By 1918, a raging flu pandemic had gripped the nation. Around the country, organizations are urging citizens to wear protective masks, open windows and doors and stay home whenever possible. Sound familiar? In 2020, Americans will face the same challenges of more than 100 years ago.
Like mask mandates for COVID-19, in 1918 protective measures had to be taken in most American cities to prevent further spread of the virus. According to one Cincinnati doctor, “Army doctors have found the ‘mesh face mask’ very useful in preventing infection.”
Although not as widespread as the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic, masks in 1918 were still an important part of the public health response to influenza. Public spraying in the streets was also banned in some states. Other practices included closing businesses, especially those involving close contact between customers and owners.
Mask mandates were instituted in place around the country, some more strongly enforced than others. In San Francisco, a $ 5 fine was imposed on non-compliant citizens, and violators were accused of disturbing the peace. The same fine today would be equivalent to more than $ 85. This San Francisco law eventually led to the founding of the Anti-Mask League, a group of angry business owners and citizens uncomfortable with the city rulings.
For most citizens, wearing a mask was an act of patriotism. With so many soldiers just returning from World War I, frames the Red Cross and government officials wear masks as a way to protect troops from the viral attack. A sense of duty accompanied every citizen who wore a mask. As one Red Cross announcement put it, “Any man, woman or child who does not wear a mask is a dangerous slacker.”
Not everyone wore his or her masks for the right reasons. Higher class ladies use bare, mesh masks as fashion accessories to flaunt their richness and style. The material of the masks was hardly effective in preventing disease, but in this way they would not be fined for the failure of a mask. Other people poked holes in their masks so they could smoke. The effectiveness of masks was both under-investigated and under-reported in 1918. The public’s knowledge about the virus and its transmission methods was lacking, resulting in a higher prevalence of influenza.
More than a century ago, the pandemic of 1918 changed what some called the “Spanish flu” and others “The flu” the face of modern medicine forever. In Highland County, the disease is somewhat noticeable in parallel with the current pandemic in 2020.
The first instance of the flu in Ohio probably came from soldiers returning from the war. The men happily returned from Europe, bringing the deadly virus with their wives and children back to America. The result was a massive pandemic, even reaching Highland County, where overwhelmed citizens panicked when their friends and family became ill.
There were several waves before the 1918 H1N1 pandemic. The first was very mild and resulted in very few deaths. However, the second wave had symptoms that were actually very similar to COVID-19. Cough, fever, and sometimes gastrointestinal disturbances were observed. The second wave of flu targeted healthy, younger adults, turning the skin blue and filling their lungs with fluid until they died only hours or days after symptoms were shown. In just one year, American life expectancy dropped by a decade.
Eventually, the pandemic lasted more than two years, the worst of which occurred in the fall of 1918. By the end of 1920, the flu had infected more than 500 million people, about one-third of the world’s population. The impact of the virus can still be seen today in the advances in health care brought about by the tragedy. Today, we can look back on the 1918 pandemic and learn some important lessons for confronting COVID-19.
Sources: https://www.history.com/news/1918-spanish-flu-mask-wearing-resistance and https://www.cdc.gov/flu/pandemic-resources/1918-commemoration/historical-images. htm.
Cincinnati police officers are depicted wearing mesh masks around 1918, much like those worn more than 100 years later.
