THE U.S. ARMY MEDICAL DEPARTMENT AND THE INFLUENZA PANDEMIC OF 1918

One of the greatest challenges faced by the U.S. Army Medical Department during World War I was the influenza pandemic of the fall of 1918. The pandemic struck the U.S. Army in the United States and Europe very hard, causing hundreds of thousands of admissions to Army hospitals and infirmaries and tens of thousands of deaths. A detailed record of the Medical Department's response to the the influenza pandemic can be found in two official sources:  First, the Annual Report of The Surgeon General, U.S. Army, for Fiscal Year 1919, part of the War Department Annual Reports to the Secretary of War, that was published in the fall of 1919 and constituted an early and incomplete account of the influenza-pneumonia pandemic; and Second, the various volumes of The Medical Department of the U. S. Army in the World War, the Medical Department's official history of its activities during the war that was produced during the 1920s and form a more complete, but not definitive, account.

In this section we have reproduced excerpts on influenza and pneumonia from the 1919 Annual Report of The Surgeon General as well as from the various volumes of the official history.

1. Annual Report of The Surgeon General, 1919

2. Volumes of the official history, The Medical Department of the U.S. Army in the World War

In addition, the official history also contained a number of documents that pertained to infectious diseases, influenza, and pneumonia. While contained in the official volumes, these documents are listed separately for ease of use and reference.

Documents:

AEF Circular No. 51, GHQ AEF, "Pneumonia, Its Prevention and Management,"12 October 1918, from Appendix, Volume II, Administration, American Expeditionary Forces, The Medical Department of the United States Army in the World War.

Extracts on "Acute Infectious Diseases and Their Control" [Including Influenza], from "Medical Department Promulgations," Volume I, The Surgeon General's Office, The Medical Department of the United States Army in the World War.