What lasting impact did the 1918 flu have on medicine and society?

"The Spanish flu (so-named because the Spanish press openly reported on the outbreak while other World War I belligerents suppressed the news) broke out in March 1918 at Camp Funston, an army camp in Kansas, and struck young, healthy adults with greater ferocity than any other demographic group. Occurring in three waves (March-September 1918, September-December 1918, Spring-Summer 1919) and affecting nearly 500 million people worldwide,"

"The pandemic started in Haskell County, Kansas. Known both for its cattle and hog herds, it was also the flyway for 17 migratory bird flocks. It seems most likely that the birds infected the hogs, and the hogs infected humans. In January-February 1918, Dr. Loring Miner reported the initial cases to the United States Public Health Service. As carriers of the virus, recruits reported for military duty at Camp Funston spread the disease to others in the camp during March-April 1918."

"In younger & stronger people, the immune system responded more intensely, causing the build-up of fluids in the lungs. In this early, springtime phase of the outbreak, despite the hundreds of cases, there were very few deaths. In April, soldiers from Camp Funston began the journey to France, while others were dispatched to other US military installations. The bases, transport trains and ships, and frontlines were crowded and unsanitary, creating ideal conditions for the spread of an airborne, infectious disease."

The pandemic began in March 1918 at Camp Funston, Kansas, and likely originated in Haskell County where migratory birds infected hogs that then infected humans. The disease occurred in three waves through 1919 and infected nearly 500 million people worldwide, killing an estimated 50–100 million. Young, healthy adults were disproportionately affected due to intense immune responses that caused pulmonary fluid buildup. Military mobilization, crowded transport and frontline conditions, poor hygiene, overcrowded hospitals, and limited knowledge and treatments for viral infections amplified transmission and lethality. Mortality varied by region, reaching up to 10% in India and about 2% among soldiers on the Western Front.

Read at World History Encyclopedia