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Influenza Outbreak
The Influenza outbreak started in January and came in three waves.This pandemic was the deadliest in history since it infected an estimated 500 million people worldwide. It had also killed 20 to 50 million estimated people. The flu was first observed in Europe, the US, and parts of Asia before spreading around the world. It became known as the Spanish flu since Spain was hit hard by the disease and wasn't a subject to wartime news blackouts that affected other European countries. (History.com) -
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First Wave . Spring
Pandemic began in the spring. It began mild and deaths were low. (History.com) -
First soldier reported ill with influenza
In 1918, more soldiers died from the Spanish flu than were killed in battle during the war. During the second, most deadly wave, 1,543 soldiers reported ill with influenza in a single day Source: (History.com)(smithsonianmag.com) -
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Second Wave . Fall
Victims died within hours or days of developing symptoms during the Second Wave. It was so bad that in Philadelphia, the flu would kill 759 people in one day Source: https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/journal-plague-year-180965222/ -
Influenza Had Spread Across US
Doctors were unsure what caused the outbreak or how to treat it. There were no effective drugs or vaccines for this flu virus, so an estimated 675,000 Americans had died from it Source: http://www.history.com/topics/1918-flu-pandemic -
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Summer of 1919
This deadly Spanish flu pandemic came to end in the summer of 1919. It grew less deadly and evolved into a seasonal influenza. (History.com)(smithsonianmag.com) -
First Licensed Flu Vaccine in America
The very first licensed flu vaccine came out in America in the 1940's since there was none previously. Now there was a way to prevent the flu, while back in the 1918's there was no vaccine and no way of preventing it, so the Spanish flu simply spread and killed more and more (History.com)