Spanish flu cases spike in October 1918
Doctors, nurses become ill amid outbreak
Spanish influenza cases were rising at a rapid rate in Humboldt County by late October 1918.
The Oct. 21, 1918, edition of the Humboldt Times newspaper reported that at one local hospital (not named), eight nurses had become ill with the Spanish flu that week and two of the county’s 13 active physicians had also been diagnosed. To help out, American Red Cross nurses, as well as retired nurses, were heading to work at hospitals around the county.
Some of the other Spanish influenza news in late October 1918 included:
· Local laundry workers were refusing to collect and clean clothing and linens from houses where people with the Spanish flu resided. The Oct. 21, 1918, the Humboldt Times stated: “With … a limited supply of linen in the average home, conditions in certain instances have become serious.”
Dr. Lawrence Wing, Eureka’s city physician at the time, said that in his opinion, there would be no danger to these laundries “as the disease is not spread in this manner.” He did suggest ill people soak their clothing and bedding in a disinfecting solution such as Lysol before having them washed by laundry workers.
· The California State Board of Health came out with more recommendations to help dodge the Spanish flu. These included getting plenty of sunshine every day and avoiding the use of common drinking cups or towels. The State Board of Health said in the Oct. 22, 1918, Humboldt Times: “If you feel a sudden chill, followed by muscular pain, headache, backache, unusual tiredness and fever, go to bed at once.
See that there is enough bed clothing to keep you warm. Open all windows in your bedroom and keep them open at all times, except in rainy weather. … Stay in bed until a physician tells you that it is safe to get up.”
· By late October 1918, the Humboldt Times was printing daily articles about local people who were either fighting Spanish influenza or had died from the flu or related pneumonia. Unlike today, when privacy is at the utmost, the articles in 1918 included the names, ages and addresses of those affected by the illness.
· Flu masks were being worn by all dry goods
store employees in the county in late October 1918. The Humboldt Times reported this information with a lengthy story on Oct. 21 of that year. The headline read, “Flu masks now worn in stores are safe, but disconcerting: Ladies who wait on public may smile with you or at you, or not smile at all — who can tell?”
On Oct. 23, 1918, along with the usual array of articles
about World War I, a top-of-the-fold story in the Humboldt Times featured the headline, “Influenza increases alarmingly in 2 days.” On the evening of Oct. 21, 1918, Wing reported 125 new cases of the Spanish flu locally, with 182 more cases reported the next day.