Daniels
Daniels. (Ir a Personas. Fuentes.)
Josephus Daniels, Ministro de Marina (Secretary of the Navy). Publica en 1919 un informe anual que recoge el rastro de la gripe:
Enero 1918: 21 casos de gripe en el USS Minneapolis en la base naval de Filadelfia, remite en 10 días.
February, 1918.--Outbreaks were noted as follows:
Cases.
U.S.S. Dubuque at the navy yard, New York 11 U.S.S. Madawaski, Cruiser and transport Force 37 U.S.S. New Jersey, Atlantic coast 220 U.S.S. Salem at the navy yard, Boston 30 United States Naval Radio School, Cambridge, Mass. 350-400 Eleven cases of pneumococcus-streptococcus pneumonia were associated with the outbreak at the Harvard Radio School in Cambridge. In the same month several cases of influenza complicated with streptococcus pneumonia occurred at the navy yard, Portsmouth, N.H., among the crew of the U.S.S. South Dakota and cases of epidemic influenza without complications occurred among the crew of the U.S.S. Leonidas at the same yard.
March, 1918--
Cases.
U.S.S. Frederick at the navy yard, Portsmouth, N.H. 147
U.S.S. St. Louis at Norfolk, Va. 73
U.S.S. Charleston at Hampton Roads, Va. 55
U.S.S. Buffalo at Philadelphia, Pa. 21
The prevalence of influenza in epidemic form was also reported from the U.S.S. Georgia and the U.S.S. Kansas, Chesapeake Bay.
--2423-- April, 1918.-- U.S.S. North Carolina at Norfolk, Va.; 100 cases of a mild type.
U.S.S. Pensacola at the navy yard, Charleston, S.C.; mild epidemic; cases of short duration.
U.S.S. May, base 20, Rochefort, France, 25 per cent of the crew suddenly attacked.
U.S.S. Oregon at Mare Island, Cal., approximately 450 men, two-thirds of the ship's company attacked by influenza.
U.S.S. Bath, Hampton Roads, Va.; 38 cases with 1 death.
United States Naval Training Camp, Gulfport, Miss.; mild epidemic but higher percentage of complement attacked than during the subsequent fall epidemic.
Seventh Regiment, United States Marine Corps, Santiago de Cuba; mild epidemic which spread rapidly. Men who were attacked at this time apparently possessed immunity later, during the fall and winter.
United States Submarine Base, San Pedro, Cal.; an epidemic of 10 days' duration following the visit of a Japanese ship on board which the disease was prevalent.
United States Naval Training Camp, San Diego, Cal.; following the visit of a Japanese Squadron an epidemic occurred on the station; 9 per cent of the complement were attacked, 410 cases. Pneumonia complicated in 12 cases.
May, 1918.--
Cases.
U.S.S. Dixie, Queenstown, Ireland (11 per cent of the crew attacked) 77
U.S.S. Texas, with British Grand fleet 92 deaths) 80
U.S.S. Birmingham at Gibraltar 910-day epidemic) 78
U.S.S. Chester at Plymouth, England (20 per cent of the crew affected) 80
U.S.S. Nashville, Passage, Gibraltar to Bizerti, Africa (47 per cent of the crew attacked) 91
United States Naval Air Station, Dunkirk, France (90 per cent of the complement attacked)
United States Naval Air Station, Gujan-Mestras, France (40 per cent of the complement attacked) 72
Severe epidemics occurred in China in the Yangtze Valley, in the vicinity of Shanghai and in Peking, in May, June, and August. In September, October, and November epidemics prevailed throughout China causing high mortality rates.
June, 1918.--
Cases.
U.S.S. Machias at Gibraltar (25 per cent of the crews attacked) 63
U.S.S. Brooklyn at Vladivostok, Siberia (successive epidemics for 8 weeks)
U.S.S. Monterey, Pearl Harbor, Hawaii (66 per cent of the crew attacked) 124
U.S.S. Castine at Gibraltar (18 per cent of the crew attacked) 32
U.S.S. New York with British Grand Fleet (10 percent of the crew attacked, serious pulmonary complications in 8 per cent of the cases, 2 deaths) 138
Cases.
U.S.S. Tallahassee at Key West, Fla. (20 per cent of the crew attacked) 76
U.S.S. Dubuque at navy yard, New York (5 per cent of the crew attacked)
U.S.S. Plattsburg, Atlantic Transport Service (sporadic cases occurred throughout the month.)
U.S.S. Galatea, Azores (50 per cent of the crew attacked) 30
U.S.S. Venetia at Gibraltar (19 per cent of the crew attacked) 16
United States Naval Air Station, Wexford, Ireland, epidemic of 2 weeks' duration 65
United States Naval Air Station, L'Abervrach Finisterre, France 69
United States Naval Air Station, Fromentine, Vendée, France (mild epidemic of 2 weeks' duration) 32
United States Naval Air Station, Queenstown, Ireland (epidemic began July; cases occurred to November 1) 243
United States Naval Air Station, Guipavas, France 26
United States Naval Air Station, La Trinité France (28 per cent of the complement attacked, 2 cases of complicating pneumonia) 40
--2424-- August, 1918.--
Cases.
United States Naval Air Station, St. Trojan, France (63 per cent of the complement affected at one time, 20 cases of complicating pneumonia, 1 of meningitis; 5 deaths) 215
United States Naval Station, Cristobal, Canal Zone (epidemic of the pandemic type appeared will before progressive spread began in the United States) DICE que la segunda oleada llega antes que a USA ¿intento de buscar culpables?
At the navy yard, Mare Island, Cal., the admission rate per 1,000 for influenza for the year 1918 was 259.8, as compared with 6.9 for 1915, 1.9 for 1916, and 35.9 for 1917. Excluding the fall epidemic, the admission rate for 1918 would have been 62.9 per 1,000, which indicates that influenza was undoubtedly on the increase long before the storm broke in October.
The monthly curve for influenza at that station during the year 1918 shows a higher mark in January than in December, 1917. The curve rose sharply to an apex in March, 1918, and then fell abruptly, so that in May it as much lower than in January. It then rose slowly through June, July, and August, reaching the level of January in the latter month. An unaccountable drop occurred in September to the lowest point reached during the year. This was followed by a tremendous rise in October; then a drop to nearly one-half in November and a still further drop in December, when the curve again reached the level of January.
In the sanitary report from United States Navy Yard, Mare Island, Cal., for the month of July, 1918, it was noted that "practically all cases of pneumonia developed among detentioners, * * * and among those quartered in the barracks (naval training camp barrack building)." "All had been treated for influenza or 'colds' and most of the cases were sent to hospital with a diagnosis of influenza or bronchitis and the diagnosis was changed at the hospital to pneumonia as the result of later developments." "Most of the pneumonia cases were atypical, suggesting the bronchial type, and there was no case of frank lobar pneumonia."
During the month of March, 1918, 1,066 employees of the Ford Motor Co., detroit, Mich., were sent home from the factory with influenza. The number of cases gradually increased from 10 on March 1 to 54 on March 27, and 145 on March 28. From March 29 to April 8, an average of 168 cases occurred. April 9 a sudden drop to 65 took place and thereafter the incidence continued to lessen until May 8, when the number of cases dropped to 10, which seemed to be the average number of cases occurring normally at that time. It was estimated that the number of patients sent home from work represented about half the total number of cases occurring among employees. During this spring epidemic the average time lost per patient was 3.57 days.
Several cargo vessels from Europe arrived in Philadelphia early in the summer with influenza cases on board. From the British steamship City of Exeter, arriving at Philadelphia June 22 from Liverpool, 27 lascars and an English quartermaster were removed to hospital desperately ill with pneumonia. Two steamships from Norway and another from some Scandinavian port arrived in New York August 14 and 15 with a number of patients ill with influenza. The Norwegian liner Bergensford,, arriving at New York August 12, reported a large number of cases resembling influenza during passage. At about the same time a steamship arrived at Newport News with almost the entire crew affected. A liner, arriving at New York August 18, reported the development of 21 cases of influenza among passengers and crew during the voyage. During the month of August a sharp outbreak occurred at Fort Morgan, Ala.
--2425-- By the middle of July it was evident from weekly statistics of the Navy and reports from ships and stations, as well as reports from Spain, Austria, Germany, Switzerland, France, Great Britain, Hawaii, and elsewhere, that influenza was again pandemic, but at that time it could not be foretold that epidemics were shortly to occur associated with a type of pneumonia scarcely equalled in intensity of infection by anything except the pneumonic form of plague and causing case-fatality rates for influenza exceeding 4 per cent in many localities. Late in August the type of cases changed; the disease began to spread progressively from one community to another. The percentage of pulmonary complications increased beyond comparison with regard to the earlier epidemics, and influenzal pneumonia frequently began very early in the disease.
The effect of influenza on the crude death rate of the Navy is strikingly shown on chart No. 1 on page 355 and chart No. 2 on page 356.
In the United States the first cases of this phase of the pandemic were recognized in the receiving ship at Boston, Mass. (Commonwealth Pier). Scattered cases of the same type had appeared among the civilian population of Boston earlier, but the serious nature of the disease was not recognized until after the beginning of the great epidemic.
It is possible that the causative agent of influenza was introduced afresh from European ports among the personnel of the receiving ship, but no particular vessel was recognized as being responsible for the introduction leading to the outbreak in question.
Epidemics of like character occurred almost simultaneously in most parts of the world. In the Canal Zone a rapidly spreading epidemic occurred even before progressive spread began in the United States. The epidemic in China began in the latter part of August. By September 1, serious epidemics were in progress in South Africa, India, and Japan, as well as in many parts of Europe. Influenza of malignant type was apparently introduced into Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from Spain, September 17, by the ship Demerara, sailing from Lisbon, Portugal, via Dakar, Africa. The epidemic in Spain had got well ahead in May. In Switzerland the epidemic began suddenly about July 1, and during July 53,698 cases of influenza were reported, as compared with 34 cases for the previous six months. In succeeding months cases were reported as follows: August, 41,626; September, 41,642; October 263,399; November, 159,422; and December, 104,612.
A comparatively mild epidemic of influenza and pneumonia prevailed in France from April 1 to August 1. About August 22 a violent outbreak began among the French forces in the vicinity of Brest. The comparatively mild earlier epidemic had apparently subsided about August 1, and the French authorities decided to continue the enrollment of the class of 1920. In the latter part of the month the violent epidemic mentioned began and reached its height in September, the pneumonia continuing into October.
It might be concluded that the cases of purulent bronchitis which occurred in northern France and England in 1917 were forerunners of the severe types of influenza which were so numerous during the
--2426--
Chart 6
Chart 6:U.S. Navy. Influenza Epidemics--1918. Case Incidence per 1000 of Complement by Days at Seventeen of the Larger Shore Stations in the United States fall of 1918. Influenza probably continued in epidemic form in France during 1917 and the spring of 1918, when it spread to Spain. In Spain the disease spread more rapidly and more extensively, and about July 1 was introduced into Switzerland either from this source or directly from France. The more serious epidemic in France, which began in August, 1918, may have been due to return spread from Spain or Switzerland or both. At any rate, it is reasonable to suppose that late in August influenza of severe type was spread from French, Spanish, and Portuguese seaports to the Orient, South Africa, the United States, and South America.
