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What treatments did they use for the Spanish flu?
The treatment was largely symptomatic, aiming to reduce fever or pain. Aspirin, or acetylsalicylic acid was a common remedy. For secondary pneumonia doses of epinephrin were given. To combat the cyanosis physicians gave oxygen by mask or some injected it under the skin (JAMA, 10/3/1918).
How did the Spanish flu affect the medical field?
Most skilled nurses had left their native countries to support their armed forces, resulting in widespread nursing shortages. At the end of the war in 1918, the nursing shortage became even worse as returning troops carried with them a new and more virulent strain of the disease, which took a deadly toll on nurses.
Did the Spanish Flu Cure antibiotics?
There were no medications effective against Spanish flu or antibiotics to treat the infections that people got as complications of the flu.
How did they prevent the Spanish flu from spreading?
The most effective efforts had simultaneously closed schools, churches, and theaters, and banned public gatherings. This would allow time for vaccine development (though a flu vaccine was not used until the 1940s) and lessened the strain on health care systems.
How did hospitals handle Spanish flu?
This meant that patient wards were built as physically separated buildings designed for maximum cross-ventilation, with extra space between patients, and access to the outside. The wards were connected to each other and the main hospital building by an outdoor walkway.
What did nurses do during the Spanish flu?
Nurses were often the only health care providers as doctors were unable to reach everyone that was ill. Nurses reported that they worked up to 18 hours a day, or until they could no longer stand. Visiting nurses would enter homes to find whole families critically ill with the flu, some even already dead.
What was the number one killer during the Spanish flu?
The majority of deaths were from bacterial pneumonia, a common secondary infection associated with influenza. This pneumonia was itself caused by common upper respiratory-tract bacteria, which were able to get into the lungs via the damaged bronchial tubes of the victims.
Is Spanish flu contagious?
When the Spanish flu first appeared in early March 1918, it had all the hallmarks of a seasonal flu, albeit a highly contagious and virulent strain.
What animal caused the Spanish flu?
The predominant natural reservoir of influenza viruses is thought to be wild waterfowl (Webster et al. 1992). Periodically, genetic material from avian virus strains is transferred to virus strains infectious to humans by a process called reassortment.
What factors contributed to the spread of influenza in 1918?
Much of the virus transmission can be attributed to crowding in military camps and the urban environments. In addition, there were unhealthy wartime conditions, such as poor nutrition and sanitation. In 1918, many people got very sick, very quickly. The disease often progressed to organ failure and pneumonia.
What population was at high risk for the Spanish flu?
The 1918 pandemic is also unique among influenza pandemics in that absolute risk of influenza death was higher in those <65 years of age than in those >65; persons <65 years of age accounted for >99% of all excess influenza-related deaths in 1918–1919.
How did the Spanish flu affect the economy?
In the United States, the flu's toll was much lower: a 1.5 percent decline in GDP and a 2.1 percent drop in consumption. The decline in economic activity combined with elevated inflation resulted in large declines in the real returns on stocks and short-term government bonds.
The 1918 Flu Virus Spread Quickly
No Prevention and No Treatment For The 1918 Pandemic Virus
- In 1918, as scientists had not yet discovered flu viruses, there were no laboratory tests to detect, or characterize these viruses. There were no vaccines to help prevent flu infection, noantiviral drugs to treat flu illness, and no antibiotics to treat secondary bacterial infections that can be associated with flu infections. Available tools to control the spread of flu were largely limited to …
Illness Overburdened The Health Care System
- An estimated 195,000 Americans died during October alone. In the fall of 1918, the United States experienced a severe shortage of professional nurses during the flu pandemic because large numbers of them were deployed to military camps in the United States and abroad.This shortage was made worse by the failure to use trained African American nurses. The Chicago chapter of t…
Major Advancements in Flu Prevention and Treatment Since 1918
- The science of influenza has come a long way in 100 years!Developments since the 1918 pandemic include vaccines to help prevent flu, antiviral drugs to treat flu illness, antibiotics to treat secondary bacterial infections such as pneumonia, and a global influenza surveillance system with 114 World Health Organization member states that constantly monitors flu activity. …