We were always told that the 1918 killer Flu took many Lawrence, Smith and other family members. Most influenza outbreaks disproportionately kill juvenile, elderly, or already weakened patients; in contrast, the 1918-1919 pandemic predominantly killed previously healthy young 15 to 30-year-old adults.
In the U.S., about 28% of the population became infected, and 500,000 to 675,000 died. It came in two waves with the first being very light and might have helped protect some of the people. Then it mutated…
The second wave of the 1918 pandemic was much deadlier than the first. The first wave had resembled typical flu epidemics; those most at risk were the sick and elderly, while younger, healthier people recoveed easily. But in August, when the second wave began in France, Sierra Leone and the United States, the virus had mutated to a much deadlier form. See charts above.
Pius Smith’s two oldest daughters (Mary and Louisa Catherine Smith) both passed within weeks of each other from the flu (click here for more).
The USA had approximately 103 Million people in 1918 with 675,000 influenza deaths. With 350 million Americans today, this would equate to having 2.3 million deaths…
