Continued. In fact, the 1918 pandemic actually caused the average life expectancy in the United States to drop by about 12 years for both men and women. In 1918, people crowded together in places like military camps and great cities often fell victim to influenza, highlighting the importance of physical distancing. This was a global pandemic, an airborne virus which affected every continent. Today, as the world grinds to … I myself have often wondered if this current pandemic mirrors the Spanish Flu epidemic that was at large during the year 1918. Claim: A newspaper clipping from 1918 documents a "public notice" from the city of Kelowna, British Columbia, announcing that schools, movie theaters, and other public places would be closed to … But then again, most of us weren't around a hundred years ago. The Spanish flu, also known as the 1918 flu pandemic, was an unusually deadly influenza pandemic caused by the H1N1 influenza A virus.Lasting from February 1918 to April 1920, it infected 500 million people – about a third of the world's population at the time – in four successive waves. Encyclopedia Britannica and the Center for Disease Control indicate that the pandemic occurred in three waves. It spread throughout western Europe and reached Poland by July 1918. In 1918, many people got very sick, very quickly. In March of that year, outbreaks of flu-like illness were first detected in the United States. (1918 children’s playground rhyme) The ‘Spanish Flu’ pandemic of 1918 was one of the greatest medical disasters of the 20th century. "If public health is the main focus, then eradicate that from your mind," Nichols said. "The Spanish flu tells us that social distancing works. More died in a … Historians and scientists have advanced numerous hypotheses … The influenza pandemic of 1918-19 claimed the lives of between 20 and 40 million people around the world, at least three times the number killed in the war. The 1918 flu, also known as the Spanish Flu, lasted until 1920 and is considered the deadliest pandemic in modern history. The influenza pandemic of 1918–19, also called the Spanish flu, lasted about one to two years. The Influenza pandemic of 1918 was a serious pandemic of influenza.It lasted for three years, from January 1918 to December 1920. About 500 million people were infected across the world with a population of 1.80 billion people.The pandemic spread to remote Pacific Islands and the Arctic.It killed 50 million to 100 million people — three to five percent of the world's population at the time. The first wave was comparatively mild and probably originated in early March 1918, during World War I. 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