The Flu Epidemic of

1918
• The flu epidemic of 1918 ravaged
World War I combatants and cut its
deadly path across America and the
world. Further, it was a significant
event to build on for understanding and
coping with the current outbreak of the
H1 N1 (Swine) Flu.
Where did the Influenza begin?
• Fort Riley, Kansas, in March 1918
• Soldiers were complaining of sore
throat, headache, and fever.
• By noon on the first day, the camp’s
hospital dealt with 100 seriously ill
soldiers.
• At the week’s end, the number of ill
soldiers jumped to 500!
 Cases at Fort Riley
• Company cook Albert Gitchell reported to the camp
hospital suffering from a “bad cold”.
• Number of Red Cross nurses on hand very low (fell
dramatically when soldiers started to fight in
Europe).
• Incidents at Fort Riley marked the fall of the first
domino, signaling the full terror the flu virus would
bring.
 July and August 1918
• In July, public health officials in Philadelphia made a
bulletin about the flu and identified the strain of virus
and how the contagion would be fought.
• The flu had already been named the Spanish Flu
• On August 27th, sailors on the Receiving Ship at the
Commonwealth Pier in Boston took ill. Many sick-bay
symptoms were reported in the press.
• On August 30th, 60 sailors on the one ship were sick.
• Felt like they “…had been beaten all over with a club”
Dr. Victor Vaughn and Camp Devens

• In September, Dr. Vaughn, Surgeon General

of the United States Army, had urgent orders
to come to Camp Devens
• On the first day after he arrived, 63 men died
of influenza
 "I saw hundreds of young stalwart men in uniform coming into
the wards of the hospital. Every bed was full, yet others crowded
in. The faces wore a bluish cast; a cough brought up the
blood-stained sputum. In the morning, the dead bodies
are stacked about the morgue like cordwood."

-Dr. Victor Vaughn

 Influenza Causes Global
Suffering
• Civilians suffered from “the perilous path that the
flu would cut”.
• Long arms of the flu extended beyond America &
Europe to North Africa, India, China, Japan, New
Zealand, and Philippines.
• One physician recalls that flu patients “died
struggling to clear their airways of a blood- tinged
froth…until they suffocate” (Outbreak 5).
• Flu Epidemic of 1918 cut short the lives of over 25
million people.
 The Spread of the Influenza
• .

                                      

                    
 Statistics
• Everyone on the planet was at risk.
• In Philadelphia, 158 out of every 1000
people died.(Ex American Studies Class)
• Death toll for America: 850,000.
• In the end, estimates say about 25 million
people died worldwide.
 Modern Day Connection
• Researchers are learning more about the 1918
Influenza in preparation for a global outbreak of the
H1 N1 (Swine) Flu, which is already affecting our
community. There was a link discovered between
Spanish Flu and the Bird Flu of 2007, which helped
doctors treat the 2007 outbreak.
• One hopes the same progress will be made with H1
N1.
• Still a lot of work to be done, but with little time to
do it.
 Course Theme
• Natural and Social Environment- The
conditions that the influenza brought
affected the growth and development of
America. Mortality rates increased, & the
atmosphere the pandemic brought left deep
scars in American history.