1917-18 Flu Outbreak, Fort Riley, Kansas

[Guest guest]

-

 

Wednesday, February 27, 2008 5:58 AM

1917-18 "Flu" Outbreak, Fort Riley, Kansas

 

(Caught a little blurb about the Fort Riley "flu" in my homeopathic module. Had heard about it before; but did not know it killed 500,000 Americans. First things first, the very word "flu" springs from the term influenza, which is Italian for "influenced". During periods of time when a great many Italian-folk became sickened by upper-respiratory-infections, they surmised it was the result of an "influence of the stars and planets". The Great Fort Riley Pandemic epicenter was the Fort Riley, Kansas military base.

Some experts have traced the so-called virus (I say "so called" because there is such scanty evidence pointing to any ability of one human "catching" the virus from another human; viruses are dead microorganisms, smaller than bacteria, and they are incapable of growing or reproducing outside of a living cell) to the incubation of the disease-toxins in Fort Riley pigs which they raised for "local" consumption.

Of interest is the timeframe of this Pandemic, sandwiched between the conclusion of bloody WWI, the birth of the Great Depression and bloody WWII.

See highlighted section for a particularly sinister and mysterious aspect of the epidemic.)

____________

I had a little bird,Its name was Enza,I opened the window,And in-flew-enza.-American Skipping Rhyme circa 1918

 

Obey the lawsAnd wear the gauze.Protect your jawsFrom septic paws.

Spanish flu

 

 

The 1918 flu pandemic (commonly referred to as the Spanish flu) was a category 5 influenza pandemic that started in the United States, appeared in West Africa and France and then spread to nearly every part of the globe. It was caused by an unusually severe and deadly Influenza A virus strain of subtype H1N1. Many of its victims were healthy young adults, in contrast to most influenza outbreaks which predominantly affect juvenile, elderly, or otherwise weakened patients.

The Spanish flu pandemic came in three waves[1] lasting from March 1918 to June 1920,[2] spreading even to the Arctic and remote Pacific islands. While older estimates put the number of killed at 40–50 million people, current estimates are that 50 million to 100 million people worldwide died, possibly more than that taken by the Black Death, and higher than the number killed in World War I.[3] This extraordinary toll resulted from the extremely high infection rate of up to 50% and the extreme severity of the symptoms, suspected to be caused by cytokine storms.

The disease was first observed at Fort Riley, Kansas, United States, on March 4, 1918,[4] and Queens, New York, on March 11, 1918. In August 1918, a more virulent strain appeared simultaneously in Brest, France, in West Africa at Freetown, Sierra Leone, and in the U.S. at Boston, Massachusetts. The Allies of World War I came to call it the Spanish Flu, primarily because the pandemic received greater press attention after it moved from France to Spain in November 1918. Spain was not involved in the war and had not imposed wartime censorship.[5]

Scientists have used tissue samples from frozen victims to reproduce the virus for study. Given the strain's extreme virulence there has been controversy regarding the wisdom of such research. Among the conclusions of this research is that the virus kills via a cytokine storm, which explains its unusually severe nature and the unusual age profile of its victims (the virus caused an overreaction of the body's immune system - strong immune systems (ie young adults) ravaged the body, while weaker immune systems (ie children & middle age adults) caused less morbidity and mortality).

 

Patterns of fatality

The influenza strain was unusual in that this pandemic killed many young adults and otherwise healthy victims — typical influenzas kill mostly infants (aged 0-2 years), the elderly, and the immunocompromised. Another oddity was that this influenza outbreak was widespread in summer and fall (in the Northern Hemisphere). Typically, influenza is worse in the winter months.

People without symptoms could be stricken suddenly and within hours be too weak to walk; many died the next day. Symptoms included a blue tint to the face and coughing up blood caused by severe obstruction of the lungs. In some cases, the virus caused an uncontrollable hemorrhaging that filled the lungs, and patients drowned in their body fluids (pneumonia). In others, the flu caused frequent loss of bowel control and the victim would die from losing critical intestinal lining and blood loss.

In fast-progressing cases, mortality was primarily from pneumonia, by virus-induced consolidation. Slower-progressing cases featured secondary bacterial pneumonias, and there may have been neural involvement that led to mental disorders in a minority of cases. Some deaths resulted from malnourishment and even animal attacks in overwhelmed communities.

*excerpted due to article length.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spanish_flu___________Paralegal Scholarship - Click Now!

[Guest guest]

My husband's grandmother was an Army nurse during WWI and then in an Army hospital during the flu epidemic. She would say"All those poor boys made it home from the war and then died with the flu". She was 103 when she died.NEWS FROM THE TIPI <cherokee419 wrote: - Wednesday, February 27, 2008 5:58 AM 1917-18

"Flu" Outbreak, Fort Riley, Kansas (Caught a little blurb about the Fort Riley "flu" in my homeopathic module. Had heard about it before; but did not know it killed 500,000 Americans. First things first, the very word "flu" springs from the term influenza, which is Italian for "influenced". During periods of time when a great many Italian-folk became sickened by upper-respiratory-infections, they surmised it was the result of an "influence of the stars and planets". The Great Fort Riley Pandemic epicenter was the Fort Riley, Kansas military base. Some experts have traced the so-called virus (I say "so called" because there is such scanty evidence pointing to any ability of one human "catching" the virus from another human; viruses are dead microorganisms, smaller than bacteria, and they are

incapable of growing or reproducing outside of a living cell) to the incubation of the disease-toxins in Fort Riley pigs which they raised for "local" consumption. Of interest is the timeframe of this Pandemic, sandwiched between the conclusion of bloody WWI, the birth of the Great Depression and bloody WWII. See highlighted section for a particularly sinister and mysterious aspect of the epidemic.) ____________ I had a little bird,Its name was Enza,I opened the window,And in-flew-enza.-American Skipping Rhyme circa 1918 Obey the lawsAnd wear the gauze.Protect your jawsFrom septic paws. Spanish flu The 1918 flu pandemic (commonly referred to as the Spanish flu) was a category 5 influenza pandemic that started in the United States, appeared in West Africa and France and then spread to nearly every part of the globe. It was caused by an unusually severe and deadly Influenza A virus strain of subtype H1N1. Many of its victims were healthy young adults, in contrast to most influenza outbreaks which predominantly affect

juvenile, elderly, or otherwise weakened patients. The Spanish flu pandemic came in three waves[1] lasting from March 1918 to June 1920,[2] spreading even to the Arctic and remote Pacific islands. While older estimates put the number of killed at 40–50 million people, current estimates are that 50 million to 100 million people worldwide died, possibly more than that taken by the Black Death, and higher than the number killed in World War I.[3] This extraordinary toll resulted from the extremely high infection rate of up to 50% and the extreme severity of the symptoms, suspected to be caused by cytokine storms. The disease was first observed at Fort Riley, Kansas, United States, on March 4, 1918,[4] and Queens, New York, on March 11, 1918. In August 1918, a more virulent strain appeared simultaneously in Brest, France, in West Africa at Freetown, Sierra Leone, and in the U.S. at Boston, Massachusetts. The Allies of World War I came to call it the Spanish Flu, primarily because the pandemic received greater press attention after it moved from France to Spain in November 1918. Spain was not involved in the war and had not imposed wartime censorship.[5] Scientists have used tissue samples from frozen victims to reproduce the virus for study. Given the strain's extreme virulence there has been controversy regarding the wisdom of such research. Among the conclusions of this research is that the virus kills via a cytokine storm, which explains its unusually severe nature and the unusual age profile of its victims (the virus caused an overreaction of the body's immune system - strong immune systems (ie young adults) ravaged the body, while weaker immune systems (ie children & middle age adults)

caused less morbidity and mortality). Patterns of fatality The influenza strain was unusual in that this pandemic killed many young adults and otherwise healthy victims — typical influenzas kill mostly infants (aged 0-2 years), the elderly, and the immunocompromised. Another oddity was that this influenza outbreak was widespread in summer and fall (in the Northern Hemisphere). Typically, influenza is worse in the winter months. People without symptoms could be stricken suddenly and within hours be too weak to walk; many died the next day. Symptoms included a blue tint to the face and coughing up blood caused by severe obstruction of

the lungs. In some cases, the virus caused an uncontrollable hemorrhaging that filled the lungs, and patients drowned in their body fluids (pneumonia). In others, the flu caused frequent loss of bowel control and the victim would die from losing critical intestinal lining and blood loss. In fast-progressing cases, mortality was primarily from pneumonia, by virus-induced consolidation. Slower-progressing cases featured secondary bacterial pneumonias, and there may have been neural involvement that led to mental disorders in a minority of cases. Some deaths resulted from malnourishment and even animal attacks in overwhelmed communities. *excerpted due to article length. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spanish_flu___________Paralegal Scholarship - Click Now!

Looking for last minute shopping deals? Find them fast with Search.