Epidemic Respiratory Disease: The pneumonias and other infections of the repiratory tract accompanying influenza and measlesOpie, Eugene L. (Eugene Lindsay)
History
Epidemic Respiratory Disease: The pneumonias and other infections of the repiratory tract accompanying influenza and measles
4. Pneumonia with measles was a frequent and unusually fatal type of the
disease. The most important causes of pneumonia during the history of
the camp were influenza and measles.
Evidence is not lacking that influenza occurred in epidemic form in
other widely separated camps in the United States during the spring of
1918. Vaughan and Palmer[4] state that a disease strongly resembling
influenza became prevalent in the Oglethorpe camps about March 18, 1918,
and continued three weeks; during this time the number sent to hospital
or to quarters with this disease was 1,468 in a total strength of
28,586. Pneumonia does not appear to have followed this epidemic.
Miller and Lusk[5] found the ordinary type of pneumonia prevalent at
Camp Dodge, Iowa, until March 18 to 20, 1918, when abruptly the
streptococcus type predominated and there was a great increase in the
rate of mortality. A mild tracheitis, they state, was widespread in the
camp during March.
In March, 1918, one member of our commission saw an outbreak of
influenza at Fort Sam Houston which was identical in its clinical
characters with the disease which appeared as a pandemic in the fall of
1918.
The report of the Surgeon General[6] for 1919 shows that there was a
sharp increase of the incidence of influenza in the army during March,
reaching a maximum in April. The rate of influenza for 1,000 troops fell
to its original level through May and June and finally rose to a great
height in September and October.
Influenza in epidemic form made its appearance in the army camps of the
United States during March, 1918. The symptomatology of the disease
associated with its peculiar epidemiology as seen at Camp Funston make
its recognition unquestionable. The disease had doubtless been present
in this camp since its establishment in September, 1917, but did not
assume epidemic proportions until the spring of 1919.
Pneumonia followed the epidemics of influenza which occurred in the
spring of 1918 and exhibited characters similar to those of the
pneumonias which followed the pandemic of September and October, 1918.
In both instances the height of the outbreak of pneumonia has been one
week after the maximum incidence of influenza.
Influenza became epidemic in Spain about the middle of May and in other
countries received the name “Spanish influenza” which is not more
applicable than the designation “Russian influenza” often applied to the
disease during the pandemic of 1889–90.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account