| Summary: | res 18nov< Dealing with the influenza Concordia quarantined students in 1918 for protection against >1 Top, domesticated chickens were more than likely the main carriers of the Spanish 1918 influ-enza known as "La Grippe." Today, the birds are carrying the avian flu in Asia, Turkey, Hungry, and Russia. Bottom, patients lay in hospital beds after contracting the Spanish influenza. Cur-rently, researchers are looking for similarities between the 1918 outbreak and today's avian flu. BY LAURA TREES Imagine being quarantined to Concordia's campus for one month. Even though not every student owns a car, leaving campus at least once a week is sufficient recuperation from a hectic college life. But Concordia students in 1918 were forbidden to leave campus for 30 days. Because of an outbreak of the Spanish influenza that plagued the world, Con-cordia closed its perimeter, but carried on with classes and entertainment. Almost 90 years later, with the recent hype of the avian flu from Asia, it is nec-essary to understand that this outbreak-ing influenza is not present in the United States and has little chance of becoming a problem this year. "It's a possible health threat, and we'll probably have to deal with it some day," said John Flaspohler, assistant biology professor at Concordia. Bpt, it is not yet a means for chaos, he said. The influenza known as the "Spanish Flu" or "La Grippe" that overwhelmed the world in 1918 had similar origins as today's avian flu, both of which come from birds. The 1918 influenza killed 20 to 40 million people nationwide, 10,000 in Minnesota alone. Arriving in Minnesota in September 1918, the Spanish flu was the deadliest outbreak in the state's history. Stu-dents at Concordia were quarantined to campus from Oct. 9 until Nov. 7,1918; President Aasgaard bid everyone remain on campus for protection against the outbreak. Concordia was one of the most fortunate northwestern schools because classes were able to carry on as before. Thankfully, the influenza bypassed Con-cordia, and no one on campus became ill. "It is evident that our students are so abnormally healthy that even the 'Flu' germ shuns them," said a November 1918 edition of The Crescent, the Con-cordia publication prior to The Concord-ian. The college witnessed a single ca-sualty when one female student broke quarantine. After returning to her home-town, the girl contracted the disease and died soon after. To alleviate boredom associated with the quarantine in 1918, students attend-ed the extra social activities planned on campus, and Concordia also continued to maintain a regular worship schedule. Since the influenza was a hot conver-sational topic campus-wide in 1918, a few students recorded their thoughts on paper. This poem appeared in the Octo-ber edition of The Crescent, describing Concordia's campus during the quaran-tine: Quiet the country store, Unusual peace is a treat, And corncobs never more Roam down there for something to eat. After the toil of the day Never a change will we know Till silently stealing away, Influenza germs shall go. Nothing to do but work, Eat, sleep, dream of the past. Even though Concordia carried on as usual, the Fargo-Moorhead area closed other schools, churches and theaters, while Moorhead itself suffered 78 deaths from the Spanish influenza. State-wide, meetings, church services and concerts were canceled, and church bells tolled whenever someone died. Today, with the current appearance of the avian flu, professionals are look-ing to the influenza outbreak of 1918 in preparation for possible epidemics. "It is helpful to look at the 1918 virus and see what mutations were important," Flaspohler said. "If you can compare that to the new version, you can determine where the virus is heading." Regardless of the comparisons, it is
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