Influenza Epidemic facts
While investigating facts about Influenza Epidemic, 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 10 of the best facts about Influenza Epidemic I managed to collect.
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The influenza epidemic of 1918 was so bad that it caused average life expectancy in the US to drop 12 years
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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.
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Influenza virus C is not as common as type A, but can result in local epidemics.
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The name “influenza” (flu) originated in 15th century Italy, from an epidemic attributed to “influence of the stars.”
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About "The Great Epizootic of 1872", a massive outbreak of equine influenza. Boston suffered a major downtown fire in part because firemen had to pull the equipment by hand instead of using horses, as they were all incapacitated by the epidemic.
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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.
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During the "great influenza" epidemic of 1918 people were warned not to wear tight shoes & chew their food carefully to avoid infection
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Influenza comes from the Italian word for "influence" because it was once believed that flu epidemics were caused by the moon and stars.
