1918 Influenza facts

While investigating facts about 1918 Influenza, I found out little known, but curios details like:

So many millions of people died so quickly in the influenza epidemic of 1918 that when people laid them out for their funerals in the parlor, the room got the nickname the "Death Room." The Ladies Home Journal suggested changing the name to "Living Room" instead, to honor the living.

Maintain morale, WWI wartime censors blocked early reports of the 1918 Influenza epidemic in their countries. However, papers were free to report the epidemic's effects in neutral Spain, creating a false impression of Spain as especially hard hit—thus the pandemic's nickname, the Spanish flu.

In my opinion, it is useful to put together a list of the most interesting details from trusted sources that I've come across. Here are 14 of the best facts about 1918 Influenza I managed to collect.

1. The influenza epidemic of 1918 was so bad that it caused average life expectancy in the US to drop 12 years

2. The influenza virus that killed 50–100 million people worldwide in 1918 was genetically reconstructed from tissue samples in 2005. The virus is currently held at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in Atlanta, Georgia

3. During the Spanish flu epidemic of 1918, the Girl Scouts helped by cooking and delivering meals to patients throughout the city. They are credited with saving the lives of people too poor to afford doctors and preventing malnourished children from succumbing to influenza.

4. The 1918 Influenza Pandemic killed more people than all the battles in WWI combined

5. Some astrobiologists believe that some component of the 1918 Influenza Outbreak came from a meteorite.

6. Influenza virus A (H1N1) was the type responsible for the Spanish Flu pandemic in 1918 (between 50 and 100 million people died) and the Swine Flu pandemic in 2009 (as many as 579,000 people died).

7. In 2005 scientists were able to reconstruct the virus that caused the 1918 influenza pandemic which killed 20-50 million people worldwide. They used preserved lung tissue samples taken from two soldiers and an Alaskan person buried in permafrost who all died from influenza in 1918.

8. The influenza A virus is the virus that was responsible for the Spanish Flu in 1918, the Swine Flu in 2009, the Asian Flu in 1957, the Honk Kong Flu in 1968, the Bird Flu in 2004, and other infections that have affected pigs and birds as well.

9. Spanish influenza or flu pandemic outbreak of 1918 to 1919 is known as one of the deadliest epidemics which infected an estimated 500 million people worldwide and killed an estimated 50 to 100 million of them in three waves.

10. During the "great influenza" epidemic of 1918 people were warned not to wear tight shoes & chew their food carefully to avoid infection

What is true about 1918 influenza?

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In The 1918 influenza pandemic. More US solders died from the flu than in battle during world war 1 during 1918. The pandemic caused an estimated 675,000 Americans and 50 Million people to die world wide.

about Elizabeth McWilliams, a nurse's aid who took care of influenza patients in 1918. She worked tirelessly for patients before contracting the illness herself and dying. Her last words were "I am happy because I've tried to be a real American." - source