Summary
In this episode of "The Drive" podcast, host Peter Atia speaks with author and historian John Berry about his book, "The Great Influenza: The Story of the Deadliest Pandemic in History." The conversation centers around the 1918 influenza pandemic, which killed between 50-100 million people worldwide. They discuss the virus's origins, the rapid spread, and the impact it had on society.
The virus originated in animals and then jumped to humans. The first report of a lethal form of influenza was in Haskell County, Kansas, in the winter or early spring of 1918. The virus spread rapidly, and by the spring of 1918, half of the army camps in the US were infected. The virus mutated and became much more virulent in mid-September, and the first lethal wave of the influenza occurred in Switzerland. The evidence suggests that it is the same virus that caused the first wave in the spring and the second wave in the fall, which was much more deadly.
The virus had a superpower of being able to bind to cells in the upper respiratory tract and deep in the lungs, causing viral pneumonia and attacking any organ. The pathology of the virus was so severe that people were dying rapidly, and symptoms like nosebleeds and bleeding from eyes and ears were common. The government's response to the pandemic was to minimize the impact to keep morale high during the war. The media was complicit in spreading fake news, and people stopped trusting those in authority.
The conversation also discusses the contrast between how different cities responded to the pandemic and the impact it had on society. Philadelphia, for example, held a Liberty loan parade despite warnings from medical professionals, which contributed to the spread of the virus and led to 4,500 deaths within three weeks. The press was largely complicit with the government's morale-boosting approach, and the local public health commissioner was part of a corrupt political machine. The breakdown of society was contributed to by the fear and terror caused by the lack of reliable information.
San Francisco, on the other hand, was honest with its citizens and was able to secure the trust of its community. Despite a high death toll, the community came together to help each other. The culture of honesty and truth-telling from the outset played a significant role in bringing people together. The conversation also touches on the mortality rate in India during the 1918 pandemic, which was estimated to be around 20 million, and the lack of a significant economic downturn following the pandemic.
The conversation then shifts to the differences between the 2009 H1N1 swine flu and the current coronavirus pandemic, including the longer incubation period and duration of the illness. The response to the pandemic is also discussed, with criticism of President Trump's handling of the crisis and praise for certain states and countries that have responded well. The conversation ends with a discussion about the potential for herd immunity and the importance of serological studies in accurately determining infection and case fatality rates. The overall theme is the need for effective leadership and infrastructure to manage pandemics.
