New York and the Spanish Influenza :: Influenza Epidemics Health Essays

bracing York and the Spanish InfluenzaNEW YORK--Although public wellness officials, including the operating surgeon General, have been reluctant to declare an epidemic of crisis pro carriageions, indications that something more than a mild flu time was at hand began to appear as far back as May when reports from China, the Front lines, and other places around the world, were singing of large tours of passel becoming suddenly ill.1 Few deaths were acknowledged in those early reports and most reports indicated the illness only lasted a few days. fin months later we are beholding something that is quite different. Spanish influenza is spreading faster than health care personnel can treat it. The growing number of people being infect and the dwindling supply of doctors and nurses, already strained by the war, makes it more difficult to treat the sick and at that placeby slow or stop the spread of the disease. The kinetics of the situation suggests that things are going to get worse earlier getting better. As early as May and June, t here(predicate) were reports of widespread illness amongst the German soldiers, and later reports in July said that the disease struck so quickly and was so virulent that many German soldiers were anxious(p) in the trenches from influenza.2 In Berne, Switzerland, the municipality has nix all meetings, including performances in theatres, picture houses, music halls, and concerts. The ban also includes religious ceremonies. Those who ignore the order could face fines and imprisonment.3 It was not until August, however, before officials here in the unite States, particularly in New York, expressed any real caution for the latest influenza invasion, which incidentally, did not originate in Spain as the name may suggest. The initial cause for alarm in New York was the discovery of nine cases of influenza aboard a Norwegian vas that had docked at Quarantine in New York Harbor. Dr. Leland E. Cofer, Health Officer o f the Port downplayed the chances of more people becoming ill or that the disease would spread however, the concern was great enough amongst health officials that there was talk of imposing a quarantine in New York.4When discussing the possibility of a quarantine, Colonel J. M. Kennedy, Medical Corps, U.S.A., Chief Surgeon at the New York port of embarkation, indicated he opposed a quarantine because it would clog the harbor and produce delays in sending troops and supplies overseas, and that the influenza here is not at all dangerous, except when pneumonia develops, and even when pneumonia develops, only a few cases are fatal.New York and the Spanish Influenza Influenza Epidemics Health EssaysNew York and the Spanish InfluenzaNEW YORK--Although public health officials, including the Surgeon General, have been reluctant to declare an epidemic of crisis proportions, indications that something more than a mild flu season was at hand began to appear as far back as May when reports f rom China, the Front lines, and other places around the world, were telling of large numbers of people becoming suddenly ill.1 Few deaths were acknowledged in those early reports and most reports indicated the illness only lasted a few days. Five months later we are seeing something that is quite different. Spanish influenza is spreading faster than health care personnel can treat it. The growing number of people being infected and the dwindling supply of doctors and nurses, already strained by the war, makes it more difficult to treat the sick and thereby slow or stop the spread of the disease. The dynamics of the situation suggests that things are going to get worse before getting better. As early as May and June, there were reports of widespread illness amongst the German soldiers, and later reports in July said that the disease struck so quickly and was so virulent that many German soldiers were dying in the trenches from influenza.2 In Berne, Switzerland, the municipality has forbidden all meetings, including performances in theatres, picture houses, music halls, and concerts. The ban also includes religious ceremonies. Those who ignore the order could face fines and imprisonment.3 It was not until August, however, before officials here in the United States, particularly in New York, expressed any real concern for the latest influenza invasion, which incidentally, did not originate in Spain as the name may suggest. The initial cause for alarm in New York was the discovery of nine cases of influenza aboard a Norwegian vessel that had docked at Quarantine in New York Harbor. Dr. Leland E. Cofer, Health Officer of the Port downplayed the chances of more people becoming ill or that the disease would spread however, the concern was great enough amongst health officials that there was talk of imposing a quarantine in New York.4When discussing the possibility of a quarantine, Colonel J. M. Kennedy, Medical Corps, U.S.A., Chief Surgeon at the New York p ort of embarkation, indicated he opposed a quarantine because it would clog the harbor and produce delays in sending troops and supplies overseas, and that the influenza here is not at all dangerous, except when pneumonia develops, and even when pneumonia develops, only a few cases are fatal.