of these drawbacks, deaths gradually increased, as more and more people were infected. Influenza-related mortality rates were extremely high, ranging from 0.5 to 14.0 deaths per 1000 inhabitants (“Spanish Flu”). The effect of the influenza epidemic was so severe that the average life span in the US was depressed by 10 years (“The Influenza Pandemic of …show more content…
“1918 Flu Pandemic.” History.com, A&E Television Networks, 2010, www.history.com/topics/1918-flu-pandemic.
Billings, Molly. “The Influenza Pandemic of 1918.” The 1918 Influenza Pandemic, Feb. 2005, virus.stanford.edu/uda/.
Antoni Trilla, Guillem Trilla, Carolyn Daer; The 1918 “Spanish Flu” in Spain, Clinical Infectious Diseases, Volume 47, Issue 5, 1 September 2008, Pages 668–673, https://doi.org/10.1086/590567.
Vergano, Dan. “1918 Flu Pandemic That Killed 50 Million Originated in China, Historians Say.” National Geographic, National Geographic Society, 24 Jan. 2014,