Profile America - Thursday,
March 11th. A devastating public
health crisis began in the U.S. on
this day 92 years ago -- and has been
mentioned often in discussions about
the H1N1 virus scare of recent
months. The disease was called the
"Spanish influenza," and
first hit soldiers at Fort Riley,
Kansas, just back from fighting in
Europe. The virus moved quickly, and
in October of 1918 195,000 Americans
perished. In one day alone, 851 New
Yorkers died. By 1920, nearly
one-in-four Americans had suffered
from this strain of the flu, killing
a half-million of them. But even less
dramatic forms of the disease are
deadly. Each year, more than 56,000
Americans die of the flu and
pneumonia. You can find these and
more facts about America from the
U.S. Census Bureau, conducting the
2010 Census beginning April 1st.
Sources: Chase's Calendar of Events
2010, p. 171
Statistical Abstract of the United
States 2010, t. 115
http://www.census.gov/compendia/statab/2010edition.html
