Take a look at this recent blog post by Karen Robertson at the Ohio History Connection. http://www.ohiohistory.org/learn/collections/history/history-blog/march-2020/spanishflu?fbclid=IwAR17FHBWaYQwzUNquY_5dOYGXPQGaHnbxR-n4uumxdVpJtAOz63ooNbhM8s
“The disease was first reported in Spain. As the Spanish were one of the only affected nations not imposing wartime censorship, Spanish journalists were the only ones accurately reporting the threat. This unequal reporting made it seem as if the disease was beginning in Spain. In fact, many other countries were suffering a similar fate…”
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“As the war ended and soldiers returned home, they brought the Spanish Flu with them to their families and friends. This flu caused soreness and tiredness, a cough, loss of appetite, and sweating. It was particularly deadly for people in their 20s and 30s. It often lead to pneumonia, so many deaths were incorrectly reported as simply pneumonia related with no mention of the flu.”
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“Because the Spanish Flu began among soldiers, it continued to affect them at a high rate. For historians researching WWI, it is not unusual to go looking for a soldier’s military record and find that they died not on the battlefield, but sick in bed. Ohio soldiers at Camp Sherman in Ross County were infected at such a shocking rate, that the nearby community of Chillicothe attempted to quarantine themselves from the camp.”
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“As 1919 dawned, Ohio came out of quarantine and life began again. Unfortunately, the Spanish Flu had taken about 50 million lives around the world, more than the Black Plague. In Ohio, Cleveland was hit the worst, with a death rate higher than New York City or Chicago. Toledo escaped with the lowest death rate, losing only 311 per every 100,000 people. The choices that U.S. cities made (or didn’t make) during the Spanish Flu Pandemic, particularly regarding social distancing, have helped Governor Mike DeWine make informed decisions about his actions now, over 100 years later.”
For the full story, please visit the link above.