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CONNEAUT – In North America, the Spanish flu began to be felt in the United States.
In just a few months, a disease imported from Europe by soldiers returning from the First World War has devastated communities all over the country. In Ohio alone, more than one million Ohioans have contracted the Spanish flu and 17,000 of them have died as a result of the disease.
On Wednesday, Michael Kimmel, Conneaut's retired teacher, and Conneaut's Department of Health will present a lecture on how the Spanish flu ravaged Conneaut in late 1918 and early 1919.
The conference "Conneaut: learning from the past, protecting the future – 100 years after the Spanish flu" will take place at 10 am and at 6 pm at Conneaut Public Library, 304 Buffalo Street
Health Department staff will provide information and will also distribute free flu prevention kits to all participants. "The importance of the influenza vaccine is an important part of the program," Kimmel said.
Kimmel will revisit a topic that he taught students in 1988, the 70th anniversary of the pandemic. Some of the students studying the dynamics and longevity of the population also collected data from the Department of Health.
The records show a sharp increase in the number of deaths due to the Spanish flu, influenza or pneumonia, the latter being usually caused by one type of flu. At one point, 65% of all deaths in the city resulted from these diseases, Kimmel said.
"It's a judgment of the doctors as to the cause of death," he said.
The Spanish flu would fluctuate during this period. One week, the number of cases would decrease considerably, leaving hope for the end of the epidemic. The following week, dozens of locals would be hit.
"There have been waves," Kimmel said. "In a week, 16 people died, up to four a day."
Ultimately, the flu epidemic would rival the last weeks of the First World War for newspaper coverage. The stories of the time show in detail how a disease can put a community on their knees.
In early October, the journal Conneaut News-Herald announced that a flu was spreading in the state. In an October 10 issue, the paper said Conneaut had been spared the disease and was in "great shape".
A day later, two cases were reported in the city, resulting in the cancellation of the celebration of the homage to Italy.
The disease has spread like wildfire. On October 12, just two days after declaring the city flu-free, Dr. CW Dewey, the city's health officer, ordered quarantine of the city after more than 200 cases were reported . Schools, religious services and public gatherings have been canceled. Houses where influenza was reported had signs to warn visitors.
Quarantine would last until December. The people who violated the non-meeting order were arrested and the number of clients allowed to enter at once was limited in the stores.
Conneaut Hospital was packed. The former Lakeview Hotel has been converted into a rescue hospital, run by the American Red Cross, where flu patients could be isolated.
The obituaries were filled with residents who had succumbed to the flu or pneumonia. To refute rumors that the city was minimizing the epidemic, the health department published a big ad in the newspaper, which contained statistics gathered between Oct. 21 and Nov. 29. 6
During this brief period, 651 cases of influenza have been reported, according to the Department of Health. "It's sad to say that service companies have been too busy to be weighed down by the demand to provide separate totals of city figures," according to the advertisement.
As many residents from outside as residents would die at the local hospital, advertising announced.
The effects of influenza persisted until 1919. Near Kingsville, schools were closed in January. The Township of Monroe closed its schools for three weeks in mid-December, in part because of colds and mild cases of influenza, as well as parents' fear of exposing their students to serious illness, according to an article in newspaper.
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