FDR book: Spanish influenza epidemic claimed 20 million lives in 1918 in Europe & USA; FDR contracted it in Atlantic crossing on ship but survived
Just read the relevant part in the book, FDR by Jean Edward Smith. Small extracts from pages 159 & 160 (Franklin D. Roosevelt then was US Assistant Secretary of the Navy and had visited wartime Europe in that capacity):
"Whatever Franklin's wish for active service (in World War I), the Atlantic crossing of the Leviathan (US troopship) in September 1918 was certainly one he preferred to forget. Another Spanish influenza epidemic swept Europe and the United States that year, taking more than 20 million lives. Leviathan was hit hard. Virtually the entire ship's complement was struck down, Franklin included. Many of the officers and men were buried at sea, while Franklin hovered semiconscious in his bunk, his condition exacerbated by the onset of double pneumonia. The Navy Department kept a wary eye on Leviathan as it made its way to New York."
FDR was moved to a relative's home and recovered.
Hmm. That was just a century ago! And this deadly epidemic impacted the most advanced nations of that time. FDR seems to have had a close escape. BTW this was before he contracted polio.
From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spanish_flu :
The 1918 influenza pandemic (January 1918 – December 1920; colloquially known as Spanish flu) was an unusually deadly influenza pandemic, the first of the two pandemics involving H1N1 influenza virus.[1] It infected 500 million people around the world,[2] including people on remote Pacific islands and in the Arctic. Probably 50 million, and possibly as high as 100 million (three to five percent of Earth's population at the time) died, making it one of the deadliest epidemics in human history.[3][4][5] Historical and epidemiological data are inadequate to identify with certainty the pandemic's geographic origin.[2]
Infectious diseases already limited life expectancy in the early 20th century, but life expectancy in the United States dropped by about 12 years in the first year of the pandemic.[6][7][8] Most influenza outbreaks disproportionately kill the very young and the very old, with a higher survival rate for those in-between. However, the Spanish flu pandemic resulted in a higher than expected mortality rate for young adults.[9]
To maintain morale, wartime censors minimized early reports of illness and mortality in Germany, the United Kingdom, France, and the United States.[10][11] Papers were free to report the epidemic's effects in neutral Spain (such as the grave illness of King Alfonso XIII).[12] These stories created a false impression of Spain as especially hard hit,[13] thereby giving rise to the pandemic's nickname, "Spanish flu".[14]
...
[Wiki Refs:]
1. "La Grippe Espagnole de 1918" (in French). Institut Pasteur. Archived from the original (Powerpoint) on 17 November 2015.
2. Taubenberger & Morens 2006.
3. Patterson & Pyle 1991.
4. Billings 1997.
5. Johnson & Mueller 2002.
6. "The Nation's Health". www.flu.gov. U.S. Department of Health & Human Services. Archived from the original on 26 October 2016. Retrieved 31 March 2016.
7. "Life Expectancy". Our World in Data. Archived from the original on 31 March 2016. Retrieved 31 March 2016.
8. "Life expectancy in the USA, 1900–98". demog.berkeley.edu. Archived from the original on 8 June 2003. Retrieved 31 March 2016.
9. Gagnon A, Miller MS, Hallman SA, Bourbeau R, Herring DA, Earn DJ, Madrenas J (2013). "Age-Specific Mortality During the 1918 Influenza Pandemic: Unravelling the Mystery of High Young Adult Mortality". PLOS ONE. 8 (8): e69586. Bibcode:2013PLoSO...869586G. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0069586. PMC 3734171. PMID 23940526.
10. Valentine 2006.
11. Anderson, Susan (29 August 2006). "Analysis of Spanish flu cases in 1918–1920 suggests transfusions might help in bird flu pandemic". American College of Physicians. Retrieved 2 October 2011.
12. Porras-Gallo & Davis 2014.
13. Barry 2004, p. 171.
14. Galvin 2007.
--- end wiki extracts ---
Hmm. World War I total deaths are estimated to be between 15 to 19 million. The Spanish flu pandemic killed even more, including in Europe and USA, with a future president of the USA (FDR) being struck by it but surviving it.
Medical science has made just awesome progress in the around 100 years since the Spanish flu pandemic, as such a pandemic, especially in advanced countries of the world like USA and European countries, is unthinkable in today's day & age.
[I thank the author Jean Edward Smith and publisher of the book, FDR, and wikipedia and have presumed that they will not have any objections to me sharing the above extract(s) (small extract from FDR book) from their book & website on this post which is freely viewable by all, and does not have any financial profit motive whatsoever.]
"Whatever Franklin's wish for active service (in World War I), the Atlantic crossing of the Leviathan (US troopship) in September 1918 was certainly one he preferred to forget. Another Spanish influenza epidemic swept Europe and the United States that year, taking more than 20 million lives. Leviathan was hit hard. Virtually the entire ship's complement was struck down, Franklin included. Many of the officers and men were buried at sea, while Franklin hovered semiconscious in his bunk, his condition exacerbated by the onset of double pneumonia. The Navy Department kept a wary eye on Leviathan as it made its way to New York."
FDR was moved to a relative's home and recovered.
Hmm. That was just a century ago! And this deadly epidemic impacted the most advanced nations of that time. FDR seems to have had a close escape. BTW this was before he contracted polio.
From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spanish_flu :
The 1918 influenza pandemic (January 1918 – December 1920; colloquially known as Spanish flu) was an unusually deadly influenza pandemic, the first of the two pandemics involving H1N1 influenza virus.[1] It infected 500 million people around the world,[2] including people on remote Pacific islands and in the Arctic. Probably 50 million, and possibly as high as 100 million (three to five percent of Earth's population at the time) died, making it one of the deadliest epidemics in human history.[3][4][5] Historical and epidemiological data are inadequate to identify with certainty the pandemic's geographic origin.[2]
Infectious diseases already limited life expectancy in the early 20th century, but life expectancy in the United States dropped by about 12 years in the first year of the pandemic.[6][7][8] Most influenza outbreaks disproportionately kill the very young and the very old, with a higher survival rate for those in-between. However, the Spanish flu pandemic resulted in a higher than expected mortality rate for young adults.[9]
To maintain morale, wartime censors minimized early reports of illness and mortality in Germany, the United Kingdom, France, and the United States.[10][11] Papers were free to report the epidemic's effects in neutral Spain (such as the grave illness of King Alfonso XIII).[12] These stories created a false impression of Spain as especially hard hit,[13] thereby giving rise to the pandemic's nickname, "Spanish flu".[14]
...
[Wiki Refs:]
1. "La Grippe Espagnole de 1918" (in French). Institut Pasteur. Archived from the original (Powerpoint) on 17 November 2015.
2. Taubenberger & Morens 2006.
3. Patterson & Pyle 1991.
4. Billings 1997.
5. Johnson & Mueller 2002.
6. "The Nation's Health". www.flu.gov. U.S. Department of Health & Human Services. Archived from the original on 26 October 2016. Retrieved 31 March 2016.
7. "Life Expectancy". Our World in Data. Archived from the original on 31 March 2016. Retrieved 31 March 2016.
8. "Life expectancy in the USA, 1900–98". demog.berkeley.edu. Archived from the original on 8 June 2003. Retrieved 31 March 2016.
9. Gagnon A, Miller MS, Hallman SA, Bourbeau R, Herring DA, Earn DJ, Madrenas J (2013). "Age-Specific Mortality During the 1918 Influenza Pandemic: Unravelling the Mystery of High Young Adult Mortality". PLOS ONE. 8 (8): e69586. Bibcode:2013PLoSO...869586G. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0069586. PMC 3734171. PMID 23940526.
10. Valentine 2006.
11. Anderson, Susan (29 August 2006). "Analysis of Spanish flu cases in 1918–1920 suggests transfusions might help in bird flu pandemic". American College of Physicians. Retrieved 2 October 2011.
12. Porras-Gallo & Davis 2014.
13. Barry 2004, p. 171.
14. Galvin 2007.
--- end wiki extracts ---
Hmm. World War I total deaths are estimated to be between 15 to 19 million. The Spanish flu pandemic killed even more, including in Europe and USA, with a future president of the USA (FDR) being struck by it but surviving it.
Medical science has made just awesome progress in the around 100 years since the Spanish flu pandemic, as such a pandemic, especially in advanced countries of the world like USA and European countries, is unthinkable in today's day & age.
[I thank the author Jean Edward Smith and publisher of the book, FDR, and wikipedia and have presumed that they will not have any objections to me sharing the above extract(s) (small extract from FDR book) from their book & website on this post which is freely viewable by all, and does not have any financial profit motive whatsoever.]
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