THE GREAT FLU PANDEMIC OF 1918

Barry, J. M. (2005) The great influenza London: Penguin Books

As this is being written, the avian flu may be coming our way. This book convinced President George W. Bush to invest 7 billion dollars in containing the flu from Asia.

In 1918, America was already involved in World War I. In what appeared to be a general emergency, the press, dissidents, and outspoken radio commentators were silenced and/or jailed. To win the war, much about the spreading flu from Kansas was censored. The flu killed likely targets such as the elderly and the very young. However, because so many young men and women were getting ready to go over to France (2 million were already there) those in training camps quickly infected each other. So a "W” pattern mortality emerged. Kids, seniors, and twenty somethings died. Even President Wilson got a mild version of the flu, survived, suffered depression for a while then had a stroke. His wife took over the presidency until Wilson perished.

Medicine was not ready for this. The very top schools were equivalent to those in Europe. However, other medical schools were…academically challenged. Medical doctors from these schools took courses by paying other doctors at the school to teach them. The teachers were paid on a per capita basis so the teachers dumbed down the course work to attract students. There were still three competing theories about infection. Only one dealt with bacteria and viruses. So, American medicine soldiered on. In the aftermath, 20 million died, but most Americans survived.

When the flu became so bad, the press had to report it. Numbers were not mentioned, but the lack of information to the public made things worse. Local doctors encouraged citizens to eat more fruit and take deep breaths of fresh air. Quarantines were unusual. Two Nebraska towns did not allow any one in or out of their towns and all survived the flu. Finally, public officials moved toward covering their faces with cloth bandanas, but by then the waves of flu finally had run its course. Millions were piled in make shift graves and covered over with earth and stone. Obituaries were extremely long in newspapers all over the country.

The whole pandemic lasted in the states for about 18 months and when it hit overseas millions more died.

The author suggests that tday, we are not in very good shaped to fight the flu. However, recent articles in various periodicals suggest that business and other institutions are making plans to adapt in case the flu comes our way.

This excellent book not only discusses the flu but the social historical setting in which the flu started and spread. Personal narratives are written of unique personalities in medicine. A whole chapter is devoted to the biochemistry of flu. Business trends, social events and the change of institutions all make an appearance in this book. There are some 550 pages of exceeding detail that make for a template of American history in the early 20 th century and before the roaring 20’s.