The Forgotten Pandemic

     For the past 11 months, the COVID-19 pandemic has been raging throughout the world. This pandemic has led to the world going on lockdown and wearing masks(mostly). One hundred and two years ago, there was a similar pandemic that killed over 50 million people, but it was mostly forgotten in history until its centenary, and when COVID-19 began spreading around the world. During the pandemic's 100th anniversary, the Wikipedia page for the pandemic set a record for getting 144,000 views in a month. In March 2020, the Wikipedia page broke its previous record with 8.2 million views. This pandemic was the 1918 flu or influenza pandemic, but it was more commonly known as the Spanish flu because of a misconception on where the virus originated.

Empty streets in Wuhan

    

    The 1918 influenza's origin is still debated to this day, but one thing is certain. The virus that caused the pandemic did not originate from Spain, as many people thought back in that time. Many people thought that the virus came from Spain because most of the Allies in WWI were not reporting information about it to keep up morale in troops and citizens, yet Spain kept on reporting because of their neutral position in the war. Many people saw Spain was the only country reporting about the flu, so they thought it must have come from Spain. The locations that scientists say the virus could have originated from are war trenches in Etaples, France, or Camp Funston in Haskell, Kansas. Many researchers believe that the virus originated in Kansas because the genetic make-up of the virus is of North American origins.

Flu patients in Camp Funston

    In March 1918, the first cases of influenza were recorded in soldiers at Camp Funston. Over the next six months, the flu activity spread unevenly through the United States, Europe, and Asia. In September, the second wave of influenza started, emerging from Camp Devens, an army training camp in Boston. This second wave was the most fatal, resulting in the most deaths attributed to the pandemic. The number of nurses was not enough for the deluge of cases, as most of them were serving soldiers abroad. New York, San Francisco, and Chicago began issuing lockdowns, recommending quarantines for cases ,and recommending residents to wear masks in public, similar to the COVID-19 pandemic. The end of WWI caused a resurgence of cases because of the celebration on Armistice Day, and the return of abroad soldiers. Health officials then began educating the public about the pandemic, and the dangers of "nasal discharges." A third wave began in the winter and spring of 1919, which subsided in the summer. The pandemic subsided, but the virus H1N1 that causes influenza continued circulating, and mutations of H1N1 such as H2N2 and H3N2 later triggered pandemics.

    The 1918 flu pandemic shares many similarities with the COVID-19 pandemic. Both viruses spread quickly, infecting much of the countries they spread through. Both had no effective vaccines, treatments, or antiviral drugs at the beginning of their spread. Quarantining, using disinfectants, wearing masks, and limiting public gatherings were recommended for both, although these practices were applied more inconsistently during the 1918 flu pandemic. Both had overburdened and showed the ineffectiveness of the American health care system. They were both very similar pandemics, which allowed the world to learn and be prepared, but historians ignored the 1918 flu, preventing many from gaining knowledge of the pandemic.

People wearing masks at a sports game

    Although the 1918 flu was a deadly pandemic that caused over 50 million deaths, it has been ignored in history for the most part. The Encyclopedia Britannica didn't even give a mention of the pandemic in its 1924 review of the "most eventful years" of the 20th century. In the 1,300 pages with contributions from professors, politicians, and scientists, there was no mention of the pandemic that killed more people than all WWI casualties just 6 years ago. In textbooks, the 1918 flu pandemic is often just given a small mention. Even though 50 million people died, including many medical officers, we built no memorials. Many factors that caused this, but the main one is WWI. The pandemic began during the war and continued after the end. A war that had many participating countries all around the world, with many soldiers fighting night and day to protect civilians from Hitler and the Nazis. The war was an accomplishment, while the pandemic was a colossal failure by the medical industry. WW1 provided a clear narrative with a global conflict with high stakes, and heroes. The 1918 flu pandemic provided nothing. Its origin was unclear, its ability to kill so many healthy people was unclear, and its disappearance was unclear. Scientists didn't even know that it was caused by a virus until eleven years later. WWI was a narrative of freedom, nationalism, and sacrifice, all symbols that the common public can connect with. Soldiers went abroad to fight for their country and freedom. They were willing to sacrifice themselves for the greater good, which is why they received many memorials. The 1918 flu just killed random healthy adults and medical officials, which led to them becoming forgotten, therefore receiving no memorials. There are many personal stories and accounts of WW1, yet there are few of the 1918 flu. The 1918 flu also exposed the flaws of the American health care system and medicine, which is why many medical workers were hesitant to mention it. 

    The COVID-19 pandemic may share many similarities with the 1918 influenza pandemic, but it will be more difficult for it to be forgotten in the world's collective memory. COVID-19 is not being overshadowed by a global war that is "the war to end all wars", nor is it only spreading in 3 continents. Although the 1918 flu was forgotten in history, it was not forgotten in the medical industry. It led to a greater understanding of practices such as quarantining, social distancing, wearing masks, and their impact on preventing the spread of contagious diseases. These strides in knowledge led to much better handling of pandemics, such as the 2009 swine flu and COVID-19. COVID-19 could have been a much more deadly pandemic, and we owe the world's better pandemic response to the knowledge gained from the 1918 flu, the forgotten pandemic.

Images from:

Wuhan streets-Kajian buktikan 'lockdown' berjaya bendung kes Covid-19 di Wuhan (sinarharian.com.my)

Camp Funston patients-Was 1918s Spanish Flu An Early Depopulation Tool Of The Parasitic Globalists? (allnewspipeline.com)

People wearing masks at a sports game-Lessons from 1918: Old pandemic is a murky guide for sports | Country Herald