Influenza Epidemic In Canada During The Great War

By the end of the war, Canada suffered the death of 60, 000 members of the Canadian Expeditionary Force. With so many lives lost, we have finally achieved victory. This problem is that tranquility is yet to come. The nation is faced with another challenge. The Spanish Flu, as it is called, is a dilemma the whole world is facing. There are millions of lives that it has taken. It is estimated that one-third of the world’s population has been infected with influenza. This infectious disease, known as influenza, the “flu, ” or the Spanish flu, starts with symptoms of fever, nausea, aches, and diarrhea. It can lead too mild to severe illness, the worst-case being death. The major cause of death isn’t Influenza, but Pneumonia; acquired by those weak from influenza. In past situations, it was elderly and young children that were likely to contract this infection. In this epidemic, Influenza is more common in healthy young adults, between ages 20-40.

Before now, Canada had been distant from the swarm of infectious diseases in the east. This was mainly because we were isolated due to the seas surrounding us. During the Great War, we had troops travel eastward to assist the allies. With no vaccine or effective treatment, it didn’t take long for them to contract influenza. As the troops travelled back westward, so did this virus. Soon after, we had infected people travelling throughout the country. In Canada, the disease first arrived in port cities Quebec City, Montreal, and Halifax but has spread since.

The authorities of Canada are focused on trying to avoid public panic. On September 30 this year, the provincial board of health informed us that the flu was less dangerous than the scarlet fever or measles. In an attempt to avoid further spread of the disease, the government issued control measures. Such as this one by the Hamilton Board of Health: “All schools, seminaries, Sunday schools, dance halls, billiard and pool rooms, bowling alleys, theatres (music or concerts), halls – public or places or amusement, places for public gatherings and amusement are to be closed. Declared: All meetings or assemblies are prohibited, Public funerals prohibited, all utensils in boardhouses/restaurants must be immersed in boiling water for three minutes, no use of common towel/drinking vessels, only four passengers plus elevator operator, all gatherings essential for the war are excepted. ”

Most of these measures were followed except on November 11th, when pleas from politicians were not enough to keep Canadians off the streets; celebrating the Allied victory. If it is necessary to interact with people, health professionals recommend using surgical masks to avoid passing of this virus. This influenza epidemic has changed a lot of things for Canada. We are left with more social and economic issues. Hospitals are overfilled and understaffed. As excessive burden is placed on the medical staff, they are beginning to fall ill. Hospital’s need for more people has resulted in large numbers of women volunteering to care for the patients. The efforts of these volunteer nurses are appreciated throughout the country. All women of education are urged to take part in this opportunity to serve their communities.

The deaths from this epidemic have resulted in parentless children. Families have lost their dominant wage earner and are struggling to meet ends. Businesses are reporting that they have lost profits due to inadequate demand for their products or services. Other businesses claim that they don’t have enough employees to satisfy the demand. This is due to the decreased workforce as more people get infected. An example of such a business is a Toronto cough syrup manufacturing company; they report running 3, 000 bottles short` every day. Likewise, demand for medication is resulting in pharmacists not keeping up with orders.

Concurrently with the influenza chaos, there has also been arising criticism for the government. This has to do with their inability to provide sufficient amounts of resources. The end of this calamity doesn’t seem to be near. Only time will tell what lies in the fate of Canada, and the rest of the world.