Jersey Shore Magazine

j e r s e y s h o r e • F A L L / H O L I D A Y 2 0 2 0 11 continued on page 12 Records show that the city of Asbury Park was under quarantine from October 8 through November 3, 1918. Much like today, schools, churches, pool halls, taverns, the- aters, and any place where people would gather socially were shuttered. Public drinking fountains were turned off and what telephones exist- ed at the time were reserved for emer- gencies only. Spitting was outlawed and local housewives were urged to thoroughly peel and scrub raw foods to avoid spreading the illness. Due to a shortage of healthy nurs- es and doctors, shore-area volunteers were sought to help with medical and custodial duties at hospitals. Undertakers and gravediggers were also recruited from rural and shore towns to help prepare mass graves for the dead. The Coast Guard Station in Deal was forced to shut down as six of the eight men stationed there became bedridden. Likewise, fifty people perished in Perth Amboy during the first weekend of October, and one family in the Port Reading section of Woodbridge lost nine of sixteen chil- dren in a month. More than 1,400 Asbury Park residents were ultimately diagnosed with the Spanish Flu with 203 fatalities. Surprisingly, the illness did not originate in Spain as its name sug- gests. Rather, it was dubbed the "Spanish Flu" because, as a neutral country, Spain was one of the first countries to report about the novel flu-like illness as nations engaged in the Great War suppressed the story to avoid spreading fear during an already stressful time. Since the news articles about the virus originated from Spain, it was assumed the illness must have also originated there, resulting in the misnomer "Spanish Flu." The airborne illness could spread to over one-hundred people in only a few hours. Symptoms included chills, fever, headache, terrible weak- ness, and lack of oxygen, and would appear so suddenly and violently that many who were admitted to the hos- pital in the morning would be dead by evening. From 1918 through 1920, it is estimated that over five hundred million people worldwide became infected with the Spanish Flu and twenty to fifty million perished, with an estimated 675,000 fatalities in the United States and a death toll in New Jersey of almost 18,500. Two More Flu Pandemics: 1957 and 1968 In February 1957, a new influ- enza-A strain of avian flu known as H2N2 emerged in East Asia and triggered the pandemic known as the Asian Flu. Ten years later, another avian flu known as the Hong Kong Flu caused a similar pandemic in 1968. Both outbreaks had minor effects along the Jersey Shore, with the 1968 bug causing some shore- area schools to close for only a few days. The Hong Kong Flu continues to circulate today as a seasonal influ- enza-A virus. Swine Flu Reemerges in New Jersey in 1976 In February of 1976, several sol- diers stationed at Fort Dix developed symptoms of an influenza-like illness which turned out to be an isolated strain of H1N1 swine flu. Thirteen soldiers were hospitalized, and one died from the illness which remained contained to the army base. While the source of the flu-strain was never identified, fears of another pandem- ic like the one in 1918 spread like wildfire and led to the rapid devel- opment of a swine flu vaccine and the ill-fated 1976 National Influenza Immunization Program. Much like the debate surrounding today's con- troversial yet non-existent COVID-19 vaccine, faith in the 1976 vaccine wavered—first because of its swift cre- ation, then as a result of an increase in reports of vaccinated people suf- fering from Guillain-Barre Syndrome after inoculation. The program was ultimately suspended after a quarter of the United States population had already been administered the vaccine. SARS: COVID-19's Distant Cousin in 2003 In 2003, an epidemic of SARS (severe acute respiratory syndrome) killed eight hundred people world- wide after originating in mainland China and Hong Kong. Travelers car- ried the illness, which is an airborne The 1976 Swine Flu outbreak. This historic image of people awaiting vaccination for the Swine Flu (part of the National Influenza Immunization Program in 1976) was captured at a New Jersey shopping center. Note that a jet-injector was being used to administer the vaccine. CDC Public Health Image Library

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