One of the problems with the Spanish flu was governments covered it up. It didn't start in Spain, Spain just had better freedom of the press and newspapers could talk about it. That's where it got the name.
Since there was minor dispute in Europe going at the time, one that went on from 1914 to 1918, it was not that Spanish Flu that was censored, it was all news in all beligerent countries that was censored concerning the war, including the flu.
But yes, that's how it got the name. Most likely, it started in the US, was carried to Europe by the US Army, spread across front lines on the Western Front, and from there across the globe.
... and I thought you were in on it and joining in. Some horrors are so bad that save for those gifted with eloquence, sarcasm and humor is all that we have to deal with them.
I may be biased but I've visited grave sites from WWI and WWII and for some reason that seems to rule out humor around those subjects. There is something very special about standing on an immaculate war grave with thousands of little crosses in very neat rows each one of them the only evidence that someone died there to ensure that we would have our freedoms.
This is a complicated subject for me because I did not want to go into the army on account of not wanting to be someone else's pawn in wars of aggression, which NL has been on the wrong side of more than once. At the same time I absolutely recognize the requirement to defend countries against evil and I'm eternally grateful to those that made sure that we have a relatively free life here. Hard to square the two, I have always kept my balance in there by telling myself that if push came to shove I'd be more than willing to act. The Russian war on Ukraine is testing that position in complex ways.
The most widely cited theory is that the 1918 influenza pandemic originated in Haskell County, Kansas in early 1918.
Some key details:
Haskell County is a rural county in southwest Kansas, about 300 miles west of Kansas City.
In January and February 1918, local newspapers reported an unusual flu-like illness spreading in the county. This pre-dated flu reports from other U.S. areas by several weeks.
Dr. Loring Miner, a physician in Haskell County, observed this early outbreak and alerted the U.S. Public Health Service. He described an unusual respiratory illness that was spreading rapidly, but milder than the flu pandemic strain that emerged later.
Haskell County residents were known to have traveled to Camp Funston in Fort Riley, Kansas in February and March 1918. In March, Camp Funston reported a severe flu outbreak, followed by rapid spread of flu across the U.S. and globally over the following year.
Leading researchers like John Barry, author of "The Great Influenza", have concluded that the timing and pattern of these outbreaks strongly points to the virus originating in Haskell County and spreading from there to Camp Funston.
However, it's not definitive. Without viral samples and genetic sequencing from that era, the precise geographic origin cannot be proven. But the Haskell County theory provides the strongest evidence based on historical timelines and early outbreak patterns.
Never heard that. If it began in Kentucky where did it come from? There are lots of caves in Kentucky so bats again? They seem like a reservoir species for a lot of respiratory viruses in this family.
But yes, that's how it got the name. Most likely, it started in the US, was carried to Europe by the US Army, spread across front lines on the Western Front, and from there across the globe.