How War WWI
The media encouraged the spread of the Influenza pandemic because it provided no adequate information about the flu that was going around claiming millions of lives. While this was a political move to avoid showing their weakness to their rivals, the citizens were left unware of how they could prevent themselves from this illness, when they should seek medication and basically how they should treat the disease. This was probably the reasons why the flu claimed so many lives, and is regarded the biggest plaque in history.
I believe the flu shouldn’t be known as the “Spanish flu” because in a way, it inclines the cause of the fatal disease to Spain. However, I also feel that people should be made aware that name only came up as a result of Spain’s neutrality during the War, which made it relay more information through media outlets, and consequently making it seem that the flu was only in Spain. Otherwise, with most people’s tendency to quickly jump into conclusions, Spain may be seen as the genesis of the illness.
The First World War was a great catalyst to the severity of the disease because during this time, many soldiers worked close together in the military camps. The mass population therefore increased the chances through which the disease spread. Secondly, there were so many people moving back and forth, from the cities to the countryside, across the Atlantic Ocean, and thereby propagating the spread of the disease. Lastly, the outbreak came at a time where there was shortage of food, shortage of water and good housing, people were generally not at their best health status. Poor health therefore meant poor immunity and the ease with which the disease and attack individuals.
According to the video, America alone lost 600,000-700,000 lives, and the most affected were the most productive scope of the nation which was the range between 20-40 years. The loss in the most productive persons of the country meant labor decline in the agricultural sectors and the development of the economy.