https:\/\/www.history.navy.mil\/content\/history\/nhhc\/research\/library\/online-reading-room\/title-list-alphabetically\/i\/influenza\/1918-influenza-by-vice-admiral-albert-gleaves-commander-of-convoy-operations-in-the-atlantic-1917-1919.html<\/a><\/p>\nFrom the article:<\/p>\n
In fitting out transport medical departments, no expense was spared to make them as near to being real hospitals as possible. Each ship was fitted with a surgeons’ examining room, dispensary, a laboratory, dental office, dressing room, operating room, special treatment room, sick bay and isolation ward. In addition to these, several dispensaries and dressing stations were established throughout the ship for minor cases, which the troop surgeons utilized for those patients not requiring sick bay treatment.<\/p>\n
The Spanish Influenza Epidemic taxed the resources of the transport medical departments to the utmost. Although every effort was made to eliminate sick troops at the gangway, it was inevitable that large numbers of incipient cases were taken on board, and naturally the crowded berthing spaces favored contagion.<\/p>\n
As an example, during the September, 1918, trip of the [transport, USS]\u00a0George Washington,<\/i> although 450 cases and suspects were landed before sailing, on the second day out there were 550 new cases on the sick list. Entire troop spaces were converted into hospitals. Strict regulations in regard to spraying noses and throats twice daily and the continual wearing of gauze coverings over the mouth and nose, except when eating, were rigidly enforced. The soldiers were kept in the open air as much as possible, while boxing bouts, band concerts and other amusements on deck were conducted to keep up morale. The result was gratifying and the epidemic was soon under control. Admissions to the sick list were on a rapidly decreasing scale and although there were 131 cases of\u00a0pneumonia and 77 deaths before arrival in Brest [France], still there were only 101 additional cases for the hospital and the remainder of the troops went ashore cheering and in fighting trim. – article<\/p>\n
I know we currently have one ship that has set an “at sea” record for reasons of safety for the crew and a desire to not spread the disease around. If, during this current epidemic, people were as easy to persuade to be careful, it might not have spread so quickly.<\/p>\n
While the Spanish flu was not the same as the current Covid-19 bug, no one wanted to get it. Medicine then was so primitive compared to what we have now that, while that flu was not a death sentence in itself, a weakened immune system made the transmission from a sick patient to a healthy non-patient very likely to happen.<\/p>\n
Those who pick up the Covid-19 bug now seem to be less afflicted by it, depending on where they are. When cold weather really does set in, we’ll see how things go. Meantime, enjoy the blast from the past with the report by VADM Gleaves. It’s only been slightly over a century.<\/p>\n
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This is a report by Vice Admiral Gleaves on the Spanish Flu in the Atlantic from … The Spanish Flu’s Influence on the US Navy<\/span>Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":653,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-105963","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-historical"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.azuse.cloud\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/105963","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.azuse.cloud\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.azuse.cloud\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.azuse.cloud\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/653"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.azuse.cloud\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=105963"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.azuse.cloud\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/105963\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":105965,"href":"https:\/\/www.azuse.cloud\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/105963\/revisions\/105965"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.azuse.cloud\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=105963"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.azuse.cloud\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=105963"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.azuse.cloud\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=105963"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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