LEARNING THROUGH HISTORY
(Vol. 3, No. 6)
Nov./Dec. 2005, pp. 49-51

© 2005 Learning Through History Magazine www.learningthroughhistory.com. All rights reserved. Reprinted with permission.

The Purple Death

Spanish Influenza

By Sara Francis Fujimura

• U.S. at war. Mystery virus leaps around the globe killing scores in its path. Scientists race to find a cure.

     Those were the headlines in 1918. Meanwhile, hundreds of thousands of American troops headed to Europe to fight Kaiser Wilhelm II. Back at home, schoolgirls had a new jumprope chant at recess:

      I had a little bird
     And its name was Enza
     I opened the window
     And in-flew-Enza

     The Spanish flu, or influenza, left its devastating mark in both world and American history that year. The microscopic killer claimed the lives of more than twenty-one million people as it circled the earth. The United States lost more lives to the Spanish flu in one year--675,000 people--than it did to the whole Great War. In fact, the Spanish flu caused more deaths than World War I, World War II, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War combined.

The First Victims

     Despite its name, researchers believe the Spanish flu actually began in the United States. One of the first recorded cases was at Fort Riley, Kans., on March 11, 1918. Overcrowding and unsanitary conditions allowed the virus to spread quickly between soldiers. In one week, the virus infected over five hundred men at Fort Riley, but it didn't stop there. It spread to other military training bases. Soon after, navy ships reported outbreaks of severe influenza among their crewmembers too. The virus hitchhiked to Europe with the doughboys and quickly spread across the continent.

Naming a Killer

     Though it started like the common winter flu--sore throat, chills, and fever--this new virus had a deadly twist. It attacked victim's lungs, leaving them hard and red. The damaged lungs rapidly filled with bloody liquid. The person would literally drown in his or her own body, sometimes within hours and often in only one day. In fact, American doctors named this strange flu the Purple Death because of the bluish-black color the victim's skin turned as he or she slowly died from lack of oxygen.

     The Spanish flu got its name by accident. Though both the Allied forces and Central Powers lost huge numbers of soldiers to the flu, both worked hard to hide their losses. So when neutral Spain openly reported that millions of its people had died from the flu in only two months, it was this story that shot around the world. Despite protests from Spain, the world dubbed the new killer virus the Spanish flu.

Virus on the Move

     The Spanish flu didn't stay in Europe for long. It hitchhiked on trains, merchant vessels, and naval carriers around the globe. It spread east to Asia, south through India, and out into the Pacific Ocean to attack the Philippines, New Zealand, and Hawaii. Then the doughboys brought it back home to America.

     During the virus's loop around the world, it changed, or mutated. Normally, the flu is only life-threatening to the elderly, young children, and people with weak immune systems. Most adults have had the flu virus enough times in the past that their bodies can fight the newest version. Adults may become sick, but they rarely die. The Spanish flu was completely unrecognized by most people's bodies. Even stranger, the Spanish flu seemed to work the opposite way of most influenzas. Adults died more often, sadly leaving many orphaned children behind.

Flu Hits the American Public

     The second and third waves of the Spanish flu pounded all Americans, not just the doughboys, in the fall and winter of 1918. At its worst--October 1918--Spanish flu killed 195,000 Americans in one month. All totaled, researchers believe that one-third of the American population in 1918 contracted the virus, though not everyone died. Still, hospitals were packed, and overwhelmed undertakers quickly ran out of coffins. Streetcars became makeshift hearses to carry away the dead.

     Across much of America, life abruptly stopped. Anywhere large groups of people met, the virus could easily spread. So children were sent home from school. Movie houses and concert halls closed. Some cities even closed churches. In Chicago, police officers arrested anyone seen sneezing or coughing in public.

     Meanwhile, doctors and nurses wrung their hands. Doctors couldn't cure Spanish flu, nor did they know how to prevent it. The public came up with some strange ideas on how to protect themselves. Some people wore garlic cloves around their necks. Others ate poisonous kerosene dropped onto sugar cubes. And some believed that keeping a live deer beside their bed at night would protect them!

     (See picture, "Emergency Hospital at Camp Funston, Kansas.")

     Today's doctors can use vaccines and antiviral medicines to stop the spread of deadly viruses. They can use ventilators to help people who can't breathe on their own. But doctors in 1918 didn't have any of these things available to them. In fact, researchers couldn't even correctly identify the virus. The electron microscope--the only way to see the extremely tiny virus--wouldn't be invented until 1931 by German Ernst Ruska. And just as it mysteriously appeared, suddenly the Spanish flu virus vanished, leaving scientists scratching their heads.

Influenza Today

     Eighty-seven years later, scientists still haven't unlocked all the mysteries surrounding the Spanish flu. Though they have been able to identify the virus, they still don't know how it came to Fort Riley. And they are just now beginning to learn what made this influenza virus so deadly.

     Recently, a team of U.S. scientists were able to recreate the exact virus that caused the Spanish flu using lung tissue from victims of the 1918 epidemic. What they discovered is that the Spanish flu was an avian flu, meaning it originated in birds. Unlike other avian-type flu viruses that have jumped from birds to humans, the 1918 strain appears to not have mixed with any human flu viruses before making the jump, making it more deadly.

     What if the Spanish flu suddenly reappeared today or another type of avian flu jumps to humans? According to Dr. Robert Webster, an expert on influenza, we don't need to worry very much. He believes that with today's advanced technology, scientists could quickly identify the virus and provide a vaccine to protect people against it. For those who would get the Spanish flu, "today's flu drugs--Tamiflu ^{[[SYM="0174"]][[/SYM]]} , Flumadine ^{[[SYM="0174"]][[/SYM]]} , Symmetrel ^{[[SYM="0174"]][[/SYM]]} , and Relenza ^{[[SYM="0174"]][[/SYM]]} --would all be effective," says Webster.

     We may not have solved the entire Spanish flu mystery, but scientists have learned a lot of lessons from it. So say thanks the next time you to roll up your sleeve for your annual flu shot!

About the Author

      Sara Francis Fujimura is a free-lance writer in Arizona with a degree in public health education. She is currently at work on a young adult historical fiction novel set during the 1918 flu outbreak in Nashville, Tenn. Her work has appeared in Life, New Moon, Scholastic's Science World, Appleseeds, and many other publications.

Discussion or Essay Questions

     What made the 1918 influenza virus so deadly as compared to more ordinary flus?

     It took almost one year for the virus to circle around the globe in 1918. How long do you think it would take for the virus to travel around the world today? Why?

     Scientists and public health officials today are concerned about a type of flu virus spread by birds--especially a highly virulent strain officially labeled H5N1--known as avian flu. Do some research using the Internet or library (try searching magazines that cover current events) to find out more about avian flu. Does avian flu usually affect humans? What makes this new strain so worrisome to health officials? Where have most of the cases occurred so far?

Want to Read More?

Ages 4-8

      A Doctor Like Papa (F) by Natalie Kinsey-Warnock

      The Name of the Child (F) by Marilynn Reynolds

Ages 9-12

      Purple Death: The Mysterious Flu of 1918 by David Getz

      A Time of Angels (F) by Karen Hesse

Ages 12+

      The Influenza Pandemic of 1918 by Virgina Aronson

      The Great Influenza: The Epic Story of the Deadliest Plague in History by John M. Barry

      America's Forgotten Pandemic: The Influenza of 1918 by Alfred W. Crosby

Online Articles (Older Readers)

      Overview of influenza
     http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs211/en/index.html

      Maps showing Spanish influenza impact on U.S. population
     http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/influenza/maps/index.html