Book 1918 flu epidemic in kansas city missouri

Other forms of prevention include hand washing and using alcoholbased hand sanitizers. How christians responded to spanish influenza in 1918 focus. Within a month, however, the number of patients dwindled and it seemed that the flu had passed its course. During the 1918 influenza pandemic, kansas city had one of the nations worst death rates. A fascinating book about the 1918 spanish flu pandemic that swept the globe, killing an estimated 20 million to more than 100 million people worldwide. Many believed that a person could contract the disease by handling documents and equipment. In the spirit of show me, we contacted the national center for immunization and respiratory diseases to be sure. In flu she does a fine job of reporting on the great influenza pandemic of 1918 19, and on the search for the virus that caused twenty to a hundred million deaths. Killer flu that swept the world began in kansas in 1918.

Patients being treated at an army ward in kansas during the influenza epidemic of 1918. Although commonly known in 191819 as the spanish flu, medical researchers traced the initial outbreak of the virulent strain of influenza not to spain but rather to central kansas and camp funston, a component of the armys sprawling fort riley training complex, where early patients were crowded into this makeshift hospital ward. Yet as world war i was drawing to a close, returning soldiers unwittingly brought spanish influenza home with them. Louis, missouri and the 19181919 influenza epidemic. Missouri struggles to deal with more than 40,000 flu cases. The national world war i museum and memorial in kansas city, missouri hosted this talk as part of. Saint joseph is a city in northwest missouri approximately 50 miles north of downtown kansas city.

The 1918 influenza epidemic, often mislabeled the spanish flu, hit in three waves. On march 4, 1918, an outbreak appeared at fort riley, with as many as 500 soldiers hospitalized within a week. In missouri, the flu epidemic resulted in social isolation and bizarre practices to combat the virus. The spanish flu of 1918 took an estimated 50 million to 100 million lives around the globe, including 675,000 in the u. President donald trump and the governors of kansas and missouri. Join shsmo in learning more about the 1918 flu epidemic in missouri with senior archivist kathleen seale. Apr 01, 2020 although commonly known in 191819 as the spanish flu, medical researchers traced the initial outbreak of the virulent strain of influenza not to spain but rather to central kansas and camp funston, a component of the armys sprawling fort riley training complex, where early patients were crowded into this makeshift hospital ward. The first wave of the influenza epidemic began, according to historians, just over 100 miles from missouri at camp funston in kansas in march 1918, with thousands of soldiers falling sick and 38 dying.

In march of 1918 the first unusual flu cases in the united states were reported among soldiers in fort riley, kansas. Influenza symptoms can include fever, cough, sore throat, runny or stuffy nose, body aches, headache, chills and fatigue. Kansas is now the nations hotspot for flulike symptoms, according to kinsa smart thermometer data. The virus was most deadly to adults aged 20 to 40 a portion of the population not usually as vulnerable to infectious disease. More than 100 soldiers at camp funston in fort riley kansas became ill with flu.

In a 2018 interview with kcurs central standard, sykesberry said kansas city was hit very hard by the 1918 flu because of politics. When the 1918 flu pandemic came to columbia, missouri. Sep 21, 2018 philadelphia threw a wwi parade that gave thousands of onlookers the flu the city sought to sell bonds to pay for the war effort, while bringing its citizens together during the infamous pandemic. Missouri history book award the state historical society. What the 1918 flu pandemic taught kansas city about dealing. Centuryold lessons apply to current pandemic kansas city. The missouri valley archives of the kansas city public library has the. Haskell county, kansas, lies in the southwest corner of the state, near oklahoma and colorado. Kansas in world war i bibliography kansas historical society. Parks, playgrounds still packed in kansas city amid covid19. See more ideas about influenza, flu epidemic and flu. During the 1918 flu epidemic, some 2,300 kansas citians died as a result of the city s inconsistent public health policy, sporadically opening and closing schools and businesses, allowing the.

The world was nearing the end of the first world war, causing the pandemic to spread fastest among. Deathly 1918 flu in kansas city offers coronavirus lesson the. Missouris influenza and pneumonia mortality rate in 1918, 476. Alumna and retired umkc librarian wrote thesis on 1918 flu. Flu epidemic of 1918 kansapedia kansas historical society. Both had developed bronchopneumonia after being infected by the spanish influenza.

Kansas city exhibit looks at 1918 flu pandemic news. The history and legacy of the worlds deadliest outbreak chronicles the devastating disease and the damage it wrought across the globe. Kansas city government was under the control of two powerful political bosses, democrats tom pendergast and joe shannon, who had an uneasy agreement to split the cities patronage jobs equally between them. The 1918 influenza pandemic in missouri killed thousands. Flu now worse in kansas than missouri according to kinsa. May 14, 2018 in 1918, many people got very sick, very quickly. Aug 21, 20 this is for background material and resources for a writing project. When discussing the history of the tragic 1918 influenza epidemic, st. In september outbreaks were reported in california and texas. It began with a relatively small outbreak in the spring of 1918. Missouri has been hit hard by the flu epidemic, with more than 40,000 cases already reported this year compared with 6,000 logged at the same time last year, cbs news noted st. Parks, playgrounds still packed in kansas city amid covid. Cloe marcia brown young, 25, died on december 5, 1918, at kansas city general hospital in missouri. A deadly influenza outbreak began in 1918 and spread around the world, killing more people than any other outbreak of disease in human history.

The books description would place haskell county in missouri rather than western kansas. Billy sunday and the 1918 flu pandemic presbyterian. Louis experienced one of the lowest excess death rates in the nation, just 358 per 100,000 people. Officials advised all persons to wear face masks, even indoors. Cities tried to halt the spread of the 1918 spanish flu. The story of the great influenza pandemic of 1918 and the. Typist wearing mask, new york city, october 16, 1918. Kansas has overtaken missouri as the state showing the highest percentage of flulike symptoms. Many believe it altered the course of the great war. A recent report used data from a smartthermometer company to dub missouri the epicenter of the influenza epidemic. Along with pictures and a bibliography, you will learn about the 1918 flu outbreak like never before, in no time at all. Because of the quick and sustained action by its leaders, st. Apr 01, 2020 cloe marcia brown young, 25, died on december 5, 1918, at kansas city general hospital in missouri. Following the lead of their colleagues in kansas city, the exact same events occurred in pittsburgh, pa under the direction of pittsburghs health director, dr.

And the epidemic spread more rapidly in kansas city, missouri. The first cases of influenza in kansas city, missouri developed among the citys two army motor corps schools, and from there spread to the civilian population. No, missouri is not the epicenter of the flu epidemic. My suggestion is to search for 1918 flu epidemic and spanish flu epidemic on amazons book search page. The first cases of the outbreak were recorded in haskell county, kansas, and fort riley, kansas, where young men were being hospitalized for severe flulike symptoms.

It was a plague so deadly that if a similar virus were to strike today, it would kill more people in a single year than heart disease, cancers, strokes, chronic pulmonary disease. Civilians free from influenza, kansas city star, 28 sept. It depends on your context general, medical details, historicalsocial impact, personal stories, photo essays, etc. The first death from spanish flu occurs 90 pages in, and the outbreak doesnt spread until another 80 pages have passed. However, a spokesperson for the national center for immunization and respiratory diseases had different views on the epidemic. During the 1918 influenza pandemic, kansas city had one of the nations. The epidemic affected the course of history and was a terrifying presence at the end of world war i, killing more americans in a single year than died in battle in world war i. Louisthe flu continues to run rampant, and its widespread in every state but hawaii. Other locations related to the pandemic are nearby, including camp funston at fort riley, kansas and haskell county. Kansas city just as the world watches a new influenza scare, an exhibit in kansas city will look at a 1918 pandemic that killed an estimated 50 million people worldwide. Directory diversity and inclusion libraries help central. Mar 27, 2020 when it was all over, the spanish flu killed an estimated 675,000 americans among a staggering 20 to 50 million people worldwide. Mar 20, 2020 the spanish flu of 1918 took an estimated 50 million to 100 million lives around the globe, including 675,000 in the u. Some have suggested that the epidemic originated in the united states.

Her husband, errett samuel young, 37, passed three days earlier. The 1918 flu epidemic devastated families and communities throughout the world. Barry described a january 1918 outbreak in haskell county, kansas, as the point of origin in his 2004 article. From march 10 to may 28 of that year, billy sunday held a series of revivals in chicago against the booze interests, campaigning to get prohibition on the statewide ballot that april. Louis, actively monitored the news from boston at the center of the nations influenza epidemic and watched the contagion as it spread westward. The spanish flu pandemic of 1918, the deadliest in history, infected an estimated 500 million people worldwideabout onethird of the planets populationand killed an estimated 20 million. In flu she does a fine job of reporting on the great influenza pandemic of 191819, and on the search for the virus that caused twenty to a hundred million deaths. After that, we get a good overview of the pandemic, although this is a very americanbased history. War, flu canceled missouri homecoming, entire football. Mar 30, 2016 it depends on your context general, medical details, historicalsocial impact, personal stories, photo essays, etc.

Born in clarence, and reared in carrollton, missouri, fred geary worked as a commercial artist for nearly thirty years at the fred harvey company in kansas city and was celebrated as a woodcut artist. The st louis red cross motor corps on duty with maskwearing women holding stretchers at the backs of ambulances during the influenza epidemic, st louis, missouri, october 1918. According to the annual report of the board of health, kansas city s civilian epidemic did indeed begin officially on september 27, 1918. An blog post stated, in part the 1918 flu epidemic puts every other epidemic of this century to shame, observed gina kolata in her book flu. Crosby stated in 2003 that the flu originated in kansas, and popular author john m.

Are there any good books about the 1918 flu pandemic. The city also had a ban on public gatherings, leading to the cancellation of missouris game with oklahoma. Philadelphia threw a wwi parade that gave thousands of onlookers the flu the city sought to sell bonds to pay for the war effort, while bringing its. The flu prevented daytoday operations from going smoothly. A books total score is based on multiple factors, including the number of people who have voted for it and how highly those voters ranked the book. Twin cities pandemic lessons from the spanish flu of 1918. Colliers descriptions of flu victims suddenly dying in the streets. It was nicknamed the spanish flu, the spanish lady and the blue death. In kansas, 26,000 cases were reported during the autumn of 1918. Alden the philadelphia inquirer kolata reports this story with all the fervor of coleridges ancient mariner, gripping her readers in the books first paragraph and not. Deathly 1918 flu in kansas city offers coronavirus lesson. The best way to prevent influenza is to get an influenza vaccine each year as soon as the vaccine is available to the public.

In 1918 sod houses were still common, barely distinguishable from. Their orphaned son, howard, 3, died later from the same virus, on december 28. Apr 18, 2020 twenty years earlier, from 188990, a similar flu epidemic had killed one million people worldwide but had only limited impact in the united states. There were reports of some people dying within 24 hours or less. By the end of the flu season the next spring, the city had counted 31,500 illnesses and 1,703 deaths. The second factual error had to do with the estimation of death from the. In doing my background readings, i was struck by the dramatic account of the epidemic presented in richard colliers book, the plague of the spanish lady. How christians responded to spanish influenza in 1918. When it was all over, the spanish flu killed an estimated 675,000 americans among a staggering 20 to 50 million people worldwide. Twenty years earlier, from 188990, a similar flu epidemic had killed one million people worldwide but had only limited impact in the united states. Fiction that involves the 1918 influenza epidemicpandemic also called the spanish flu that claimed the lives of 100 million people worldwide.

Jan 19, 2018 however, she added that it was still not to the level that we saw in the 201415 flu season, although it was beginning to look comparable to that, the kansas city star noted. Join john peterson, interpretive resource specialist at the missouri state museum, to learn more. Atlas and plat book of allen county, kansas, including a history of the world war and allen county honor roll. By october 1918, 24 countries had reported cases of influenza, and many had several deaths. Flu epidemic of 1918 in 1918 the united states was involved in world war i, but was also dealing with the outbreak of a deadly influenza epidemic.

Mar 26, 2020 during the 1918 flu epidemic, some 2,300 kansas citians died as a result of the city s inconsistent public health policy, sporadically opening and closing schools and businesses, allowing the. Kansas city, missouri and the 19181919 influenza epidemic the. Kansas city, missouri and the 19181919 influenza epidemic. Influenza activity in saint joseph, missouri 19101923. The story of the great influenza pandemic of 1918 and. Missouri history book award state historical society of. The 19181919 spanish influenza was the deadliest pandemic in history and citizens of kansas city died in larger numbers due to politics.

During october, the peak of the pandemic, influenza spread quickly through kansas city, topeka and lawrence, prompting statewide. In fact most historians believe that the first wave of 1918 spanish influenza in the world began on march 4, 1918 at camp funston, kansas, 120 miles west of the missouri border. One in every four americans caught it, and 12,000 kansans died of it or its complications. The world was nearing the end of the first world war, causing the pandemic to spread fastest among the soldiers who lived in close quarters. This flus history remains significant today as world health officials seek to prevent an outbreak of a similar influenza epidemic mutated from. In arkansas, the flu killed about 7,000 people, several times more than the state lost during world war i. The spanish flu of 1918 and how it changed the world. Thousands of military personnel worldwide developed influenza in the spring and early. There are few kansas cemeteries that dont hold victims of the 1918 flu. Twenty years ago, i began my ma research on the 1918 1919 spanish influenza epidemic in columbia, missouri.

The 19181920 h1n1 influenza a pandemic in kansas and missouri. It isnt effective to close kansas, and not missouri, when all people need to do is drive. Philadelphia threw a wwi parade that gave thousands of. Covid19 reminds of 1918 spanish flu pandemic ozarks alive. A new flu variety emerged when a cook at camp funston on the fort riley reservation in kansas reported ill on march 11, 1918. A much more prevalent and deadly wave began, at least in the united states, around the first of october and raged throughout the month before quickly subsiding. Killer flu that swept the world began in kansas in 1918 the. Louiss total access urgent care clinic has seen about 1,000 flu patients a day, which is double the usual amount, and doctor paul hinrichs confirmed that he had never seen such a high concentration of flu. The author supports the theory that the flu outbreak began in kansas, although does point out that there are alternative. Momentous events from the civil rights movement and the president kennedy. The 1910 city population was 77 408, growing slightly in 1920 and 1930 to populations of 77 948 and 77 939 in an area of. During the spanish flu of 1918, kansas city suffered harder than most.

Many of these soldiers were sent to europe to help fight in world war i. What the 1918 flu pandemic taught kansas city about. Spread to residence district, kansas city star, 27 sept. The biggest flu epidemics in history cold and flu center. Feb 15, 2018 by the end of the flu season the next spring, the city had counted 31,500 illnesses and 1,703 deaths. In march of that year, outbreaks of flulike illness were first detected in the united states.