Welcome to a History of Pandemics.
I'm Megan, your host.
Thank you so much for tuning in.
“In this podcast, we delve into some of history's most devastating epidemics and pandemics.”
This episode dives into one of history's most recent pandemics, the Spanish flu, also known as the forgotten pandemic due to its occurrence in World War I. You can find all episodes of the podcast for free on Spotify, or wherever else you listen to podcasts. To listen to a history of pandemics, just click on the app and type in a history of pandemics
in the search bar, and now to the episode. Influenza is a viral disease that is caused by, unsurprisingly, the influenza virus. This virus comes from the orthomexivirative family and their four types. Influenza A, influenza B, influenza C, and influenza D. These viruses can often be found in animals such as pigs, cattle, ducks, seals, and even cables, which are then transmitted
to humans.
“In particular, influenza A is mainly from birds, and is also known to cause the majority”
of influenza epidemics and the occasional pandemic, which will be explored today. Influenza is transmitted through airborne particles, which makes the number of yearly influenza cases so high that according to the Center for Disease Control, they can only be estimated. In a typical year, a few hundred thousand cases of influenza are recorded, but the symptoms
are usually mild. In general, influenza mainly targets children and elderly. One common misconception is that influenza and the calm cold are the same. While they are both caused by viruses and are airborne respiratory diseases, the pathogen cause of these two diseases are in fact different.
“influenza is specifically caused by influenza viruses, as I said above, while the calm”
cold is a general blanket term and covers illnesses caused by rhinoviruses, parent influenza, and coronaviruses, not to be confused with COVID-19. It is believed that the Spanish flu came from a strain of what is now known as the H1N1 virus, which is common in pigs and birds. However, there are disputes as to the origin of the pandemic.
According to the Cleveland Clinic, the pandemic started in the USA or France, while others argue that it was from Asia.
Interestingly, despite its name, the Spanish flu was never found to have come from Spain.
Instead, during World War I, many crew countries participating in war censored the media to further their own propaganda. At the time, Spain was a neutral country with press freedom. It turns out that Spanish news sources were the only ones actually reporting the pandemic, which led other governments to believe that the pandemic came from Spain.
In return, the Spanish believed the pandemic started in France and called it the French flu, but this never really caught on. In 1918, the last year of World War I, there were three notable waves of the pandemic.
March of 1918 was the beginning of the first wave.
However, not many were concerned with it since the symptoms of the flu were mild. However, in the summer of that year, a much more deadly wave of influenza struck, which resulted in heavy casualties and effects that we will discuss later. Intimes include, but are not limited to, a high fever, dry cough, body aches, sore throat, chills, running nose, and fatigue.
In the winter between 1918 and 1919, a third wave of the Spanish flu occurred, beginning in Australia before spreading to the United States and Western Europe. The pandemic's rapid movements were primarily caused by the movement of soldiers throughout the war, bringing the virus with them wherever they went. Unfortunately, doctors were unable to locate the cause of the pandemic and thus did not
have a cure available. Aspirin, an inflammation medication that was trademarked in 1899, was commonly prescribed to pandemic victims.
Sadly, these efforts were futile and many people died from aspirin poisoning,...
have contributed to the high death toll.
“Prevention measures such as isolating, washing hands, wearing masks and gloves, and not”
spitting a public were taken, similar to many government's responses to COVID-19.
However, we have to acknowledge that the revolutionary breakthrough of the various COVID-19
vaccines that have helped as a more effective prevention of measure and decrease the number of cases worldwide, something that people in the 1910s did not have. As mentioned before, with a lack of available treatment and doctors compounded with the stress
“of the war, the impact of the Spanish flu was significant.”
One common notion about it is that more American soldiers died from the flu than the front war, which was absolutely true. Around 40% of the American navy died from the pandemic, and 36% of the army as well.
In total, the Spanish flu led to around 5 million deaths, but some estimates go to 40 or
50 million, and even a hundred million as an extreme guess.
“A majority of victims were World War I soldiers and their families, but no one was truly”
spared. Even heads of state, such as then President Rudro Wilson and King Afonzo the 13th of Spain, also caught the disease.
But was also particularly devastating, was that the flu targeted younger and working-aged
people, devastating the economy. Many businesses were forced to shut down because so many workers were following sick and dying. While several influenza breakouts have followed since then, the so-called "forgotten pandemic" serves as a reminder of the severity of disease outbreaks, and as a warning to not be complacent
and dealing with them. Thank you for listening to "A History of Pandemics." We will now be taking a brief hiatus. Please expect episodes to resume in the summer. All episodes of "A History of Pandemics" are available for free on Spotify, or wherever
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