[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 146 (Tuesday, September 4, 2018)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1196]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




   RAISING AWARENESS OF THE 100TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE 1918 SPANISH FLU

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. SHEILA JACKSON LEE

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, September 4, 2018

  Ms. JACKSON LEE. Mr. Speaker, I rise to commemorate the 100th 
Anniversary of the 1918 influenza pandemic also known as the ``Spanish 
Flu'', which killed 50 million people worldwide, including 675,000 in 
the United States.
  The Spanish Flu was the deadliest known global pandemic of the world, 
second only to the Bubonic Plague.
  In 1918 there was no health insurance; people paid for healthcare out 
of their own resources and many had a harder time gaining access to 
healthcare.
  There was no flu vaccine to protect against the influenza infection 
and no antibiotics to treat secondary bacterial infections that are 
associated with influenza infections, control efforts worldwide were 
limited to non-pharmaceutical interventions such as isolation, 
quarantine, good personal hygiene, use of disinfectants, and 
limitations of public gatherings, which were applied unevenly.
  Today we have the antibiotics, However, when the next pandemic hits 
it will be a full out race to not only identify the pandemic but also 
to develop a cure and lessen the amount of mass casualties.
  It is time that we cease this debate on universal healthcare as if it 
is not a societal benefit.
  The Affordable Care Act assures that millions of Americans have 
access to healthcare which includes annual flu vaccines.
  It is important to remember that before the era of modern medicine, 
the Spanish Flu pandemic infected an estimated 500 million people 
worldwide, which at that time was about one-third of the Earth's 
population.
  The Spanish Flu killed 10 percent of the 500 million people who 
contracted the disease.
  Mortality was high for people younger than 5 years old, 20-40 years 
old, and 65 years and older.
  The high mortality in healthy people, including those in the 20-40 
year age group, was a unique feature of this pandemic.
  While the Spanish Flu virus has been synthesized and evaluated, the 
properties that made it so devastating are not well understood.
  The Spanish flu occurred during WWI, and in fact killed more soldiers 
than those lost in baffle.
  On September 24, 1918, the Houston Chronicle reported that there were 
between 600 and 700 cases of the Spanish Flu at Camp Logan, now 
Memorial Park.
  By the end of October 1918, more than 106,000 residents in Texas' 
urban centers had been afflicted.
  It is estimated that 20,000 Texans died during the pandemic.
  There have been three additional flu pandemics since the Spanish Flu 
of 1918, including the 2009 H1N1 flu pandemic which spread to over 214 
countries and overseas territories or communities, but none has been 
nearly as deadly.
  We must continue to provide resources to fund our disease preventing 
and disease fighting institutions throughout the Federal government 
including the Department of Health and Human Services and the Centers 
for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the Department of Homeland 
Security and others who work tirelessly to protect the health and 
welfare of our citizens.
  As global citizens, we must also keep our borders open and continue 
to share information with our neighbors and global partners, like the 
World Health Organization who are committed to the prevention and 
arresting of pandemics.
  We know that when a fatal pandemic strikes there is no limit to where 
its reach might spread.
  Mr. Speaker, I call on my colleagues to join me in remembering the 
675,000 Americans who died during the 1918 Spanish Flu pandemic.
  I also call on my colleagues to continue supporting research and 
innovation into these and other diseases that will build a greater 
global preparedness for the next pandemic which we know is inevitable.
  We must remain ever vigilant to the possibilities of future pandemics 
that could have a similar impact as the Spanish Flu.
  As leaders of this nation, we must stress the need to be prepared 
while also hoping that we never see this kind of devastation again.

                          ____________________