And In Flew Enza

No, I wasn’t taken out by neo-Nazis following my previous post on Hitler’s birthday—my absence on this blog is the result of something even more ominous: INFLUENZA. Did you know that more than twice the number of people died because of the Influenza Epidemic of 1918 than during all of World War I? Some say up to 50 million people died from the flu that year. The deadly virus was first reported in March 1918 at an army hospital in Fort Riley, Kansas, but it quickly spread and turned into a worldwide catastrophe that is barely covered in the history books.

Don’t worry, my boring case of the flu does not have delusions of grandeur. It was only when I saw the word “influenza” on the prescription my doctor gave me yesterday that my addled brain drifted back to the scary time when that word was a death sentence. By September 1918, the disease was moving down the eastern seaboard. leaving thousands of corpses in New York, Philadelphia, and other cities. It could strike at a moment’s notice. You could be healthy in the morning and dead by nightfall although some people died more slowly, suffocating from the buildup of liquid in their lungs. There was such hysteria in the air that in many places it became a federal offense to go out in public without a face mask on. These didn’t do much good, though. As my doctor told me yesterday, short of an astronaut’s suit or becoming the Boy in the Plastic Bubble, face masks provide little protection from those insidious airborne germs.

Over 600,000 Americans died during the 1918 epidemic—way more than the combined American casualties of all wars we’ve fought in the past 100 years. In our day, we’ve seen tremendous fears around diseases such as AIDS, SARS, and the Avian flu, but we’ve never had those fears accompanied by our loved ones and neighbors dropping dead all around us without any warning. I refuse to work myself up into a frenzy about the Avian virus even though health officials have said that it could lead to a pandemic that rivals the 1918 outbreak. But as of today (I just checked), there are only 204 confirmed human cases of Avian Influenza A, and of these, only 113 have died. Should I hoard my flu medicine in case Avian hits it big?

By October 1918 the epidemic in this country was in full swing. Since medical science could do nothing, people turned to folk remedies like garlic, camphor balls, and kerosene on sugar. Public health officials distributed masks, closed schools, and passed laws that made it illegal to spit on the street. Nothing worked. There was a nationwide shortage of caskets and in many cities the dead were left in gutters or stacked up on front porches. During these terrifying, gruesome months, children skipping rope would chant these words:

I had a little bird,
Its name was Enza.
I opened the window,
And in-flew-Enza.

In late October, the Surgeon General reached a terrifying conclusion: “If the epidemic continues its mathematical rate of acceleration,” he said, “civilization could easily disappear from the face of the earth within a few weeks.” But it didn’t continue, of course, the epidemic ended as quickly and as mysteriously as it had begun.

God forbid we should ever face such a worldwide catastrophe today but if something like it were to occur you can bet we’d all assume it was a terrorist act and not some fluke of Mother Nature. It’s amazing to me that most kids today know more about the outbreaks of Bubonic Plague in the Middle Ages than they do about this nightmare we experienced right here less than a hundred years ago. My education was no better—I first learned of the epidemic watching poor Hazel Bellamy die from influenza on “Upstairs, Downstairs,” my favorite TV show in the 1970s. Hazel was the long-suffering wife of James Bellamy, who became shellshocked during World War I and had a fling on the Front with his first cousin Georgina who was a nurse for the Red Cross. James finally realized he loved Hazel just in time to watch her die from this horrible disease. She was buried on November 11, 1918, the day the war ended.

Kendall and I get on a plane at 6 am tomorrow morning for a quick theatre trip to New York (six plays in four days). I hate to go to that great city at anything less than full speed but I hope to make the best of it. We’re staying with a friend in SoHo. Should I ask if I can sleep with his Oscar as a talisman for better health? My doctor said that I probably won’t be contagious by tomorrow but I apologize in advance to anyone who’s sitting near me on our United Airlines flight. Try not to breathe in. And if the theatres of Broadway go dark in a few weeks—just call me Patient Zero.

Comments

[David]

Oy! I'm always sitting next to people like you, hacking and wheezing and sweating and radiating ill health! You should be made to sit in an overhead bin!

Seriously: Have a great trip. See great plays. And drink plenty of liquids. Perhaps it's a superstition, but I never get ice in my drinks on planes. I feel like the ice bins preserve every germ brought onto the plane from everywhere on its route.

Bon Voyage!

[The Retropolitan]

Danny, your next post better be about puppies or kitties and how cute they are when they give you little baby kisses.

[Danny]

Hmm, let's see...war, censorship, homophobia, antisemitism, genocide, crucifixion, Hitler, worldwide health crises...I do seem to be on a roll spreading sunshine and light throughout the blogosphere.

Even if I tried to write about cute kittens it would probably turn into a piece about feline leukemia. I'm doomed.

[Mindy]

Thank you, Danny! I loved "Upstairs, Downstairs," but I never saw the episode where Hazel died; and I never knew what happened to her. James was a bit of a jerk. Anyway, thanks for clearing up that mystery and for the great info. on that horrible epidemic.

[OldOldLady Of The Hills]

Oh My Dear One! I had no idea that you were sick..! Lordy! I hope the trip does not make things worse...and I hope Kendall doesn't get it....(Or did she give it to you?? No, I don't think she did....)
Very interesting about these Flu things and that Avain Flu sems a lot more horrific than I knew!! THAT many people dead, already? That's a huge percentage...OY OY!

Does M. have an Oscar???? For what film?

I hoope you have a GREAT time in New York and that the plane trip cures you....!
Fly safe!

[Vicki Forman]

Oh my goodness, I remember that episode!!! You brought me back. Have a safe trip, consider "Airborne"?

[Mindy]

"I had a bird whose name was Enza....", "Ring around the rosies a pocket full of posies....", "Lizzie Borden took an axe and gave her mother forty wacks...."

Doesn't it seem like children's jump rope songs tend to be rather moribid?

Hmmmmm....

[Pablo]

Pale Horse, Pale Rider by Katherine Anne Porter is a heartbreaking tale of the influenza time, all the more so because it was mostly autobiographical.