Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you’ve likely heard of the Coronavirus. And while the spread of any new disease is a bit on the scary side, it’s not the first time the world has dealt with such an issue. In fact, we’ve dealt with much worse. For example, the flu pandemic of 1918 killed millions of people around the world and thousands in Mississippi alone. Read on to learn more about this unnerving part of history.

According to the CDC, the 1918 influenza pandemic is the most severe pandemic in recent history, killing 40 to 50 million people worldwide.
Uncredited U.S. Army photographer/Wikimedia
Though it’s not known exactly where the disease originated, it quickly spread around the globe during 1918 and 1919.
In the U.S., the epidemic began on military bases, with the first case reported in the spring of 1918.
Air Service, United States Army/Wikimedia
Just like the rest of the country, the epidemic began on a Mississippi military base: Payne Field in West Point. According to records, base officials sent a telegraph to the State Board of Health, noting the rapid spread of the disease.
Trying to contain the spread of the flu, Dr. W.S. Leathers, the executive director of the State Board of Health, ordered the closing of schools and “places of amusement.”
Library of Congress
Public meetings and county fairs were also cancelled, but not without protest from residents. The State Board of Health later ordered that funerals be held privately and even banned corpses from being brought into churches.
Despite the precautions taken, the flu continued to spread. By the second week of October, Meridian averaged at least 100 new flu cases daily!
history.navy.mil
In response, the US Public Health Service sent 17 doctors and 24 nurses to Mississippi; however, the state still lacked enough medical personnel to keep up with the rapidly spreading disease. Eventually, Dr. Leathers requested that the Red Cross train women to assist in caring for the ill.
On October 4, 1918, things began looking up, as a Jackson newspaper reported the discovery of a vaccine. Unfortunately, the vaccine didn’t reach Mississippi until the middle of November.
Courtesy of the Mississippi Department of Archives and History/Wikimedia
When the vaccine did make it to Mississippi, it was sent to Whitworth College in Brookhaven to be tested. The college was chosen since it had remained influenza-free throughout the epidemic.
On October 22, 1918, there were 9,842 new cases of the flu reported in Mississippi. After that date, incidents of the disease began to gradually decline.
Navy Medicine/Flickr
By the end of 1918, Mississippi’s death toll was 6,219, which consisted mostly of infants and adults ages 25 to 35.
Though the entire state was affected, certain counties fared better than others. George and Stone Counties had the state’s lowest death rates.
Forrest Lamar Cooper - Courtesy of the Mississippi Department of Archives and History/Wikimedia
Adams and Sunflower Counties had the highest death rates in the state.

Watch the video below to learn more about the 1918 flu pandemic.

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