While many young men were off fighting The Great War, South Carolina, like many other
states, was fighting a war of its own at home.
This time, the fight was against Mother Nature.
While mankind was busy innovating weapons for war, Mother Nature devised a deadly creation
of her own.
An influenza pandemic known as the "Spanish Flu" was spreading all over the world in 1918.
Not to be confused with an epidemic, which is a widespread sickness localized to one
country or region, a pandemic affects the whole world.
It was popularly believed that this strain of influenza originated in Spain, but this
is not the case.
Since Spain was neutral during WWI, it was not affected by wartime censorship restrictions.
Spain was the only country reporting about the Pandemic in early 1918, hence why people
thought the sickness originated there.
With the outbreak of the Spanish Flu in January 1918, the flu would eventually spread from
the war in Europe to the Eastern United States, including South Carolina.
Influenza first arrived in South Carolina in Abbeville County, in September 1918.
The S.C.
State Board of Health concluded several reasons why the flu first appeared in the Piedmont
area.
First was the direct railroad connection between South Carolina, and Kansas, where the Pandemic
first appeared in the United States.
The other was due to the upstate being more densely populated than any other part of the
state.
The flu spread rapidly in that region due to the increasing popularity of cotton mills,
drawing people in from the rural areas with work opportunities.
The nature of the work in the cotton mills; working in close quarters around many people,
made for a prime breeding ground for influenza and pneumonia.
It would not be long before the flu would make its way throughout the state.
The flu hit both rural and urban areas alike during WWI era South Carolina.
Urban areas in South Carolina suffered much worse compared to their rural cousins.
Counties such as Dillon, Greenville, Richland, and Charleston were hit much harder than Beaufort,
Cherokee, Fairfield, Colleton, and Saluda, just to name a few.
Rural areas fared better against the flu compared to their urban counterparts.
In rural areas, people primarily gathered in churches and schools.
Whereas in urban areas, larger populations meant more people in many different places.
Another reason Greenville, Richland, and Charleston were among the worst was due to the military
installations in place there: Camp Sevier in Greenville, Camp Jackson in Richland, and
the Navy Base in Charleston.
Soldiers, marines, and sailors alike regularly passed through these installations during
the war.
The close-quarter environments and poor sanitation enabled the flu to spread like wildfire.
News of the flu spread rapidly throughout South Carolina's communities.
This caused mass panic and hysteria throughout the state, and efforts needed to be taken
to quell both the flu, and the panic.
The state government rallied together community leaders to come up with solutions to combat
the Flu Pandemic.
A general quarantine was put into effect, where patients, along with the doctors and
nurses treating them, had to be isolated for a minimum of 5 days before returning to work,
school, or other functions.
In addition, many wore gauze or cloth masks to prevent spread of infection by coughing
or sneezing.
On October 7, 1918, the State government directed local health officers and county sheriffs
to perform a mandatory shutdown of schools, churches, and picture shows, and to prevent
other public gatherings.
Local businesses throughout the state were encouraged to shut down as well, such as cotton
mills, banks, and general stores.
High volume gatherings were discouraged for fear of spreading the pandemic.
When conditions improved throughout South Carolina's communities, local authorities
could lift quarantines at their discretion.
However, authorities could renew the quarantines should the flu return.
The Pandemic dealt a major blow to South Carolina's economy, which was mostly agrarian.
With the outbreak of the flu, many farmhands and textile workers were incapacitated, and
thus production of cotton and textiles were significantly slowed.
Companies lost money with many people at home sick; little to no work could be done.
The healthcare industry, on the other hand, experienced a major boom.
Patients flooded hospitals and doctors' offices.
The medical field was a male dominated industry at the time and many of the doctors were off
fighting World War I, serving as combat medics and field surgeons.
Women now began to fill roles once held by men, allowing them opportunities for additional
education, and filling shortages in the medical field.
Societal norms and laws from the period also contributed to the number of deaths in South
Carolina.
Jim Crow laws made conditions even worse for African American communities, compared to
white communities.
When comparing the infection and death statistics throughout the state, in most cases, more
African Americans died from the Pandemic compared to whites.
Segregation hindered African American patients and health-care professionals from accessing
healthcare facilities.
As a result, African American communities became responsible for their own health care
in combating the flu.
The Pandemic in the United States lasted until about 1920, but the Pandemic in South Carolina
slowed down mid-1919.
South Carolina weathered the pandemic without any real forms of medicine.
Protection against influenza would finally appear in 1938, with the development of a
vaccine by Jonas Salk and Thomas Francis.
While it is not 100% guaranteed protection, given influenza's mutative nature, getting
your flu shot every year, and practicing good hygiene are encouraged, since they are our
only protection against the flu.