Global & Disaster Medicine

Paying respect to the pandemic influenza of 100 years ago

NYT

“……This month is another centennial of death and destruction; the influenza epidemic was raging, killing around 195,000 Americans in October alone (for reference, about 116,500 American soldiers died in the whole war, with more than half of those deaths from disease, mostly influenza).

Many of the most haunting images of the 1918 influenza pandemic come from October 1918, when the disease was particularly severe in Philadelphia, with corpses piled up awaiting burial, and bodies buried in packing crates because there weren’t enough coffins. Many cities closed their movie theaters and prohibited public gatherings.

It is estimated that the pandemic killed 50 million to 100 million people worldwide………”


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