13. The third wave of Spanish Flu was less severe than the second wave
As troops began to return from the horrors of the First World War and the world breathed a collective sigh of relief in early 1919, Spanish Flu returned in a third wave across the globe. It was not as devastating as the second wave – which had been the most deadly of them all – but it was still more severe than the first appearance in Europe and the United States, as well as in the rest of the world. Those who had already had the flu and survived appeared to be immune to the third appearance, and it took on the indications of most forms of influenza, in that it was more dangerous for the elderly and children younger than the age of two or three. Healthy adults were more likely to survive than during the second wave.
The third wave lasted longer than its predecessors, appearing in late 1918 or early 1919, depending on the source, and lasting until late 1920, when it finally disappeared. As with the previous waves it was most virulent in areas of overcrowding, and it is likely that it was less deadly due to the previous experience of the earlier outbreaks. There was also the return of medical personnel from the war zones, which eased the shortage of professionals able to treat those stricken with the flu. By the time of the third wave, many treated the flu as a horror to be scoffed at, with children creating nursery rhymes about the illness to which they could skip rope; “I had a little bird, its name was Enza, I opened a window, and In-flu-enza”.