One of the deadliest occurrences of human history is the 1918 “Spanish Flu” epidemic. Influenza spread to almost every part of the world and appeared in the United States, Britain, and France in the same year. Overall, the virus affected three to five percent of the world’s population, including the Arctic region and drastically decreased life expectancy (Tsoucalas et al., 2016). Thus, the pandemic’s massive influence on the world requires comprehending its origins and effects on the United States, specifically the army soldiers affected by it the most.
During the same period, Europe was recovering from severe damages caused by the First World War. However, Spain remained neutral and promptly dealt with the consequences of the epidemic (Tsoucalas et al., 2016). Therefore, the most reputable scientific data regarding the flu was gathered in Spain, which created a false impression that it is the most infected country. Thus, the origins of the pandemic are not determined by that day, as various scientists have been debating the topic ever since.
Furthermore, after the end of the war, the American troops were deployed home. The soldiers also brought the unique illness to the United States, which had not been encountered before by medical specialists. Therefore, a few months after the First World War was over, over twenty million American citizens have contracted the virus (Corbett et al., 2017). Overall, before the beginning of 1919, over 650,000 Americans died from the “Spanish Flu” (Corbett et al., 2017). The pandemic influenced the country’s lifestyle, as people started to avoid crowds, and surgical masks were worn in public places.
In conclusion, the “Spanish Flu” epidemic that originated in 1918 quickly spread around the globe. Many countries, devastated by the damages from the First World War, were not able to cope with the virus sufficiently. However, as a neutral country, Spain had the advantage of dealing with the illness’s negative consequences. Lastly, American soldiers brought the disease to the United States, which sufficiently changed people’s typical way of living.
References
Corbett, P. S., Janssen, V., Lund, J. M., Pfannestiel, T. J., & Vickery, P. S. (2017). U.S. history. OpenStax College; Rice University.
Tsoucalas, G., Kousoulis, A. A., & Sgantzos, M. (2016). The 1918 Spanish Flu pandemic, the origins of the H1N1-virus strain, a glance in history. European Journal of Clinical and Biomedical Sciences (EJCBS), 2(4), 23-28. Web.