1918: State by State rundown...

[Guest Guest]

A page from the http://pandemicflu.gov/ site:

 

 

Stories and anecdotes of the impact of the Great Pandemic in individual states were gathered for presentation at Pandemic Planning Summits held in each state.

 

(Click on your state)

 

http://pandemicflu.gov/general/greatpandemic.html

 

 

 

CAT

[gardnmom]

There is nothing for NY State!

No records? or no interest?

[Cat]

Bumping this to the top...

 

 

What happened in *your* state?

 

 

The list has been updated according to Mike Leavitt's schedule of presentations to each state.

 

 

[Grubby]

My state...

 

One city, alone lost 180 people each week from influenza during the second and third weeks after it struck.

 

"...every, nearly every porch, every porch that I'd look at had--would have a casket box a sittin' on it. And men a diggin' graves just as hard as they could..."

 

Last words...

 

When it comes to pandemics, there is no rational basis to believe that the early years of the 21st century will be different than the past.

 

Quite scary!

 

[Cat]

Apparently Mike Leavitt did a state-by-state presentation, and basically tried to say roughly the same types of facts and figures for each one.

 

 

Indiana seemed to be hit less hard in 1918-1919 than other areas. Our summary says that the state's rate of infection was about 12% instead of the 25% across most of the country. The numbers they quoted were "at least 150,000 Indianans had been afflicted by the pandemic. About 10,000 had died." (Indianans??? HOOSIERS!)

 

Numbers, numbers...

Estimated Indiana Population, 1910 estimate... 2700876 (12% of 2700000 = 324,000)

Estimated Indiana Population, 1920 estimate... 2930390 (12% of 2900000 = 348,000)

Everything I've seen says that numbers of deaths were often under-reported, partly to keep public panic down, and partly because of the ongoing war and the damage to public morale that the reports of so many deaths could bring.

 

Our "State Officials" report in an article dated March 23, 2007 that "an estimated 6,000 Hoosiers would die if the virus infected 35 percent of the population."

Newspaper article

 

Ok...

 

Indiana's population, 2005 estimate... 6,271,973

people infected... 35% of (rounded down) 6,000,000 = 2,100,000

 

Even at a death rate of 10%, it's 210,000 people!!!!!

 

 

 

Are my numbers messed up? Did I figure correctly?

 

 

FACT: In 1918, a great many of our families were pretty much isolated on family farms and in small rural communities. I've seen no evidence of my relatives in Indiana being affected directly by the "Spanish Flu", but they were all Amish and farmers. (I'd have to do more research about my Pennsylvania -"English" - relatives.)

 

In today's world, we mix *everywhere*. Many of my Amish relatives in this area work in factories alongside the "English", who go to cities, malls, and travel outside the state with no thought of infections.

 

I believe that the rate of infection will be much greater than in 1918.