Dr. Rankin, State Board of Health, Estimates 1 Million North Carolinians Had Flu, Oct. 1918-Feb. 1919

From the front page of The Daily Times, Wilson, N.C., Saturday, April 19, 1919

One Million Cases of “Flu” in State

Pinehurst, April 16—One million cases of influenza in North Carolina during the past five months would be a safe estimate, said Dr. W.S. Rankin, Secretary of the State Board of Health, in making his annual report to this body and the state medical society at the joint session held today at noon.

Dr. Rankin based his estimate upon the mortality statistics collected by his office which show that since October 13,703 Tar Heels died from this disease—October, 6,551; November, 2,083; December, 1,920; January, 2,266; and February, 873. Dr. Rankin assumed the fatality was 1 ½ percent.

Dr. Rankin’s report was one of the chief features of the sessions of the North Carolina Medical Association today.

During the morning sectional meetings were held, and this afternoon the physicians were the guests of Mr. Leonard Tufts at horse races.

The meeting tonight was a memorial to the six physicians who lost their lives with the colors, the 16 who died from influenza and the 14 who died from other causes during the year.