October 1918: One of the deadliest months in history due to the Spanish flu pandemic

One hundred years after the event, October 1918 is considered one of the deadliest months in America due to the number of deaths caused by the so-called Spanish flu. By the time the pandemic subsided in 1920, more than 675,000 Americans died, leaving life expectancy on the ground and thousands of orphans.

Fever of the three days of spring 1918

The first phase of the disease began in the spring of 1918. What was then called the "three-day fever" is apparently out of nowhere, the first case having been recorded in a training camp of the US Army in Kansas.

It all started with cook Albert Gitchell, who complained of flu symptoms in the morning, and at lunchtime 107 soldiers were already affected. In the space of five weeks, more than 1,000 soldiers were infected, 47 of whom died before the end of the summer.

Back of the autumn flu

In the fall, the diseases reappeared and this time much more serious than in the spring. Some patients would have died a few hours after the onset of the first symptoms, while others died after a few days, when their lungs were filled with fluid and had ended up being s & # 39; 39; choke.

At the time, the United States, France and Britain silenced the news about epidemics, but in Spain, a spring epidemic in Madrid was reported. It is for this reason that the autumn pandemic was finally called "Spanish flu", even if it did not necessarily come from Spain.

Devastation in cities

Soon, the disease also affected civilians, rural and urban areas being affected by the flu. Cities are struggling to contain the public, both in terms of public health and potential panic that is spreading to the masses. Without a centralized agency to contain the problem, cities had to manage their own territories.

Among them, Philadelphia was one of the hardest hit by the refusal of a public health director to cancel a parade attended by more than 200,000 people. In three days, the Philadelphia hospitals were filled and the city was about to collapse.

October 1918

In October, public places such as churches, schools and theaters were closed, businesses had to change their opening and closing hours to minimize crowds during rush hours and people had to wear mask. Those who are not, have been dubbed "mask masks" and would sometimes be rejected from public transport. In Philadelphia alone, more than 11,000 people died during this month, 759 of whom died, which was considered the worst day of the epidemic.

At that time, the drivers of open wagons were roaming the streets, shouting "Bring out your dead!" And recover the bodies of those who died, to put them in mass graves. More than 195,000 Americans died in October 1918 alone and by the time the disease began to subside in 1920, more than 675,000 Americans had died.

Life expectancy dropped from 51 to 39 years that year and thousands of children became orphans. In just a few months, the so-called Spanish flu has killed more people than any other disease ever recorded, since it has touched a fifth of the world's population. In total, the Spanish flu has killed around 50 million people worldwide in just one year.

American mistrust begins?

Doctors and scientists were lost for what had caused the public health disaster and how to save more lives because of the mysterious cause of diseases. Rumors have even begun to circulate that it was caused by toxic gases released in US ports. Some also thought that the German company Bayer had altered their aspirin tablets.

Even though October 1918 is not always mentioned in the catastrophic events of history, some think it is one of the events that fueled Americans' fear of foreign elements and the world, especially as they unfolded at the same time.

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