Grade 10 History – Unit 1 Lesson 10

Spanish Flu

The Spanish Flu was a global pandemic that lasted between 1918 and 1919. The Spanish Flu killed between 20 and 100 million people (30,000 to 50,000 Canadians)…more people than killed in WWI or people who died during the four-years of the Black Death Bubonic Plague (1347-1351).

In total, nearly 20% of the world’s population was infected. Moreover, the Spanish Flu killed all age groups…an unknown pattern of death since most diseases prey on the weak (i.e., very young, old and sick). The epidemic has been called the most devastating epidemic in recorded world history.

In 1918, WWI was ending. It was a time to think of ending suffering and bringing peace to the world. Soldiers were returning home and trade routes, closed by naval warfare, were reopening. Yet, it became a time of horror as a deadly influenza virus spread along these routes.

The first recorded outbreaks occurred in military training camps throughout the USA and among French troops serving along the Western Front. The virus spread quickly from France to Spain where an estimated 8 million people died in one year, and thus, the name Spanish Flu.

The origin of the virus is unknown.

·  Were the German experimenting with biological warfare?

·  Were the poor and cramped living conditions in the trenches to blame?

·  Did migrant workers from China…where a strong pneumonic plague had killed 200,000 people between 1910 and 1917…carry the virus to Europe and North America?

·  Was there a natural genetic shift in the virus that made it so powerful?

The disease spread everywhere. It was found in large cities and remote villages in Canadian Far North. Even the harsh Canadian winter temperatures could not stop the spread of the Spanish Flu. To avoid contact, people starting wearing gauze breathing masks and/or staying indoors.

Today, scientists have used the tissue from a dead WWI soldier to reproduce the virus…to help us learn more about preventing another global pandemic. Is this a good idea?

Why do we not study this event in history with more detail?

How could the spread of the disease be limited or stopped? Do you ideas make sense?