WHEREAS, Treatment for influenza was largely symptomatic,
aiming to reduce fever or pain; and
WHEREAS, Allies fighting in World War I called this pandemic
"Spanish" influenza because Spain's uncensored press was the
first to report freely on the widespread influenza in 1918; and
WHEREAS, The Spanish influenza is thought to have infected
500 million people worldwide, which was approximately one-third
of the planet's population at the time; and
WHEREAS, The Spanish influenza killed an estimated 21.5
million to 39.3 million people worldwide in three waves,
although some sources estimate the deaths at 50 to 100 million;
and
WHEREAS, Epidemiological data indicates that the first wave
of Spanish influenza in the United States began during March
1918, at Fort Riley military base in Kansas; and
WHEREAS, An estimated 1,100 soldiers at Fort Riley were
affected by the first wave of the influenza outbreak; and
WHEREAS, It is believed that the transport of hundreds of
thousands of infected troops in close physical contact between
camps caused the influenza to spread quickly; and
WHEREAS, The troops then brought the influenza to the army
barracks, military camps and trenches of Europe while fighting
in World War I; and
WHEREAS, The second wave of Spanish influenza was much more
fatal and spread globally from September to November 1918; and
WHEREAS, October 1918 was the most deadly month in the United
States, when 195,000 Americans died from the influenza; and
WHEREAS, The third wave of Spanish influenza was similar in
intensity to the second wave and occurred during the winter and
early spring of 1919 in the United States and worldwide; and
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