1918 Spanish Flu Warning Poster
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1918 Spanish Flu Pandemic Facts: Fast Fact Sheet for
kids
Fast, fun facts and Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ's)
about the 1918 Spanish Flu
Pandemic.
When did the Spanish flu start and end? The 1918 Spanish Flu
Pandemic started in March 1918 and ended
just over a year later in the summer of
1919.
What was the cause the Spanish flu? The
cause of the 1918 Spanish Flu Pandemic was
unknown at the time, many believed it was
caused by the use of chemical warfare and
poison gas together with the filth of the
lice and rat infested trenches. We now know
it developed in animals and birds then
spread to people.
Where did the Spanish flu start? The
place of origin is still unknown. Theories
are that the virus originated in the lice
and rat infected WW1 trenches in France.
Why was the Spanish flu so deadly? The 1918 Spanish Flu
Pandemic was so deadly because there was no
known cure at the time to the disease that
spread so quickly and relentlessly. How
did the Spanish flu get its name? The Spanish Flu
got its name because Spain was one of the
first countries to be reported as being hit
by the disease. (Wartime censorship rules
allowed for reporting on the spread and
impact of the disease in neutral Spain)
What was the Spanish flu mortality rate?
The mortality rate among the infected was
estimated at nearly 10% - 500 million
people, were attacked by the deadly virus
and 50 million people died of the disease.
1918 Spanish Flu Symptoms
Spanish Flu started
just like an ordinary cold but it developed extremely quickly and
people sometimes died just a few hours after they realized that they
had the illness. Spanish Flu was a respiratory virus by which lungs
became inflamed and filled with blood and other fluids. The 1918 Spanish Flu
symptoms were described at the time as follows:
"Symptoms
were terrifying. Blood poured from noses, ears, eye sockets; some
victims lay in agony;
delirium took others away while living."
1918 Spanish Flu Cure
There was no cure for
the 1918 Spanish Flu. At this time there were no effective drugs or
vaccines to treat the deadly flu strain or to prevent its spread.
There were no vaccines, antivirals, or antibiotics to treat or
prevent infections.
Advice for avoiding Spanish Flu
Advice for avoiding the
disease included avoiding needless crowding, smothering coughs and
sneezes, breathing through the nose not the mouth, cleanliness:
clean hands, clean mouth, clean skin, clean clothes and breathing
fresh air.
WW1 and the
1918 Spanish Flu Pandemic
The WW1 contributed to
the spread of the 1918 Spanish Flu pandemic. The global nature of
WW1 meant more people than usual were traveling all over the
world. WW1 Soldiers also lived very closely together in the trenches
and camps during the Great War and this helped the influenza to
spread more easily.
1918 Spanish Flu
Facts for kids
The following fact
sheet contains interesting facts and information on 1918 Spanish Flu
Pandemic for kids.
Facts
about the 1918 Spanish Flu Pandemic for kids
1918 Spanish Flu Fact 1:
More U.S. soldiers died from the 1918
Influenza than were killed in battle during WW1. 40% of
the U.S. Navy was hit with the flu, and 36% of the Army
became ill.
1918 Spanish Flu Fact
2: Deaths from the deadly disease
surpassed the Black Death of the Middle Ages.
1918 Spanish Flu Fact
3: Advice was given on the Prevention of
the disease. Poster, like the 'Coughs and Sneezes'
poster, were created Prevention advice was as follows:
● Disinfect telephone
mouthpieces
● Do not use towels, drinking
cups, or dishes used by others
● If a family member becomes
infected, isolation should at once be enforced and
all eating utensils should be disinfected and
restricted to the patient
● All linen should be cleaned
with boiling water
● Gurgle and mouth wash with
one tablespoonful of table salt and baking soda in a
glass of water
1918 Spanish Flu Fact
4: President Woodrow Wilson reportedly
contracted influenza in early 1919 whilst negotiating the Treaty of
Versailles
1918 Spanish Flu Fact
5: The economy suffered as businesses and factories
were forced to close due to sickness amongst the workers and farmers
became too sick to harvest the crops.
Continued...
Facts
about the 1918 Spanish Flu Pandemic for kids
Facts
about the 1918 Spanish Flu for kids
The following fact
sheet continues with interesting facts about 1918 Spanish Flu
Pandemic for kids.
Facts
about the 1918 Spanish Flu Pandemic for kids
1918 Spanish Flu Fact
6: Courts and schools were closed. In some states
public health officials made it mandatory to wear masks.
1918 Spanish Flu Fact
7: In large cities such as New York,
people who did not cover their mouths when they coughed
were given either a fine or they were sent to jail.
1918 Spanish Flu Fact
8: Hospitals became full to bursting and
desperate local doctors and nurses were unable to meet
the demand for help. Bribes were offered but even money
was refused.
1918 Spanish Flu Fact
9: The U.S. government established the
Volunteer Medical Service to train young doctors to help
fight influenza. The Public Health Service dispatched
these physicians to areas without any medical facilities
or health professionals.
1918 Spanish Flu Fact
10: Undertakers were not able to keep up
with he demand for burials and coffins, bodies lined the
streets. Many families had to dig graves for their
relatives.
1918 Spanish Flu Fact
11: People between the ages of 20-40 were
particularly susceptible to the disease and accounted
for nearly 50% of the fatalities.
1918 Spanish Flu Fact
12: There were three waves of the
pandemic influenza. The first wave appeared in the
spring of 1918, quickly followed by much more fatal
second and third waves in the fall and winter of
1918–1919,
1918 Spanish Flu Fact
13: Doctors attempted to boost the immune
system of patients and tried numerous treatments in a
desperate effort to treat and find a cure for the
disease. People were injected with typhoid vaccine,
hydrogen peroxide and mercuric chloride. Aspirin, and
codeine were the most common treatments. Epsom salt
salts and Castor oil were also recommended. Arsenic,
quinine and heroin were also prescribed in a vain effort
to ease pain and reduce fatalities.
1918 Spanish Flu Fact 14:
A number of causes were attributed to the rapid
spread of the disease during WW1. The crowded conditions on troop
ships, the deployment of troops in unsanitary trenches, troops
weakened physical conditions due to poor diet and exhaustion and
exposure to poison gases.
1918 Spanish Flu Fact 15:
Thirty of the 50 largest US cities suffered from
an "excess mortality" from the influenza
1918 Spanish Flu Fact
16: Flu orders were passed to help quarantine the
disease. Some towns required special paperwork to pass through them
1918 Spanish Flu Fact
17: Since the 1918 pandemic, there have
been several other influenza pandemics, although none as
deadly as the 1918 strain.
● The 1957-1958 flu pandemic
killed an estimated 2 million people worldwide,
including some 70,000 people in the U.S.
● The 1968-1969 pandemic
killed approximately 1 million people, including
some 34,000 Americans
● More than 12,000 Americans
died during the H1N1 (or “swine flu”) pandemic that
occurred from 2009 to 2010.
1918 Spanish Flu Fact 18:
Are there modern antiviral treatments
and vaccines effective against the 1918 virus? Two types
of antiviral drugs, rimantadine (Flumadine) and
oseltamivir (Tamiflu), have been shown to be effective
against influenza viruses similar to the 1918 virus such
as Swine Flu and Bird Flu.
Facts
about the 1918 Spanish Flu Pandemic for kids
Facts
about the 1918 Spanish Flu Pandemic for kids: American entry
and US role World War I
On April 6, 1917 the United States
Senate declared war on Germany
and fought with the allies in WW1. For additional
facts and information refer to the following links: .
1918 Spanish Flu - President Woodrow Wilson Video
The article on the 1918 Spanish Flu provides detailed facts and a summary of one of the important events during his presidential term in office. The following
Woodrow Wilson video will
give you additional important facts and dates about the political events experienced by the 28th American President whose presidency spanned from March 4, 1913 to March 4, 1921.
1918 Spanish Flu
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Interesting Facts about 1918 Spanish Flu for kids and schools
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Key events
and 1918 Spanish Flu for kids
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The 1918 Spanish Flu, a major
event in US history
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Woodrow Wilson Presidency from March 4, 1913 to March 4, 1921
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Fast, fun facts about the 1918 Spanish Flu
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Foreign & Domestic
policies of President Woodrow Wilson
● Woodrow Wilson Presidency and
1918 Spanish Flu for schools,
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