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October 10, 1918. “Des Moines goes under quarantine today.” Thus read the first line of a front-page article on the influenza epidemic in the city’s newspaper, the Des Moines Register. Influenza had been circulating in the city for the past two weeks, but the number of cases reported had been small.
- Detroit, Michigan and The 1918-1919 Influenza Epidemic
Notes. 1 “Spanish Influenza Hits River Rouge,” Detroit Free...
- Denver, Colorado and The 1918-1919 Influenza Epidemic
28 “Police Will Enforce Flu Masking Order,” Denver Post, 25...
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Produced by the University of Michigan Center for the...
- Detroit, Michigan and The 1918-1919 Influenza Epidemic
- Many Deaths
- The Iowa Situation
- Wearing Masks
- A Vaccine May Help
- Hog Flu
- No Cure
When the influenza epidemic hit the United States in 1918 and 1919, more than 500,000 people died. Many of these deaths were among young people, traditionally the most healthy and best able to recover from an illness. But more than 125,000 young people would die. In fact, more than 30 in every 1,000 children between the ages of 5 and 9 would die fr...
Iowa was not immune from influenza. Especially hard hit were places where large numbers of people lived or worked closely together. At the University of Iowa 38 staff and students died from the flu or from pneumonia brought on by it. It was believed that the strict measures taken to control the disease helped contain the spread of the flu at the un...
People were afraid of the disease. Spanish Influenza was highly contagious. Cities across the United States closed public places to keep people from coming in contact with each other. Cities and small towns in Iowa closed schools and churches. Public gatherings were discouraged or cancelled. Many towns also required people to wear gauze masks over ...
One remedy that did seem to work in some cases was a vaccine developed by doctors at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota. Their vaccine used weakened germs of the disease as a base. These weakened germs were then injected into the body of a healthy person where they would begin to develop antibodies (cells resistant to the disease). Antibodies ...
Although 1920 saw the end of the flu with no cure in sight, an event that occurred in 1918 helped scientists later as they looked for cures and ways to prevent another flu epidemic. In the fall of 1918 the National Swine Show and Exposition in Cedar Rapids opened. But within a few days some of the swine became sick. Their symptoms appeared to be si...
For years afterwards, scientists studied the causes and looked for a cure for the flu. But they have never found a cure for the disease. They did learn that the influenza virus changes often, producing new types. The disease is still present today. Modern medicine has developed stronger and more effective vaccines that prevent some strains of the f...
Flu vaccines prevent about 7.5 million illnesses, 3.7 million doctor visits, 105,000 hospital stays and 6,300 deaths. Learn about flu pandemics, the flu (influenza) vaccine and its impact.
OVERVIEW. In the early 20th century, science was sufficiently sophisticated to anticipate that influenza, which had twice reached pandemic proportions in the late 19th century, would recur, but was largely powerless to blunt the devastating impact of the 1918 (H1N1) pandemic.
- Stacey L Knobler, Alison Mack, Adel Mahmoud, Stanley M Lemon
- 2005
- 2005
Influenza (flu) is a contagious illness caused by influenza viruses. Flu primarily affects the respiratory tract (e.g., nose, throat, chest, and lungs). The resources found in these web pages provide information for health professionals and the general public to help reduce the spread of flu in Iowa.
Dec 6, 2016 · 1. Introduction. Influenza pandemics, distinguished from epidemics on the basis of their geographical spread, have caused significant illness, death, and disruption for centuries.
Jul 16, 2009 · Before 1918, influenza in humans was well known, but the disease had never been described in pigs. 3 For pig farmers in Iowa, everything changed after the Cedar Rapids Swine Show, which was...
