Photos show how the 1918 flu pandemic brought the world to its knees
The National Archives
The 1918 influenza pandemic killed at least 50 million people, and infected one-third of the world's population.
In the US, the virus forced public meetings, schools, churches, and theaters to shut down. In just one year, 675,000 Americans died.
Originally referred to as the Spanish flu, the virus is now known as H1N1, and originated from an avian strain.
Today's outbreak of the novel coronavirus has sparked fears of another pandemic. These images show just how deadly the 1918 flu was.
It was the worst pandemic in modern history.
The 1918 influenza virus swept the globe, killing at least 50 million people worldwide.
In the US, the disease devastated cities, forcing law enforcement to ban public meetings, shut down schools, churches, and theaters, and even stop funerals.
In total, 675,000 Americans died from the Spanish flu, named after the disease's early presence in Spain.
Today's outbreak of the novel coronavirus has sparked fear of another pandemic. The coronavirus, which has hit China the hardest, has spread to 51 other countries, killed at least 2,800, and infected over 83,000 people. The World Health Organization considers the outbreak an international public health emergency that has "pandemic potential."
These photos show the devastation of a pandemic, and how the Spanish flu brought the world to its knees not so long ago.
There is no universal consensus regarding the origins of the H1N1 influenza virus, but some have pointed to the pandemic beginning in France, China, or the US.
Hulton Archive/Getty Images
Sources: Smithsonian Magazine, CDC
The first confirmed case of the virus in the US occurred in the spring of 1918, at an army camp in Fort Riley, Kansas. Two weeks later, 1,100 soldiers were admitted to a hospital, and thousands were sick in barracks. At that time, 38 soldiers died.
Historical photo of the 1918 Spanish influenza ward at Camp Funston, Kansas, showing the many patients ill with the flu
US Army
Sources: PBS, Smithsonian Magazine
The first strain of the flu was originally called "the three-day fever" and was typically described as a heavy cold. Although the flu spread around the world in just a few weeks, it seemed to have died down by the end of the summer.
Underwood Archives/Getty Images
Source: PBS, Popular Mechanics
But a new strain of the flu virus emerged in the fall, and this time it was significantly more dangerous. The virus took the world by storm, killing victims in just a couple of days.
Members of the Red Cross carrying the body of an infected person.
Library of Congress
Source: PBS, Popular Mechanics
By the first week of September, an average of 100 people died per day at an army camp in Massachusetts. "We have lost an outrageous number of Nurses and Drs., and the little town of Ayer is a sight," wrote one of the camp's doctors.
PhotoQuest/Getty Images
Source: Popular Mechanics
The symptoms of the Spanish flu were particularly frightening. Beginning with the ears, the victim's face would begin to turn blue as oxygen was deprived. A bloody liquid would begin to fill the victim's lungs until the victim would suffocate and die.
Demonstration at the Red Cross Emergency Ambulance Station in Washington, D.C., during the influenza pandemic of 1918
Library of Congress
Source: Popular Mechanics
Doctors worked desperately to discover the nature of this strange new disease. They were shocked to discover that it was a variation of influenza.
Apic/Getty Images
Source: PBS
At the time there was no vaccine to prevent the spread of the virus, and no antibiotics to treat secondary infections, so authorities resorted to non-medicinal interventions including quarantines, isolation, and increased sanitation.
Universal History Archive/Universal Images Group via Getty Images
Source: CDC
A poster by the United States Public Health Service warned Americans how to protect themselves against spread of the disease.
Fototeca Gilardi/Getty Images
As officials attempted to deal with the overwhelming number of sick people across the country, Red Cross demonstrations were held. During the pandemic, 25% of Americans would contract the flu and 675,000 would die.
PhotoQuest/Getty Images
Source: Popular Mechanics, CDC
The Red Cross also brought food to sick families throughout the pandemic.
The Red Cross brought food to an African American family in Charlotte, North Carolina. They arrived too late for the mother, who had just died.
The National Archives
Source: National Archives
But often, nurses and doctors were so overwhelmed by the number of sick people that they didn't have time to do anything for patients except give them some whiskey and attempt to make them comfortable.
A Red Cross nurse gathering water.
The National Archives
Source: Popular Mechanics
In October 1918, the pandemic was at its worst, killing 195,000 Americans alone. The situation became so dire that caskets began to run out and some cities even banned funerals to prevent further spread of the virus.
Red Cross nurses carrying stretchers.
Library of Congress
Source: Popular Mechanics
Panicked cities began to require that citizens wear masks to hinder the alarming spread of the virus. New York City was hit particularly bad, with 851 people dying from the flu in one day alone.
A New York City mailman makes his rounds during the outbreak.
The National Archives
Source: Popular Mechanics
Cities were put on lockdown for weeks at a time as local governments closed theaters, schools, and churches to stop the flu from spreading.
The National Archives
Police in Seattle protect themselves against the virus.
The National Archives
Source: Popular Mechanics
One cautionary jingle of the time reminded Americans to "Obey the laws, and wear the gauze, protect your jaws, from septic paws."
A trolley conductor in Seattle refused to let passengers on without a mask.
The National Archives
Source: Popular Mechanics
This typist shows that masks weren't just for outdoors either. Authorities advised that masks be worn at all times. Despite the precautions, the flu pandemic lowered the life expectancy by 12 years in the US in just one year.
A typist in New York City wears her mask indoors.
National Archives
Source: National Archives, Popular Mechanics
American soldiers even wore masks as they watched a boxing match aboard the USS Siboney. WWI increased the spread of the virus as soldiers traveled from country to country, bringing the flu with them.
American soldiers are seen wearing masks at a boxing match aboard the USS Siboney.
US Navy History Center
Source: PBS
By the end of 1918, 57,000 American troops died from the flu, compared to the 53,000 who died in combat.
PhotoQuest/Getty Images
Source: Popular Mechanics
No part of the world was safe from the pandemic. Even a tiny ocean-side village in Alaska was affected. During five days in November, the flu killed 72 of its 80 adult inhabitants.
Al Grillo/AP Photo
Source: CDC
While most flu viruses target the young and old, the majority of those who died from the Spanish Flu were between 20 and 40 years old. The strong immune systems of the healthy would overreact in an attempt to fight the virus and end up ravaging the lungs.
Harris & Ewing/Underwood Archives/Getty Images
Source: Popular Mechanics
Every corner of the globe and every major city was hit by the virus in just a matter of weeks. Between 50 million and 100 million people around the world died from the Spanish flu.
Getty Images
Source: CDC
The pandemic only lasted 15 months, but the virus infected an estimated 500 million people worldwide. The global population was 1.8 billion people in 1918.
PhotoQuest/Getty Images
Source: National Archives, Smithsonian Magazine, CDC
The influenza pandemic remained a mystery for nearly 80 years. But researchers in the 2000s successfully isolated, decoded, and replicated the entire sequence of the virus, now known as H1N1.
BSIP/UIG Via Getty Images
Source: CDC
At that time, it was discovered that the virus originated from an avian strain. The H1N1 virus previously only affected birds, but in 1918, it developed the ability to jump to humans and spread rapidly.
MPI/Getty Images
Source: Popular Mechanics
Today, an outbreak of the novel coronavirus has caused fear that another pandemic could occur. The novel coronavirus that originated in Wuhan, China, and has now spread to at least 51 other countries, killed 2,800 people, and infected 83,000.
Reuters
Source: Business Insider
The scale of the coronavirus, which causes the disease COVID-19, has drawn comparisons to the 1918 flu pandemic. The World Health Organization considers the outbreak an international public health emergency that has "pandemic potential."
Xiao Yijiu/Xinhua News Agency via AP
Source: Business Insider
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