The dreaded influenza epidemic of 1918-1919 killed some 675,000 Americans.

But was it influenza? 

Consider the virus had yet to be discovered. Scientists building on Pasteur’s germ theory of disease “attempted to find the culprit for this deadly infection. Physicians would commonly order both blood and sputum cultures of their influenza and pneumonia patients mostly for research and investigative purposes…commonly found were pneumococcus, streptococcus, staphylococcus and Bacillus influenza.” (1)

Initially some scientists proclaimed is was bacillus influenza but “the bacillus was also found to be present in all cases of whooping cough and many cases of measles, chronic bronchitis and scarlet fever.” (1)

Today we know that these organisms are a part of our normal body flora. “Even though most elements of the normal microbial flora inhabiting the human skin, nails, eyes, oropharynx, genitalia, and gastrointestinal tract are harmless in healthy individuals, these organisms frequently cause disease in compromised hosts.” (2)

So, how did they know it was influenza virus? It wasn't until the 1930’s that the human influenza virus was isolated and it would be many more decades before scientists were able to test samples for its presence.

How many virus’ are there that cause influenza like illness? Hundreds? Thousands? Even today influenza remains a fairly rare illness with approximately 10-20% of samples in acute respiratory infections testing positive for influenza.

Interestingly historical data related to chiropractic and homeopathic treatments show a stark contrast related to mortality rates in those with influenza during the 1918-1919 epidemic.

Let's take a look at some of these numbers. 

“In the state of Iowa, medical doctors treated 93,590 flu patients with 6,116 deaths; a loss of one patient out of every 15. Chiropractors saw 4,735 patients with the flu and only had 6 deaths. A loss of one patient out of every 789. National figures show that 1,142 Chiropractors treated 46,394 patients for influenza during 1918, with a loss of only 54 patients. (25 deaths per 10,000) Reports from New York City alone showed that 950 people died from the flu out of every 10,000 cases treated.” (3)

It was this epidemic that actually put chiropractic on the map as a legitimate health care modality!

Shifting the looking glass at homeopathic treatment, with individual practitioners reporting in with the following data.

“Dean W. A. Pearson of Philadelphia collected 26,795 cases of influenza treated by homeopathic physicians with a mortality of 1.05%, while the average old school mortality is 30%.”

“Thirty physicians in Connecticut responded to my request for data. They reported 6,602 cases with 55 deaths, which is less than 1%. In the transport service I had 81 cases on the way over. All recovered and were landed. Every man received homeopathic treatment. One ship lost 31 on the way. H. A. Roberts, MD, Derby, Connecticut.”

“In a plant of 8,000 workers we had only one death. The patients were not drugged to death. Gelsemium was practically the only remedy used. We used no aspirin and no vaccines. -Frank Wieland, MD, Chicago.”

“I did not lose a single case of influenza; my death rate in the pneumonias was 2.1%. The salycilates, including aspirin and quinine, were almost the sole standbys of the old school and it was a common thing to hear them speaking of losing 60% of their pneumonias.-Dudley A. Williams, MD, Providence, Rhode Island.”

“Fifteen hundred cases were reported at the Homeopathic Medical Society of the District of Columbia with but fifteen deaths.”

“Recoveries in the National Homeopathic Hospital were 100%.-E. F. Sappington, M. D., Philadelphia.”

“I have treated 1,000 cases of influenza. I have the records to show my work. I have no losses. Please give all credit to homeopathy and none to the Scotch-Irish-American! -T. A. McCann, MD, Dayton, Ohio.” (4)

So why was the mortality rate so high in the allopathic community? Could it have been the treatment of choice rather than the influenza virus itself?

What were the treatments utilized by the allopathic doctors?

“Aspirin, or acetylsalicylic acid was a common remedy. For secondary pneumonia doses of epinephrine were given. To combat the cyanosis physicians gave oxygen by mask or some injected it under the skin Others used salicin which reduced pain, discomfort and fever and claimed to reduce the infectivity of the patient. Another popular remedy was cinnamon in powder or oil form with milk to reduce temperature. Finally, salt of quinine was suggested as a treatment. Most physicians agreed that the patient should be kept in bed.” (1)

At that time Aspirin was a newcomer on the scene of allopathic medicine. “The first tablet form of aspirin appeared in 1900, creating an ease of use that quickly expanded the drug’s recognition among professionals. Medical reports highlighted the benefits of aspirin, and its popularity reflected the already significant use of salicylic compounds. In 1915 aspirin became available to the public without a prescription, making it arguably the first modern, synthetic, over-the-counter, mass-market medicine and a household name around the world.” (5)

So, shortly before the influenza epidemic of 1918-1919 aspirin was sold over-the-counter. Could this explain some of the Influenza cases that presented with hemorrhaging from the upper and lower respiratory tracts as presented in resource 1? After all, it was not until 1971 that scientists began to understand how aspirin worked. Today we know it is a potent blood thinner.

It would appear that the allopathic doctors were losing great numbers of patients during this alleged influenza epidemic, perhaps not because of influenza…but because of the treatment.

Could this be one reason why, to this day, the focus remains on a pathogen as a cause of death...as opposed to highlighting the shortcomings of allopathic medicine in the treatment of influenza?

As so perfectly stated by George Levine "Observation is the power that opens up the fact and subdue it into knowledge, and the disinterested observer is the real scientist".

You decide.

Resources:

(1) The Medical and Scientific Conceptions of Influenza

https://virus.stanford.edu/uda/fluscimed.html

(2) Normal Flora

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK7617/

3) “What do The Measles and Flu Epidemic of 1918 have in common?

http://chiropracticadvocate.com/what-do-the-measles-and-flu-epidemic-of-1918-have-in-common/

(4) Influenza-1918: Homeopathy To The Rescue

http://www.nesh.com/the-new-england-journal-of-homeopathy/vol-7-no-1-springsummer-1998/influenza-1918-homeopathy-to-the-rescue/

(5) Aspirin: Turn-of-the-Century Miracle Drug

https://www.chemheritage.org/distillations/magazine/aspirin-turn-of-the-century-miracle-drug

Michelle Cotterman, RN APP is a co-  founder of Health Freedom Ohio. She is the mother of two naturally raised children. Her continuing education focuses on Holistic Health and includes Polarity Therapy, Homeopathy, and Herbalism. Michelle has been studying the science behind vaccines and the vaccine industry since 2010.