Gravestones of victims of the 1918 flu pandemic are seen in. The story follows major noble through his inspection trip of camp funston in kansas, which was an early site of this particularly acute flu that developed into pneumonia. How did the camp funston patient zero story get started. It was called camp funston, in kansas, near modernday fort riley. British science journalist laura spinney sets us all straight in pale rider. In 1918 the united states was involved in world war i, but was also dealing with the outbreak of a deadly influenza epidemic. However for a book about the 1918 19 influenza pandemic to spend about 80 pages in the 19th century to me. The history and legacy of the worlds deadliest influenza outbreak. Every once in a while you hear someone quote some scary statistics about the great influenza of 1918, when 600,000 americans died from the flu, and one in every four people was taken ill.
Emergency hospital during 1918 influenza pandemic, camp. But at the end of summer, a mutation transformed the mundane virus into a lethal disease, and the massive transport of people around the world in service. The covers of both books feature the same striking 1918 photograph. As a sort of ground zero of the 1918 flu pandemic, it is worth taking a look at conditions at camp funston. Alden the philadelphia inquirer kolata reports this story with all the fervor of coleridges ancient mariner, gripping her readers in the books first paragraph. The 1918 influenza was first identified in the spring, according to the centers for disease control, and in an army camp, no less. It has been cited as the most devastating epidemic in recorded world history. The story of the great influenza pandemic of 1918 and the search for the virus that caused it. Spanish flu killed magdalena soldier after reporting to camp. An improvised influenza treatment ward at camp funston, kansas, 1918. The flu spread rapidly among soldiers and sailors of all nations before returning to the. The influenza pandemic of 1918 the influenza pandemic of 1918 1919 killed more people than the great war, known today as world war i wwi, at somewhere between 20 and 40 million people. How the 1918 flu pandemic unfolded in the pages of the. Within a few days, soldiers at the camp began falling ill, and some infected soldiers had already been deployed, thus spreading it to europe.
Views of from a 4fold postcard of camp funston mailed from junction city, kansas. English camp funston, at fort riley, kansas, during the 1918 spanish flu pandemic influenza had swept the globe earlier in the year, but as it was generally mild it had caused little concern. These men, and probably others unnamed by the paper, were exposed to influenza and would have arrived in funston between february 26 and march 2. The pandemic hit in three different waves during 1918. In fact most historians believe that the first wave of 1918 spanish influenza in the world began on march 4, 1918 at camp funston, kansas, 120 miles west of the missouri border. The site of origin of the 1918 influenza pandemic and its public. American red cross at love field, spraying soldiers throats, nov. An excerpt for the memoirs of a survivor at camp funston of the pandemic survivor. The first serious outbreak in the united states began at camp funston now fort riley in kansas.
Some books will argue for haskell county the great influenza by john barry and others put it more specifically to camp funston at fort riley, kansas influenza 1918 by lynette lezzoni. Outbreaks of flu like illness are first detected in the united states. In august 1918, cases of the flu began to pop up in switzerland that were more virulent than ever, barry wrote. In the first week it had spread from kansas to queens and boston. I enjoyed this book about the 1918 influenza pandemic, which also included numerous historic facts and nuances. The influenza epidemic of 1918 first appeared at the camp in march 4, 1918. In this book, spinney blends tales of incomprehensible rates of illness with. By may 1918, american servicemen had brought the flu to europe. Camp funston is thought to have suffered the first major outbreak of the influenza epidemic of 1918. The 19181919 influenza pandemic killed more people than any other.
On march 4 the first soldier at the camp reported ill with influenza at sick call. On march 11, 1918 company cook albert mitchell reported to the infirmary at camp funston, kansas, a subpost of fort riley. Book shows 1918 flus impact on us sports sports the. Both of these books covers feature the same striking 1918 photograph, a cavernous, crowded emergency ward of stricken soldiers at camp funston in central kansas. Camp funston was the training camp for draftees from missouri, kansas, and a few other states during the buildup that would send about 2 million doughboys overseas. The story of the great influenza pandemic of 1918 and the. The influenza pandemic of 1918 1919 killed more people than the great war, known today as world war i wwi, at somewhere between 20 and 40 million people. Soldiers suffering from influenza at the hospital in camp funston, kansas in 1918. This first wave of the flu in the spring of 1918 spread rapidly, but was less deadly than the second wave, which came in the autumn of 1918. C influenza a h1n1 virustransmission electron micrograph. Modern transportation, such as the railways served a perfect delivery system. How the horrific 1918 flu spread across america the toll of historys worst epidemic surpasses all the military deaths in world war i and world war ii combined. The spanish flu of 1918 and how it changed the world.
Did a virus in horse manure launch the 1918 influenza. Most people know the story of the utter calamity the flu pandemic and the. Army training camp established on the fort riley reservation near mahattan, kansas. Before the end of the month, 1,100 men had been hospitalized, and 20 percent of those men developed pneumonia. The site of origin of the 1918 influenza pandemic and its. The story of the great influenza pandemic of 1918 and the search for the virus that caused it kolata, gina on. Pandemic of 1918 killed nm soldier 16 days after he. But the problem with the flu is that it mutates very rapidly and so while it can be one virus now, in a few months, it can mutate to a totally different type of flu. Flu spread rapidly among army camps as troops were rushed through on their way to the front. Killer flu that swept the world began in kansas in 1918. He had a slight headache, a mild sore throat and a lowgrade fever.
The first cases of the outbreak were recorded in haskell county, kansas, and fort riley, kansas, where young men were being hospitalized for severe flu like symptoms. In march 1918, some of the first recorded american cases of what came to be the worldwide influenza pandemic, also known as spanish flu, were reported at camp funston. Camp funston had long been considered as the site where the pandemic started until my historical research, published in 2004, pointed to an earlier outbreak in. Camp funston is believed to have been the first and deadliest locations in the united states where the virulent virus known alternately as the 1918 flu or the h1n1 virus or, erroneously, the. Camp funston is believed to have been the first and deadliest locations in the united states where the virulent virus known alternately as the 1918 flu or the h1n1 virus or, erroneously, the spanish flu.
The story of the great influenza pandemic of 1918 and. The story of the deadliest pandemic in history 2nd edition by barry, john m isbn. As the military sent large numbers of soldiers and sailors to military establish ments all over the united states, influenza traveled with them. The world remains unprepared to handle a major epidemic, a new. The looming threat to humanity and how to stop it, global health expert dr. Beds with patients in an emergency hospital in camp funston, kansas. Flu epidemic of 1918 kansapedia kansas historical society. The book looks at the effect that the flu and world war i had on the 1918 pro baseball season. Camp funston was where the influenza epidemic which would kill more than 50. A little over one hundred years ago, a novel virus emerged from an.
National museum of health and medicine an improvised influenza treatment ward at camp funston, kansas, 1918 a little over one hundred years ago, a novel virus emerged from an unknown animal reservoir and seeded itself silently in settlements around the world. When the spanish influenza hit dallas 1918 flashback. Worldwide flu outbreak killed 45,000 american soldiers. The first outbreak of flu like illnesses was detected in the u. Recruits arrived there in early march from haskell county, kansas, where influenza was known to be. On march 4, 1918, the army installation at camp funston, kan. Jeremy brown and catharine arnold document how the flu killed 50100 million. Albert gitchell, or in some accounts mitchell, was a cook at camp funston or fort riley, kansas, who fell ill on march 11, 1918 in some accounts march 4 and reported to the infirmary first thing, followed shortly by others named, and then a hundred, all with the same complaints of. That would have been the end of it, had not soldiers from camp funston, the second largest army camp in the u. The spanish flu of 1918 and how it changed the world by laura spinney 2018 with the covid 19 pandemic gaining momentum and many of us entering uncharted territory it is always worth reflecting on what. By the first week of march 1918, a severe strain of flu had infected soldiers at camp funston, which was part of fort riley, kansas. Patients in an emergency hospital in camp funston, kansas, during. The influenza epidemic the progress of this disease from the east toward camp funston was being watched with the intention of a recommendation to the commanding general that the camp be placed in quarantine as soon as the epidemic had reached chicago or other cities at about that distance from camp funston.
The first wave of the 1918 influenza epidemic in the united states broke out in kansas in january or. If youre unfamiliar with the history of the spanish flu of 1918, or if your understanding of the pandemic is rooted in what you read many years ago, you may be unfamiliar with its tragic dimensions. An improvised influenza treatment ward at camp funston, kansas, 1918 a little over one hundred years ago, a novel virus emerged from an unknown animal reservoir and seeded itself silently in settlements around the world. Emergency hospital during 1918 influenza pandemic, camp funston, kansas. A chart showing the daily admissions to the camp funston base hospital for influenza and pneumonia in 1917 and 1918. Courtesy of the national museum of health and medicine, armed forces institute of pathology, washington, d. The spanish influenza pandemic of 1918 1919 caused as many as 50 million deaths worldwide about 600,000 of which were in the united states 11 times greater than the number of american casualties during world war i.
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