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A day after Christmas, the epidemic seemed to wane. Snow and cold were said to have been the antidote. They were not the antidote-snow and cold contributed to the number of individuals staying in their homes, decreasing the number of contacts between individuals. The opportunity to spread the influenza virus was reduced and people developed immunity. The virus fizzled out over the next several months and the last deaths were recorded in May of 1919.

In retrospect by examining the epidemic in Winnebago County, one senses the stress of the community. For example, death records from the Northern Hospital were filed as much as three months late during this time period. There were concerns voiced in the newspapers. The epidemic spanned October 5th, 1918 through May 1919. In Winnebago County 182 people died, the majority in October, November, and December of 1918. Of the 182 deaths, the numbers can be broken down into 110 Oshkosh residents, 30 Neenah residents, 16 Menasha residents and 26 individuals from neighboring cities and townships. The flu claimed the lives of car repairmen, cigar makers, factory workers, electric streetcar motormen, wagon makers, meat cutters, milkmen, housewives, shipping clerks, salesmen, masons, miners, machinists, bakers, insurance agents, nurses, schoolchildren, rag dealers, telegraphers, papermakers, woodworkers, bookkeepers, farmers, and millworkers. Another 46 deaths were probably related to influenza if one scrutinizes the death records carefully. Reporting the numbers of cases and deaths was difficult.

Many individuals died in hospitals. During this time period, there were seven hospitals in Oshkosh. The number of deaths tabulated were: Alexian Brothers Hospital (1); Emergency Hospital (4); Mercy Hospital (7); Northern Hospital, also known as the Insane Asylum, (15); St. Mary Hospital (5); South Side Hospital (2) and Sunny View Isolation Sanitarium (3). Theda Clark Hospital in Neenah lost 17 patients to the Spanish Flu. Interestingly, most of the individuals who died at Theda Clark were not residents of Winnebago County. Most were relatives visiting people, traveling salesmen, or enroute to other destinations. There were many reports of physicians dying in the U.S. Fortunately none of the physicians in Winnebago County succumbed to the Spanish Flu. A few student nurses at Mercy Hospital perished from flu and many who left to attend the sick servicemen in training camps died of flu at the camps, along with the servicemen. A total of 108 Oshkosh servicemen died during World War I. Thirty-three of these died of flu/pneumonia. Overall, 55 Winnebago County, World War I soldiers and 1 sailor succumbed to influenza/ pneumonia. Half of these servicemen died in training camps at home or enroute to Europe. The other half died of influenza while fighting overseas.

The flu probably contributed to additional physiological stress. For example, the numbers of stillbirths and premature baby deaths rose from 28 (in 1917) to 42 (in 1918), the peak months containing deaths were October and November. There were also four suicides in October and November in 1918. The feeling of helplessness and trauma was evident. The months of October and November 1918 generated a pronounced "spike" when gathering all types of statistical data on Winnebago County.

Several county residents who survived the 1918 influenza epidemic were willing to be interviewed for a study conducted by UW-Oshkosh faculty and students during spring 2001. Many mentioned that no one spoke about this time period because it was so terrible. Now, eighty years later, they wanted to talk about it and share with the community. Many commented on the remedies used to treat the flu. Some lost parents and siblings. Some felt guilty, believing they had brought the flu home from school; they witnessed the horrific symptoms in the adults surrounding them. None were able to comprehend the scope of the influenza epidemic in the neighboring communities or the nation as a whole. Several spoke of influenza deaths that occurred in 1920, the following year. During the months of January and February 1920, there were 49 influenza related deaths in Winnebago County (31 of these were Oshkosh residents). The flu produced the same deteriorating effects as in 1918, but was limited to the two-month period.

Today scientists continue to work on the riddle of why this 1918 Influenza virus proved so deadly. Medicine and technology now are improving rapidly. The quick movement of people across the globe via air travel would make influenza difficult to contain. A meeting involving 200 experts held at the National Academy of Sciences in Washington D.C. in 1999 was organized to develop a plan that would expedite influenza surveillance and intervention on an international scale. It's hoped that the knowledge gained from studying this dangerous virus can be applied and used to prevent or, at least, predict the emergence of new influenza strains that have pandemic potential.