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The Influenza virus (flu) was first reported in Fort Riley, Kansas, on March 11, 1918. Fever, sore throat, and a headache were commonly reported in more than one hundred cases. Forty-eight soldiers died at Fort Riley, and no one was exactly sure why.
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Public health officials name the virus the "Spanish Influenza".
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Victor Vaughan, a soldier surgeon reached the conclusion that if the virus continued to spread that humans could easily be wiped off of the face of earth.
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US Surgeon General Rupert Blue of the United States Public Health Service gives advice to the press on how to recognize the symptons of Influenza. Blue prescribed bed rest, good food, salts of quinine, and aspirin for the sick.
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Lt. Col. Philip Doane makes matters worse by blaming the Germans for the influenza in America. “It would be quite easy for one of these German agents to turn loose Spanish influenza germs in a theater or some other place where large numbers of persons are assembled. The Germans have started epidemics in Europe, and there is no reason why they should be particularly gentle with America.”
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Edward Wagner, an ex Chicago citizen settles in San Francisco, falls ill with influenza, spreading the virus far west.
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October of 1918 saw the worst of the epidemics horror, more than 195,000 people died in America alone, and in Philadelphia the dead were stacked in gutters on caskets instead of a traditional burial.
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Boston registers 202 deaths from influenza so far. Shortly after, the city cancels its Liberty Bond parades and sporting events.
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The crime rate in Chicago drops by 43%. influenza was attributed for taking a toll on the city’s potential lawbreakers.
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Celebrating the end of World War I, 30,000 San Franciscans head out to the streets to celebrate. People wear masks to make the virus less spreadable.
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Sirens go off in San Francisco signaling that it is safe to remove their protective face masks. 2,122 are dead because of influenza.
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The U.S. public health service estimates that 300,000 to 350,000 civilians died because of influenza and pneumonia since September 15.
