18. The Russian Flu pandemic of 1889-1895
In December, 1889, a new strain of influenza reared its deadly head in St. Petersburg, the seat of the Russian Tsars and the capital of the Russian Empire. Hitching a ride on railroads to the west, and then aboard merchant and passenger ships, the virus spread around the globe with jarring rapidity. By January there were reports of the disease in the United States, across the European continent, and in Japan and Asia. Virtually every nation of the world north of the equator was stricken with the influenza commonly referred to at the time as the Russian Flu (though it was referred to as the Asian Flu as well). Within five weeks of the first reported case in Russia, the pandemic reached its peak mortality rate.
The flu’s worst damage was done by the end of 1890, but sporadic outbreaks continued until 1895. Patent medicine manufacturers touted curatives specifically formulated to prevent the Russian Flu or to treat its symptoms, none of which had any effect on the disease. Over 1 million succumbed to Russian Flu during the pandemic and the recurrent outbreaks which followed. Among them were Prince Baudouin, heir presumptive to the throne of Belgium, and John T. Ford, manager of Ford’s Theater when Abraham Lincoln was shot there in 1865.