Influenza Hospital Ward in France
12/28/1918
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This photograph shows the pneumonia and influenza ward in Camp Hospital 28 in Nevers, France.
The 1918 Influenza Pandemic, also known as the Spanish Flu, was one of the deadliest events in human history. One fifth of the world's population was attacked. The epidemic killed an estimated 50 million people around the world – more than died in World War I. Within months, the deadly flu virus had killed more people than any other illness in recorded history.
World War I contributed to the disease’s rapid spread. Crowded wartime conditions and troop movements across the Atlantic and throughout the war zones carried the flu worldwide.
Scientists, doctors, and health officials could not identify this disease which was striking so fast and so viciously, eluding treatment and defying control. Some victims died within hours of their first symptoms. Others succumbed after a few days; their lungs filled with fluid and they suffocated to death.
The flu did not discriminate. In the United States, it was rampant in urban and rural areas, from the densely populated East coast to the remotest parts of Alaska. Young adults, usually unaffected by these types of infectious diseases, were among the hardest hit groups along with the elderly and young children. The flu afflicted over 25 percent of the U.S. population.
The 1918 Influenza Pandemic, also known as the Spanish Flu, was one of the deadliest events in human history. One fifth of the world's population was attacked. The epidemic killed an estimated 50 million people around the world – more than died in World War I. Within months, the deadly flu virus had killed more people than any other illness in recorded history.
World War I contributed to the disease’s rapid spread. Crowded wartime conditions and troop movements across the Atlantic and throughout the war zones carried the flu worldwide.
Scientists, doctors, and health officials could not identify this disease which was striking so fast and so viciously, eluding treatment and defying control. Some victims died within hours of their first symptoms. Others succumbed after a few days; their lungs filled with fluid and they suffocated to death.
The flu did not discriminate. In the United States, it was rampant in urban and rural areas, from the densely populated East coast to the remotest parts of Alaska. Young adults, usually unaffected by these types of infectious diseases, were among the hardest hit groups along with the elderly and young children. The flu afflicted over 25 percent of the U.S. population.
This primary source comes from the Records of the Office of the Chief Signal Officer.
National Archives Identifier: 86697895
Full Citation: Photograph 111-SC-45862; Ward 1, Pneumonia and Influenza, Camp Hospital 28, Nevers, Nievre, France; 12/28/1918; Photographs of American Military Activities, ca. 1918 - ca. 1981; Records of the Office of the Chief Signal Officer, Record Group 111; National Archives at College Park, College Park, MD. [Online Version, https://www.docsteach.org/documents/document/flu-ward-nevers, March 29, 2024]Rights: Public Domain, Free of Known Copyright Restrictions. Learn more on our privacy and legal page.