Page 22 - All About History - Issue 56-17

EpidEmics

Day in the life

A US ARMY MEDIC

FIGHTING SPANISH FLU

UNITED STATES, OCTOBER 1918

With approximately five million US military personnel drafted during
World War I, crowded army camps and trenches were a breeding
ground for a deadly wave of influenza – Spanish flu. At the height
of America’s involvement in the conflict, Spanish flu infected up
to 40 per cent of the army and navy, diminishing the active
troops in their tens of thousands. Pressure on medics increased
to treat a virus that had developed a hardy immunity to
previous methods of treatment. Despite the medics’ best
efforts, by the end of the war more troops had died
from influenza than on the battlefield.
ADMISSION

The hospital tents, which had been separated from
the general casualties of war, were overcrowded
and overstretched, and admitting new patients was
a lengthy and laborious task. To give an idea of the
rate of the admission, the US Navy recorded a total
of 106,000 hospital admissions by the end of the
war due to influenza and pneumonia.

MAKING THE ROUNDS

Pressure to get troops back onto the battlefield was
high and the line officers were more concerned
about those well enough to fight as opposed
to those still sick. But when it was time for the
medical department to check on the patients, few,
if any, had made a full recovery.
TREATMENT

As the sickness spread, medical
officers sprayed the mouths
and throats of 800 patients
each day with a solution
called dichloramine-T as
a preventive measure.
Unfortunately, when they
compared influenza rates
amongst untreated men,
the medics found
the treatment made little to
no difference. Few infected with the new wave of
influenza survived due to a lack of
antibiotics that could offer a cure. It wasn’t
until 1930 that the disease became better
understood and controllable
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