Thesis advisor: Kathleen Dunn / Nearly a century ago, a deadly pandemic swept the globe, taking with it over 25 million lives. This pandemic was caused by the elusive Spanish influenza of 1918. Although many decades have passed since this pandemic, research has yet to uncover the exact origin of the Spanish influenza and the cause of its increased virulence. By examining the current research on the Spanish influenza, some of the secrets of this virus can be uncovered. Most of today's research supports the theory that the hemagglutinin receptor of the Spanish influenza was the most likely source of its potency and that it was an amalgamation of swine and human strains created from a common avian strain that created this virus. Based upon the information that has been uncovered, there is a considerable chance that the Spanish influenza or a similar strain could return in the future. The processes of recombination and reassortment create an endless amount of genetic variants of the virus and any one of them has the potential to be lethal. Although a natural emergence of lethal influenza is a potential threat, the artificial reconstruction of the Spanish influenza or another lethal strain for the purposes of bioterrorism may be an even bigger threat. Thus, it is necessary for researchers to press on with their search for the secrets of the Spanish influenza so that a future outbreak can be avoided. As researchers continue to do their job, the government must also take action and develop the most efficient approach to protecting the public from deadly strains of influenza. / Thesis (BS) — Boston College, 2003. / Submitted to: Boston College. College of Arts and Sciences. / Discipline: Biology. / Discipline: College Honors Program.

In the fall of 1918, the First World War was drawing to a close. In the midst of Canada’s first major foray into war since Confederation, another threat became more obvious; influenza. Spanish influenza affected millions of people worldwide from 1918 to 1920 and the Canadian population was not immune to such an outbreak. This thesis uses a Mennonite population and locale, the RM of Hanover, Manitoba, as the focus for a study of influenza. In Hanover, the influenza death rate in 1918 was 13.5 deaths per 1000; double the national Canadian average of 6.1. This thesis examines how structures of healthcare networks in rural communities and tensions between provincial and federal authorities, and the Mennonite population at the end of the First World War contributed to the higher death rate amongst this ethnic group. Influenza in Hanover was a shared experience of influenza amongst a North American Mennonite diaspora. / October 2015

During the last year of World War I (1918), a second deadly foe was causing mortality around the world. Spanish Influenza killed an estimated 50-100 million people worldwide, including 50,000 people in Canada during the 1918-1919 pandemic. This thesis examines the impact of Spanish Influenza on people living in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada between June of 1918 and June of 1919. Statistical analysis with SPSS was used to determine the association between influenza-caused deaths and socio-demographic characteristics such as age, gender, immigration status, and employment. In Vancouver, those who were between the ages of 19 to 39, and those who were employed, showed higher odds of dying from influenza during the epidemic. / Graduate

During the final months of the Great War, the loss of human life was not confined to the battlefields of Western Europe. The Spanish influenza virus was rapidly spreading around the globe¸ and would ultimately leave millions dead in its wake. Some American groups, both public and private, saw the pandemic as a blessing in disguise. They interpreted the pandemic as a sign that their work, whether religious, political, commercial, or health, was more vital to the world than ever before. Influenza reinforced their existing beliefs in the rightness and necessity of their causes, and used the pandemic as a call to increase their activities. American missionaries interpreted the pandemic and its spread as a sign of the backwardness of native peoples, and they argued that the United States and Americans had an increased duty after the War and pandemic to help foreign populations with education, sanitation, and religion. For American diplomats, the pandemic was a nuisance to their work of promoting and expanding American trade. Although it devastated societies, it was not destructive to international commerce. It did, though, provide an opportunity for Americans to teach foreign peoples about better health to protect them from future diseases, and to strengthen commercial ties with the rest of the world. The U.S. Government was greatly distracted with the war effort when the epidemic hit, and refused to take it seriously. They appropriated a small amount of money to the United States Public Health Service (PHS) to deal with the epidemic. This appropriation, although small, continued a trend of the federal government becoming more involved in health efforts at the expense of states, and was used as a justification for later federal health initiatives. The PHS actively used the influenza epidemic to push for their own expansion, arguing that their success in combatting influenza showed their merit, and used it to ensure that they would maintain their power and authority after the epidemic ceased. For all of these groups, the Spanish influenza epidemic provided an opportunity for their work, and reinforced their beliefs that their efforts were needed and vital to the nation and world.

In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, American culture has experienced a renewed interest in pandemic events, including the Spanish Influenza pandemic of 1918-1919. Based on research carried out in cemeteries and monuments in Salt Lake City, Utah, this paper compares commemoration practices relating to the Spanish Influenza pandemic and the simultaneous events of First World War within the city. Such research provides evidence that warfare enjoys a greater presence in places of social memory than does disease, suggesting an inequality in the cultural value placed on different causes of death. This outcome is the result of numerous factors and continues to impact the relationship between memory, disease, and American society today.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and its membership felt a substantial impact from the effects of World War I. Although other authors have attempted to bring forward the events of these hostilities, they are few in number and the research in this area is small. Additionally, few have focused on the effects of the war on the Church. In order to increase the understanding of this influence, this work examines how the First World War affected the lives of Latter-day Saints both during and after the conflict. The entire world felt the effects of the world war and the Latter-day Saints were not exempt. Yet during this war, the LDS soldiers had an opportunity to change the way that others viewed the Church. Whether during times of training or on the battlefield, the valiant actions of these men often caused other soldiers to rethink the way they felt about the Saints. One incorrect stereotype that these men helped to remove was that the Latter-day Saints had no feelings of national loyalty. Soldiers of other faiths could not continue to hold such misconceptions after having spent time working with LDS servicemen. In addition to attitude-changing influences, Church President Joseph F. Smith was particularly conscious of the effects this conflict would have on the Church. The war would disrupt missionary work as its violence closed certain areas and missionary age young men were called on to bolster the armed forces. President Smith also feared the cost of the war in lives, which deaths increased with the outbreak of the influenza epidemic. In addition to these misgivings, the president of the Church worried about the possibility that Latter-day Saints of opposing countries would have to fight one another. it would have on missionary work, the cost in lives, and the possibility of LDS servicemen having to fight against other Saints. The influence of the war was not only felt by the soldiers. Those who remained at home learned to live thriftily and to give generously to the war effort. In addition to the general ways in which the war influenced the Church, individual soldiers also had a chance to help the Church. During this war the Church appointed for the first time multiple chaplains: Brigham H. Roberts, Calvin S. Smith, and Herbert B. Maw. These three men had opportunities to work with individual soldiers and influence them for good. Veterans from this war returned home and served in positions of leadership. Some continued military service, while others sought political positions and yet others were called to serve in general leadership positions. So, in both broad and specific ways, World War I changed the lives of Latter-day Saints.