Influenza: How the Flu Changed History

By Barbara Krasner

The influenza epidemic in 1918 killed more people than World War I. Read this book to learn more about the history of this infectious disease.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Capstone Young Readers
• Release date: May 1, 2019
• ISBN: 9781496644909

Barbara Krasner

Barbara Krasner publishes the popular blog, The Whole Megillah: The Writer's Resource for Jewish-Themed Story. She is the author of many articles, short stories, poems, and books. She lives in New Jersey and teaches in the English and History departments of New Jersey colleges and universities.

Book preview

Infected!: Influenza by Barbara Krasner

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Cover

Title Page

Chapter 1: Sick at Sea

Chapter 2: The Spanish Flu

Chapter 3: Studying the Flu

Chapter 4: Vaccinations

Chapter 5: The Threat Continues

Glossary

Read More

Index

Copyright

Back Cover

CHAPTER 1

SICK AT SEA

On September 29, 1918, 19-year-old Reuben Law boarded a ship in New York. The ship was bound for France. Law was a soldier in the U.S. Army. The United States had joined World War I (1914–1918) in 1917. Law and many other soldiers were headed to France to fight against Germany and its allies.

Two days into his journey, Law wrote in his diary that he felt very sick. He was in a state of confusion called delirium. Delirium is a symptom of influenza. Law had the Spanish Influenza, or the Spanish flu. This type of flu infected millions of people worldwide in