The Influenza Epidemic of 1918 in the American Expeditionary Forces in France and England

MacNeal, Ward J.

doi:10.1001/archinte.1919.00090230003001

Cited by 16 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 3 publications

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“…Given the known seasonality of influenza, this is not surprising and therefore neither confirms nor invalidates the hypothesis that the influenza virus which caused the 1918–1919 pandemic was circulating in Europe in the years prior to the main lethal wave in late 1918. Descriptions of further outbreaks of lethal respiratory disease during the winter of 1917–1918 occurred in New Zealand soldiers in training bases in the UK and US soldiers just arriving in France [22, 23]. Whether these or other reports represent a new influenza virus trying to adapt to its host cannot be determined at this distance in time only from written records but the data are consistent with such a hypothesis [8, 24].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Spatiotemporal patterns of pandemic influenza-related deaths in Allied naval forces during 1918

Shanks¹,

Waller

Smallman–Raynor

2013

Epidemiol. Infect.

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This paper draws on the mortality records of the French, US and UK Royal navies to reconstruct the spatiotemporal evolution of the 1918–1919 influenza pandemic in global Allied naval forces. For a total of 7658 deaths attributed to respiratory diseases (French and US navies) and all diseases (UK Royal Navy) at 514 locations worldwide, techniques of spatial point pattern analysis were used to generate weekly maps of global mortality intensity in 1918. The map sequence for the main period of pandemic mortality, mid-August to mid-November 1918, revealed a near-simultaneous development of mutiple foci of high disease intensity in three distant locations (Europe, North America, West Africa). Given the relatively slow speed of naval ships in convoy at this time (<12 knots), our findings suggest that the pandemic influenza virus was circulating on three continents at the observed onset of the main mortality wave.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Spatiotemporal patterns of pandemic influenza-related deaths in Allied naval forces during 1918

Shanks¹,

Waller

Smallman–Raynor

2013

Epidemiol. Infect.

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“…More specific accounts of the experience of particular regions are broadly available, including for North America [14,24], Africa [31], Europe [32], and Australia [33]. However, many of these accounts have not been subjected to peer-review, and reports, observations, and conclusions often rely on assumptions and estimates made necessary by limited or unreliable data.…”

Section: 1918–1920: Spanish Flumentioning

confidence: 99%

Reviewing the History of Pandemic Influenza: Understanding Patterns of Emergence and Transmission

2016

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For centuries, novel strains of influenza have emerged to produce human pandemics, causing widespread illness, death, and disruption. There have been four influenza pandemics in the past hundred years. During this time, globalization processes, alongside advances in medicine and epidemiology, have altered the way these pandemics are experienced. Drawing on international case studies, this paper provides a review of the impact of past influenza pandemics, while examining the evolution of our understanding of, and response to, these viruses. This review argues that pandemic influenza is in part a consequence of human development, and highlights the importance of considering outbreaks within the context of shifting global landscapes. While progress in infectious disease prevention, control, and treatment has improved our ability to respond to such outbreaks, globalization processes relating to human behaviour, demographics, and mobility have increased the threat of pandemic emergence and accelerated global disease transmission. Preparedness planning must continue to evolve to keep pace with this heightened risk. Herein, we look to the past for insights on the pandemic experience, underlining both progress and persisting challenges. However, given the uncertain timing and severity of future pandemics, we emphasize the need for flexible policies capable of responding to change as such emergencies develop.

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“…Several hundred autopsies were conducted during the outbreaks (total numbers affected during the outbreaks were not specified). By the end of 1917, purulent bronchitis had also been seen in US soldiers who had recently arrived in France 5 …”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…A clinically distinctive, life‐threatening acute respiratory illness termed purulent bronchitis caused large outbreaks with high case fatality rates among British soldiers at Aldershot, England and Etaples, France in 1916–1917 3,4 . In late 1917, a similar illness affected large numbers of US soldiers who had recently arrived in France; the clinical and pathologic characteristics of the illness “were essentially the same” as those that had been attributed to purulent bronchitis 5 . Contemporaneous and modern authors have suggested that the purulent bronchitis outbreaks of 1916–1917 represented the herald wave of the 1918 pandemic; if so, the highly pathogenic virus that caused the focal outbreaks of purulent bronchitis in 1916–1917 evolved transmission characteristics that enabled its worldwide spread in 1918–1919 6–8 .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Relationship between “purulent bronchitis” in military populations in Europe prior to 1918 and the 1918–1919 influenza pandemic

Shanks

Mackenzie

Waller

et al. 2011

Influenza Resp Viruses

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Please cite this paper as: Shanks et al. Relationship between “purulent bronchitis” in military populations in Europe prior to 1918 and the 1918–1919 influenza pandemic. Influenza and Other Respiratory Viruses 6(4), 235–239.Purulent bronchitis was a distinctive and apparently new lethal respiratory infection in British and American soldiers during the First World War. Mortality records suggest that purulent bronchitis caused localized outbreaks in the midst of a broad epidemic wave of lethal respiratory illness in 1916–1917. Probable purulent bronchitis deaths in the Australian Army showed an epidemic wave that moved from France to England. Purulent bronchitis may have been the clinical expression of infection with a novel influenza virus which also could have been a direct precursor of the 1918 pandemic strain.

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The Influenza Epidemic of 1918 in the American Expeditionary Forces in France and England

Cited by 16 publications

References 3 publications

Spatiotemporal patterns of pandemic influenza-related deaths in Allied naval forces during 1918

Spatiotemporal patterns of pandemic influenza-related deaths in Allied naval forces during 1918

Reviewing the History of Pandemic Influenza: Understanding Patterns of Emergence and Transmission

Relationship between “purulent bronchitis” in military populations in Europe prior to 1918 and the 1918–1919 influenza pandemic

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