The 1918 Pandemic: An Infectious Disease

A pandemic is an outbreak of an infectious disease that spreads through human populations across a large region, whether that be multiple continents or worldwide. In order to be considered a pandemic, a disease must cross international boundaries and be contagious or infectious. Pandemics are usually caused by a new virus strain that humans have either very little or no immunity against. This contagious virus spreads easily from person to person, through direct contact or coughing and sneezing. A serious illness is caused worldwide from the virus, wiping out entire populations. Some of the deadliest pandemics include the Black Death, the Spanish influenza, and the second cholera pandemic.

The Bubonic Plague, known as The Black Death, originated

in China. An outbreak of the plague occurred in China in the early 1330s before it spread to western Asia and Europe. China was one of the busiest trading nations of the world, making it very easy to spread the virus via merchant ships. The Bubonic Plague arrived in Europe from such ships in October 1347, when several Italian trading ships docked in Sicily after returning from a trip to the Black Sea. Many of the sailors on board were already dead or suffering from the plague. The disease spread to the city and surrounding areas within days and by the following summer, it had reached England, where it received the name “The Black Death.” The English called it this because of the black spots it produced on the skin. Other symptoms included fever, hallucinations, chills, vomiting, diarrhea, and aches. The virus continued to spread throughout Europe with no medicine or cure to stop it. In the winter, the disease seemed to vanish, however, only because the fleas carrying it from person to person were dormant then. The plague attacked every spring, killing more and more people. One-third of Europe’s population was killed after five years (about 25 million people). Smaller outbreaks continued for centuries even after the worst of it was over, and the disease didn’t disappear until the 1600s.
The influenza pandemic, known as the “Spanish Flu”, lasted from 1918 to 1919 and infected around 500 million people around the world.

Although it’s still unknown exactly where the specific strain of influenza that caused the pandemic came from, the 1918 flu was first observed in Europe, the U.S., and parts of Asia before spreading around the world in a matter of months. Spain was one of the earliest countries to be hit by the disease, giving it the name the Spanish Flu, despite the fact that it wasn’t isolated in one place. An estimated 20 million to 50 million victims were killed by the flu, though other estimates run as high as 100 million. It’s impossible to know exact numbers due to the lack of medical records kept at the time. Surprisingly, many of these victims were previously healthy, young adults that were normally resistant to that type of contagious disease. Like many other illnesses during this time, doctors had no idea what caused the flu or how to treat it because there were no effective vaccines or drugs to treat the flu. Making matters worse, World War l had left most of America with a shortage of physicians, and many of those available came down with the flu themselves. Schools and homes had to be used as makeshift hospitals run by medical students because hospitals in some areas were so crammed with patients. The public health departments imposed quarantines and ordinances in an attempt to confine the spread of the disease. Citizens were ordered to wear

masks and shut down public places and people were advised to avoid contact with others. Those who failed to follow these regulations had to pay a fine. The flu pandemic finally came to an end in the summer of 1919; those infected either died or developed immunity. There have been several other flu pandemics since 1918, though none have been near as deadly.
The second cholera pandemic, also known as the Asiatic Cholera Pandemic, originated in Bengal in northeast China.

Unlike the first cholera pandemic in 1817, the second one also affected countries in Europe and North America in addition to Asia. Of the seven total cholera pandemics, many consider this one the greatest of the 19th century. Cholera caused more deaths, more quickly than any other epidemic disease of the 1800s. It is an infectious disease that causes severe diarrhea that can lead to dehydration and death if untreated. Eating food or drinking water contaminated with a bacterium called Vibrio cholerae causes cholera. After the first pandemic had diminished throughout Asia by1824, the disease began spreading again from Bengal in 1826. It began with outbreaks in the Ganges River of Bengal and quickly spread throughout most of India. It had moved into Afghanistan and Persia by 1829 and surfaced in Russia in August of that year. From Russia, the disease travelled to Poland and eventually Hungary, Germany, Berlin, England, Scotland, and Wales. While the disease was penetrating most of Europe, it had also reached areas in Mesopotamia and the Arabian Peninsula by 1831. Thousands of Muslim pilgrims from Mecca died from the disease and carried it into Palestine, Syria, and Egypt that year. Mecca continued to be infected by cholera until about 1912. The disease also reached Portugal in 1833, from an English ship that docked in Portugal. Cholera’s path east of India remains

a mystery today. Like many other pandemics throughout history, no realistic estimate of total mortality of the Asiatic Cholera Pandemic is possible, although some place the numbers around three million. Nonetheless, some places around the world suffered severely.
There have been a number of significant pandemics recorded in human history, wiping out vast amounts of countries’ populations through time. These diseases acted as sort of a natural selection; those genetically immune survived, producing generations that were also immune. Thanks to vaccines and medicines now, many of these diseases are completely or mostly eradicated today. Although there are still modern illnesses that currently affect people worldwide, we don’t have pandemics or epidemics nearly as often today because of technology and medications.