20 million -- more than in all of WWI and WWII, combined. It was labeled a Spanish flu, but in fact we Americans were responsible for spreading it, as our troops boarded ships to Europe in WWI. Five of every one thousand Americans died of it that fall and winter. From History.com's telling then:
. . . .The most likely origin of the 1918 flu pandemic was a bird or farm animal in the American Midwest. The virus may have traveled among birds, pigs, sheep, moose, bison and elk, eventually mutating into a version that took hold in the human population. The best evidence suggests that the flu spread slowly through the United States in the first half of the year, then spread to Europe via some of the 200,000 American troops who traveled there to fight in World War I. By June, the flu seemed to have mostly disappeared from North America, after taking a considerable toll. . . .
In Latin America, 10 out of every thousand people died. In Africa, it was 15 per thousand and in Asia it was as high as 35 per thousand. It is estimated that up to 20 million people perished in India alone. Ten percent of the entire population of Tahiti died within three weeks. In Western Samoa, 20 percent of the population died. More people died from the flu than from all of the battles of World War I and II combined. . . .
Be grateful this Friday, that those times have vanished into the mists of human history. And it is a reminder to be vigilant with this latest ebola outbreak in Beni, DRC. Onward. Wedding -- of a family friend tonight -- at Holy Name Cathedral. Sweet. . . smile. . . .
नमस्ते
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