The Flu of 1918

The flu of 1918, also known as the Spanish Flu, or the Great Influenza, took place in 1918 as World War one was coming to a close and it affected people all across the world even in remote pacific islands and the arctic. The virus infected 500 million people across the globe and killed 50 to 100 million of them ( 3-5 percent of the world population at that time). The flu was a type of H1N1 influenza virus and was spread by person to person contact and by indirect contact with contaminated surfaces or items and from sneezes and coughs. The victims suffered greatly, after feeling the initial symptoms of fever, fatigue, and headaches, the victims would turn blue. Sometimes the blue was so strong that it was hard to see what colour the person was before. There was a harsh cough, and sometimes the victims would cough so hard that they would tear abdominal muscles. Foamy blood came out of their mouths and noses, few people bleed from their ears, some vomited and some became incontinent. Many people died only hours after contracting it and some died days after.

 

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