The flu of 1918 was one of the most intense pandemics the world has experienced, killing three million people just in Europe and millions more across the globe. The world was not prepared for how many lives would be taken and how intense the symptoms were, taking nearly 20 million lives. The effects on soldiers during world war I had similar effects but the conditions these soldiers were living in worsened the symptoms as well as the spread of influenza. Being isolated during the pandemic did not help anyone with the casualties that the world was about to endure. Nothing could stop the spread and it left a great impact on those serving in World War I. Soldiers suffered greatly, the military took a major toll, and people all around the world suffered immensely with the symptoms of the flu.
Influenza had a major impact on soldiers during the war, through the trenches the spread of the virus became worse and worse and allowed the virus to spread rapidly, expanding more and more and eventually impacting the entire world
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The military did play a large role when it came to the spreading of the flu and it's said that that's what caused it to move across the atlantic. The flu infected nearly 40% of the U.S military and navy, the flu at the time had a high mortality rate which hurt us’s training schedule with the military. Once the flu was under control the US army had entirely new rules to learn. The military had to learn how to properly and effectively sanitize as well as test any water supplies, vaccinate their troops, and treat or prevent other infectious viruses. At this point, history had repeated itself, as many viruses similar to influenza started due to armies, weapons and battlefield illnesses. Although it was unfortunate for the military, it forced them to learn a great deal more about illnesses and allowed them to prevent