The Spanish Flu 1918-1919

The Spanish Flu We’ve talked about the many deaths suffered during WWI, but the Spanish Flu caused more Canadian deaths than the entire war One of the worst flu epidemics known Spanish Flu Virus

What was the Spanish Flu? An unusually severe and deadly Influenza A virus strain of subtype H1N1 (sound familiar?) Did not originate from Spain Its source was among the new recruits pouring into the American Army camps after the entry of the U.S. into WWI By 1918, spread to Canadian troops serving in France

Quickly moved from the military to civilian population Its spread was extremely rapid, in part due to the number of soldiers returning home to all parts of the world at the end of the war As many as 1 in 4 people worldwide contracted the Spanish Flu

Albertan farmers wearing masks to protect themselves from the flu (1918)

Policemen wearing masks provided by the American Red Cross in Seattle (1918 )

Street car conductor not allowing passengers aboard without a mask (1918)

Red Cross workers remove a flu victim from his home (1918).

A makeshift hospital ward during the Spanish Flu A makeshift hospital ward during the Spanish Flu. Patients are set up in rows of beds on an open gallery, separated by hung sheets. A nurse wears a cloth mask over her nose and mouth (1919).

Spanish flu victims being buried. North River, Labrador, Canada (1918).