Flu Pandemic 13 Times More Deadly Than World War I, 1919

With the ebola virus in the news, I thought it might be interesting to share this information from the Spanish flu pandemic. As you can see, 13,644 North Carolinians died of the flu. We were also at war. How many North Carolina soldiers died in battle during World War I? Just 1,000. The flu was 13 times more dangerous than war. From the October 1919 issue of The Health Bulletin, published by The North Carolina State Board of Health

During the recent war approximately 1,000 men from North Carolina were killed in battle.

During the epidemic last fall and winter, 13,644 North Carolinians laid down their lives to a “spit-borne” disease.

In the influenza pandemic “the man with the concealed pistol is dangerous, but the man with uncovered cough or sneeze is deadly.”