FIRST CASE OF DEADLY SPANISH FLU REPORTED
Who Knows Where? (JFK+50) On March 8, 1918, the first case of the so-called Spanish Flu* was reported. The disease spread quickly becoming the worst world wide epidemic in history. It was so bad that more people died as a result of the flu than World War I.
It is roughly estimated that 50 to 100 million people died as a result of contracting the Spanish Flu, but ironically the epidemic did not originate in Spain. Dan Vergano of National Geographic reports that today's historians believe the origin of the pandemic was the transport of 96,000 Chinese laborers across Canada in sealed railroad cars.
As far as the symptoms, Tony Long writes...
"Victims typically had a blue tint to their faces, and the lungs were severely congested, causing the coughing up of blood..."
So why did they call it the Spanish flu?
One good possibility is the fact that reports of the epidemic were restricted due to war censorship in Germany, United Kingdom, France and the United States while in neutral Spain complete reports were made available.
*Spanish Flu Pandemic infected 500 million persons worldwide in 1918 making it one of the deadliest natural disasters in history. While it is clear at least 20 million people died from the effects of the disease, estimates range up to 100 million.
It is roughly estimated that 50 to 100 million people died as a result of contracting the Spanish Flu, but ironically the epidemic did not originate in Spain. Dan Vergano of National Geographic reports that today's historians believe the origin of the pandemic was the transport of 96,000 Chinese laborers across Canada in sealed railroad cars.
As far as the symptoms, Tony Long writes...
"Victims typically had a blue tint to their faces, and the lungs were severely congested, causing the coughing up of blood..."
So why did they call it the Spanish flu?
One good possibility is the fact that reports of the epidemic were restricted due to war censorship in Germany, United Kingdom, France and the United States while in neutral Spain complete reports were made available.
*Spanish Flu Pandemic infected 500 million persons worldwide in 1918 making it one of the deadliest natural disasters in history. While it is clear at least 20 million people died from the effects of the disease, estimates range up to 100 million.
SOURCES
"March 8, 1918: Killer Influenza", by Tony Long, March 8, 2011, www.wired.com/
"1918 Flu Pandemic That Killed 50 Million Originated in China, Historians Say", by Dan Vergano, National Geographic, January 24, 2014, www.nationalgeographic.com/
"March 8, 1918: Killer Influenza", by Tony Long, March 8, 2011, www.wired.com/
"1918 Flu Pandemic That Killed 50 Million Originated in China, Historians Say", by Dan Vergano, National Geographic, January 24, 2014, www.nationalgeographic.com/
Influenza Hospital
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