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{"id":19293,"date":"2020-06-09T11:00:09","date_gmt":"2020-06-09T15:00:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/circulatingnow.nlm.nih.gov\/?p=19293"},"modified":"2021-05-07T09:16:00","modified_gmt":"2021-05-07T13:16:00","slug":"revealing-data-dr-james-herrick-and-the-1918-influenza-epidemic","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/circulatingnow.nlm.nih.gov\/2020\/06\/09\/revealing-data-dr-james-herrick-and-the-1918-influenza-epidemic\/","title":{"rendered":"Revealing Data: Dr. James Herrick and the 1918 Influenza Epidemic"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Circulating Now <em>welcomes guest blogger <\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/liberalarts.vt.edu\/departments-and-schools\/department-of-history\/faculty\/e-thomas-ewing.html\"><em>E. Thomas Ewing<\/em><\/a><em>, PhD, Professor of History and Associate Dean in the College of Liberal Arts and Human Sciences at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University.\u00a0 Professor Ewing offers a comparison of health recommendations during the Spanish Influenza epidemic of 1918 and today.<\/em><\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_19298\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-19298\" style=\"width: 217px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><a href=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/circulatingnow.nlm.nih.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/Herrick-James-Portrait-1917-Lake-Institute-Yearbook.jpg?ssl=1\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"19298\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/circulatingnow.nlm.nih.gov\/2020\/06\/09\/revealing-data-dr-james-herrick-and-the-1918-influenza-epidemic\/herrick-james-portrait-1917-lake-institute-yearbook\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/circulatingnow.nlm.nih.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/Herrick-James-Portrait-1917-Lake-Institute-Yearbook.jpg?fit=455%2C630&ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"455,630\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{"aperture":"0","credit":"","camera":"","caption":"","created_timestamp":"0","copyright":"","focal_length":"0","iso":"0","shutter_speed":"0","title":"","orientation":"1"}\" data-image-title=\"Herrick-James-Portrait-1917-Lake-Institute-Yearbook\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"<p>Photograph of Dr. Herrick, 1917, in Lake Institute Yearbook<br \/>\nCourtesy Illinois Institute of Technology Digital Archives<\/p>\n\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/circulatingnow.nlm.nih.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/Herrick-James-Portrait-1917-Lake-Institute-Yearbook.jpg?fit=217%2C300&ssl=1\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/circulatingnow.nlm.nih.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/Herrick-James-Portrait-1917-Lake-Institute-Yearbook.jpg?fit=455%2C630&ssl=1\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-19298\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/circulatingnow.nlm.nih.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/Herrick-James-Portrait-1917-Lake-Institute-Yearbook.jpg?resize=217%2C300&ssl=1\" alt=\"A formal photograph of a middle aged white man wearing a suit and tie and academic robe.\" width=\"217\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/circulatingnow.nlm.nih.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/Herrick-James-Portrait-1917-Lake-Institute-Yearbook.jpg?resize=217%2C300&ssl=1 217w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/circulatingnow.nlm.nih.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/Herrick-James-Portrait-1917-Lake-Institute-Yearbook.jpg?w=455&ssl=1 455w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 217px) 100vw, 217px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-19298\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Photograph of Dr. Herrick in <em>Lewis Institute Yearbook<\/em>, 1917\u00a0<br \/><a href=\"http:\/\/collections.carli.illinois.edu\/cdm\/compoundobject\/collection\/iit_lewis\/id\/6035\"><em>Courtesy Illinois Institute of Technology Digital Archives<\/em><\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>The term \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nih.gov\/about-nih\/who-we-are\/nih-director\/articles\/profile-piece-atlantic-dr-collins-stresses-importance-social-distancing-other-preventative-actions-flatten-curve-coronavirus-transmission\">flattening the curve<\/a>\u201d circulated widely in early 2020 to explain the important social distancing measures to control the spread of COVID-19. Did medical experts during the 1918 epidemic also understand the concept of \u201cflattening the curve\u201d? An <a href=\"https:\/\/collections.nlm.nih.gov\/catalog\/nlm:nlmuid-101493938-bk\">article<\/a> by the eminent physician, Dr. James Herrick in 1919, suggests that this strategy was part of the public health response to that historic epidemic. First published in the <a href=\"https:\/\/jamanetwork.com\/journals\/jama\/article-abstract\/221813\">Journal of the American Medical Association<\/a> in 1919 and then reprinted as a brochure available from the National Library of Medicine\u2019s digital collection, this article illustrates how a leading physician drew on direct experience treating influenza during the epidemic to educate the medical community and the public about this disease. Herrick\u2019s record directing the influenza ward of Presbyterian Hospital in Chicago can be evaluated using statistics from its <a href=\"https:\/\/archive.org\/details\/annualreportofpr36pres\/page\/n1\/mode\/2up\">Annual Report<\/a>. Herrick\u2019s article also reveals how a leading medical researcher understood treatment options and made recommendations still relevant in the present.<\/p>\n<p>Herrick\u2019s approach to \u201cflattening the curve\u201d began with \u201csegregation of those who are ill\u201d and \u201cprohibiting public gatherings\u201d to \u201clessen the number of contact infections.\u201d Such measures \u201clessen the rapidity of the spread of the disease by lessening the concentration of exposures.\u201d He argued that steps to limit contact within the population, such as prohibiting meetings, should \u201cspread the disease more thinly over a longer space of time.\u201d Such measures may also \u201cpostpone\u201d the spread of the disease \u201cuntil such time as the less virulent type is prevalent.\u201d Herrick\u2019s conclusion directly anticipates similar outcomes predicted as a result of social distancing in 2020: \u201cBy this diluent action fewer fatalities may result.\u201d These are \u201cdesirable ends, and so these measures are to be encouraged.\u201d Herrick\u2019s description was thus consistent with the public health measures implemented in <a href=\"https:\/\/circulatingnow.nlm.nih.gov\/2013\/11\/05\/exploring-chicagos-spanish-flu-of-1918\/\">Chicago in 1918<\/a>, which may have contributed to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.influenzaarchive.org\/cities\/city-chicago.html\">lower death rates<\/a>, and certainly anticipate current discussions on how to \u201cflatten the curve\u201d in response to Covid-19.<\/p>\n<p><strong>A Fight Against the 1918 Epidemic<\/strong><\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_19300\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-19300\" style=\"width: 262px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><a href=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/circulatingnow.nlm.nih.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/Presbyterian-Hospital-Chicago-Jones-Building-1918.jpg?ssl=1\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"19300\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/circulatingnow.nlm.nih.gov\/2020\/06\/09\/revealing-data-dr-james-herrick-and-the-1918-influenza-epidemic\/presbyterian-hospital-chicago-jones-building-1918\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/circulatingnow.nlm.nih.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/Presbyterian-Hospital-Chicago-Jones-Building-1918.jpg?fit=545%2C623&ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"545,623\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{"aperture":"0","credit":"","camera":"","caption":"","created_timestamp":"0","copyright":"","focal_length":"0","iso":"0","shutter_speed":"0","title":"","orientation":"1"}\" data-image-title=\"Presbyterian-Hospital-Chicago-Jones-Building-1918\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"<p>Presbyterian Hospital building, in Annual Report<br \/>\nCourtesy Rush University, Internet Archive<\/p>\n\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/circulatingnow.nlm.nih.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/Presbyterian-Hospital-Chicago-Jones-Building-1918.jpg?fit=262%2C300&ssl=1\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/circulatingnow.nlm.nih.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/Presbyterian-Hospital-Chicago-Jones-Building-1918.jpg?fit=545%2C623&ssl=1\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-19300\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/circulatingnow.nlm.nih.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/Presbyterian-Hospital-Chicago-Jones-Building-1918.jpg?resize=262%2C300&ssl=1\" alt=\"A historic photograph of a nine story stone building on a city street corner.\" width=\"262\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/circulatingnow.nlm.nih.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/Presbyterian-Hospital-Chicago-Jones-Building-1918.jpg?resize=262%2C300&ssl=1 262w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/circulatingnow.nlm.nih.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/Presbyterian-Hospital-Chicago-Jones-Building-1918.jpg?w=545&ssl=1 545w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 262px) 100vw, 262px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-19300\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Presbyterian Hospital building, in <em>Presbyterian Hospital Annual Report<\/em>, 1918<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/archive.org\/details\/annualreportofpr31pres\/page\/n2\/mode\/2up\"><em>Courtesy Rush University, Internet Archive<\/em><\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Did Presbyterian Hospital succeed in \u201cflattening the curve\u201d? Its 1918 <a href=\"https:\/\/archive.org\/details\/annualreportofpr36pres\/page\/n1\/mode\/2up\">Annual Report<\/a> claims that \u201cpositive action was taken\u201d as soon as \u201cit became evident\u201d that influenza \u201cwas spreading through the city.\u201d Early in October, at a time when the number of deaths was still low, the <a href=\"https:\/\/catalog.hathitrust.org\/Record\/009666452\">Chicago Health Department<\/a> ordered that hospitals isolate all influenza patients, prohibited family visits, and required attending nurses to wear masks. \u00a0With all \u201cordinary cases\u201d removed from the entire floor of the Jones Memorial Building devoted to influenza and all surgical cases, except emergencies, postponed or cancelled, the hospital \u201csettled down to a fight against the pandemic.\u201d Many nurses fell ill, as many as six a day, with the total reaching eighty-three during the epidemic. Only one nurse, Gladys Foster, \u201ca senior pupil of much promise, could not rally.\u201d Kitchen and laundry staff also fell ill, which \u201ccrippled\u201d the hospital. In the early days of the epidemic, many cases were \u201cdesperate when received, generally with serious pneumonia, and for a few days the mortality was large.\u201d As the epidemic progressed, however, \u201cwe were fortunate in saving practically all that came to us.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_19299\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-19299\" style=\"width: 840px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/circulatingnow.nlm.nih.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/Chicago-Preventive-Measure-Epidemic-Hospital-Isolation-Marked.jpg?ssl=1\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"19299\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/circulatingnow.nlm.nih.gov\/2020\/06\/09\/revealing-data-dr-james-herrick-and-the-1918-influenza-epidemic\/chicago-preventive-measure-epidemic-hospital-isolation-marked\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/circulatingnow.nlm.nih.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/Chicago-Preventive-Measure-Epidemic-Hospital-Isolation-Marked.jpg?fit=1600%2C1000&ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"1600,1000\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{"aperture":"0","credit":"","camera":"","caption":"","created_timestamp":"0","copyright":"","focal_length":"0","iso":"0","shutter_speed":"0","title":"","orientation":"1"}\" data-image-title=\"Chicago-Preventive-Measure-Epidemic-Hospital-Isolation-Marked\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"<p>Chart Showing Public Health Measures, Chicago, in Health Department Annual Report<br \/>\nCourtesy Hathi Trust<\/p>\n\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/circulatingnow.nlm.nih.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/Chicago-Preventive-Measure-Epidemic-Hospital-Isolation-Marked.jpg?fit=300%2C188&ssl=1\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/circulatingnow.nlm.nih.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/Chicago-Preventive-Measure-Epidemic-Hospital-Isolation-Marked.jpg?fit=840%2C525&ssl=1\" class=\"size-large wp-image-19299\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/circulatingnow.nlm.nih.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/Chicago-Preventive-Measure-Epidemic-Hospital-Isolation-Marked.jpg?resize=840%2C525&ssl=1\" alt=\"A chart of deaths per day from September though November spiking to 360 in October. Descriptions of various closings and bans are listed on the relevant dates. \" width=\"840\" height=\"525\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/circulatingnow.nlm.nih.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/Chicago-Preventive-Measure-Epidemic-Hospital-Isolation-Marked.jpg?resize=1024%2C640&ssl=1 1024w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/circulatingnow.nlm.nih.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/Chicago-Preventive-Measure-Epidemic-Hospital-Isolation-Marked.jpg?resize=300%2C188&ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/circulatingnow.nlm.nih.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/Chicago-Preventive-Measure-Epidemic-Hospital-Isolation-Marked.jpg?resize=768%2C480&ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/circulatingnow.nlm.nih.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/Chicago-Preventive-Measure-Epidemic-Hospital-Isolation-Marked.jpg?resize=1536%2C960&ssl=1 1536w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/circulatingnow.nlm.nih.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/Chicago-Preventive-Measure-Epidemic-Hospital-Isolation-Marked.jpg?resize=1200%2C750&ssl=1 1200w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/circulatingnow.nlm.nih.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/Chicago-Preventive-Measure-Epidemic-Hospital-Isolation-Marked.jpg?resize=840%2C525&ssl=1 840w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/circulatingnow.nlm.nih.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/Chicago-Preventive-Measure-Epidemic-Hospital-Isolation-Marked.jpg?w=1600&ssl=1 1600w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 840px) 100vw, 840px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-19299\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Chart Showing Public Health Measures, Chicago, in <em>Health Department Annual Report, 1918<\/em><br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/catalog.hathitrust.org\/Record\/009666452\"><em>Courtesy Hathi Trust<\/em><\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>The Annual Report provides striking statistical evidence of a successful response to the epidemic: 9,852 patients admitted and 293 deaths, for a rate of approximately 3% in 1918. This rate was similar to the 3% death rate reported in 1916, 1917, 1919, and. The Annual Report\u2019s concession that \u201cmortality was large\u201d suggests that any spike in deaths was temporary, and may have been offset by decreases in mortality at other times, although the data is not detailed enough to make that judgment. The claim of only one death from influenza is repeated in Herrick\u2019s article, which does provide some credibility to this striking claim.<\/p>\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/circulatingnow.nlm.nih.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/Presbyterian-Hospital-Chicago-Patients-Deaths-1916-1920.png?ssl=1\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"19301\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/circulatingnow.nlm.nih.gov\/2020\/06\/09\/revealing-data-dr-james-herrick-and-the-1918-influenza-epidemic\/presbyterian-hospital-chicago-patients-deaths-1916-1920\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/circulatingnow.nlm.nih.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/Presbyterian-Hospital-Chicago-Patients-Deaths-1916-1920.png?fit=1147%2C711&ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"1147,711\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{"aperture":"0","credit":"","camera":"","caption":"","created_timestamp":"0","copyright":"","focal_length":"0","iso":"0","shutter_speed":"0","title":"","orientation":"0"}\" data-image-title=\"Presbyterian Hospital, Chicago, Patients & Deaths 1916 to 1920\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/circulatingnow.nlm.nih.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/Presbyterian-Hospital-Chicago-Patients-Deaths-1916-1920.png?fit=300%2C186&ssl=1\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/circulatingnow.nlm.nih.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/Presbyterian-Hospital-Chicago-Patients-Deaths-1916-1920.png?fit=840%2C521&ssl=1\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-19301 size-large\" title=\"Presbyterian Hospital, Chicago, Patients & Deaths 1916 to 1920\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/circulatingnow.nlm.nih.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/Presbyterian-Hospital-Chicago-Patients-Deaths-1916-1920.png?resize=840%2C521&ssl=1\" alt=\"Presbyterian Hospital, Chicago, Patients & Deaths 1916 to 1920, showing a fairly steady percentage around 2.8% for that period.\" width=\"840\" height=\"521\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/circulatingnow.nlm.nih.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/Presbyterian-Hospital-Chicago-Patients-Deaths-1916-1920.png?resize=1024%2C635&ssl=1 1024w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/circulatingnow.nlm.nih.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/Presbyterian-Hospital-Chicago-Patients-Deaths-1916-1920.png?resize=300%2C186&ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/circulatingnow.nlm.nih.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/Presbyterian-Hospital-Chicago-Patients-Deaths-1916-1920.png?resize=768%2C476&ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/circulatingnow.nlm.nih.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/Presbyterian-Hospital-Chicago-Patients-Deaths-1916-1920.png?resize=840%2C521&ssl=1 840w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/circulatingnow.nlm.nih.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/Presbyterian-Hospital-Chicago-Patients-Deaths-1916-1920.png?w=1147&ssl=1 1147w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 840px) 100vw, 840px\" \/><\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Understanding Influenza<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Dr. James Herrick was among the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sciencedirect.com\/science\/article\/abs\/pii\/0002934380902429\">best known American physicians<\/a> of the early twentieth century, whose <a href=\"https:\/\/collections.nlm.nih.gov\/catalog\/nlm:nlmuid-101557003-img\">most important contribution<\/a> was <a href=\"https:\/\/jamanetwork.com\/journals\/jama\/article-abstract\/375924\">discovery of sickle cell anemia<\/a> in a West Indies patient, Walter Clement Noel, published in 1910. Given his prominence in medical fields seemingly distant from respiratory diseases, the fact that Herrick took charge of the influenza ward in fall 1918 confirms the remarkable danger presented by this epidemic. The title of the article, \u201cTreatment of Influenza by Means Other Than Vaccines and Serums,\u201d is certainly suggestive of the situation in spring 2020, as health officials, doctors, and the public figure out how to deal with a new viral threat without either vaccines or treatments specific to the disease. In fact, Herrick conceded that physicians treating influenza have \u201cno generally accepted plan of treatment\u201d and \u201cno one remedy of sovereign value.\u201d The \u201cone feature of the treatment of influenza on which all agree\u201d was having patients rest until fever, cough, and other symptoms have disappeared. Herrick also recommended a \u201csunlit room, plenty of fresh air and light diet with a liberal amount of liquids.\u201d Most influenza patients, according to Herrick, \u201cdo not need a single dose of medicine,\u201d as treatment is \u201creally expectant, symptomatic, and individualistic.\u201d Given current debates about treatments and preventives for Covid-19, Herrick\u2019s warning to professional colleagues will sound familiar: \u201cThe self-restraint of the level-headed physician is likely to be swept aside by the thought of the possible grave consequences of the malady, and his accustomed good judgement is apt to be smothered in the semi hysterical atmosphere of alarm that pervades the community during the visitations of the epidemic.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>At Presbyterian Hospital, \u201cno prophylactic vaccine or use of serum\u201d was used for any patients, who instead were treated with rest and liquids. Offering a pointed commentary on professional rivalries and public clamor, Herrick wrote: \u201cI have wondered whether if I had used some vaccine or serum or other supposed specific I might not now be eager to get into print with my record of only 0.6 per cent mortality.\u201d Instead of rushing into print, Herrick declared his satisfaction with \u201cknowing that no lives were taken by drugs\u201d and that \u201ccautious conservatism gave Nature a chance to work a cure.\u201d Where drugs were used to treat symptoms, Herrick found that digitalis was the \u201cremedy that seemed of greatest value,\u201d averting \u201cdangerous or even fatal heart failure,\u201d with nausea as the only side effect. Herrick found that the next most helpful treatment, however, was opium, administered as heroin or codeine, to alleviate \u201cpain, sleeplessness and severe cough.\u201d Other successful treatments included camphorated oil, epinephrin and, in Herrick\u2019s own words, \u201cI think I saved one life by bleeding.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Herrick\u2019s words are certainly worth remembering today:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>\u201cOne ought not to be a nihilist as regards drugs in this disease; but no apology is needed for being a good deal of a skeptic as to the value of much of the therapy that is prevalent…How much harm may be done by overdrugging no one can estimate. But the danger is real and not imaginary.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>Even with his cautions about preventives and treatments, and even after the epidemic took 8,000 lives in <a href=\"https:\/\/catalog.hathitrust.org\/Record\/009666452\">Chicago<\/a> in just eight weeks, Herrick seems confident that his profession had taken the proper steps, learned the correct lessons, and succeeded in their mission. Understanding Herrick\u2019s perspective illustrates how medical history can inform understanding of preventive measures, treatment options, and the importance of accurate statistics today.<\/p>\n<p><em><a href=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/circulatingnow.nlm.nih.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/10\/e_thomas_ewing.jpg?ssl=1\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"2106\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/circulatingnow.nlm.nih.gov\/2013\/11\/05\/exploring-chicagos-spanish-flu-of-1918\/e_thomas_ewing\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/circulatingnow.nlm.nih.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/10\/e_thomas_ewing.jpg?fit=240%2C294&ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"240,294\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{"aperture":"0","credit":"","camera":"","caption":"","created_timestamp":"0","copyright":"","focal_length":"0","iso":"0","shutter_speed":"0","title":""}\" data-image-title=\"E_Thomas_Ewing\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/circulatingnow.nlm.nih.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/10\/e_thomas_ewing.jpg?fit=240%2C294&ssl=1\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/circulatingnow.nlm.nih.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/10\/e_thomas_ewing.jpg?fit=240%2C294&ssl=1\" class=\"alignleft wp-image-2106\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/circulatingnow.nlm.nih.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/10\/e_thomas_ewing.jpg?resize=100%2C123&ssl=1\" alt=\"Portrait of Tom Ewing outside.\" width=\"100\" height=\"123\" \/><\/a>Dr. Ewing\u2019s research in the historical collections of the National Library of Medicine includes using new methods of <\/em><a href=\"http:\/\/circulatingnow.nlm.nih.gov\/2013\/11\/05\/exploring-chicagos-spanish-flu-of-1918\/\"><em>analyzing textual information<\/em><\/a><em> to discover information about public health communication. \u00a0In April 2020, students in his course Topics in the History of Data in Social Context presented a symposium <\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nlm.nih.gov\/news\/NLM_Virtual_Research_Symposium.html\">Reporting, Recording, and Remembering the 1918 Influenza Epidemic<\/a><em> sponsored by the NLM History of Medicine Division in cooperation with the National Endowment (NEH) for the Humanities Office of Digital Humanities-as part of the <\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nlm.nih.gov\/news\/NEH_and_NLM_Renew_Partnership_to_Collaborate_on_Research_Education_and_Career_Initiatives.html\"><em>ongoing NLM\/NEH partnership<\/em><\/a><em> to collaborate on research, education, and career initiatives. Follow Dr. Ewing on Twitter at <\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/EThomasEwing\"><em>@EThomasEwing<\/em><\/a><em>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Circulating Now welcomes guest blogger E. Thomas Ewing, PhD, Professor of History and Associate Dean in the College of Liberal<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":19605840,"featured_media":19302,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_coblocks_attr":"","_coblocks_dimensions":"","_coblocks_responsive_height":"","_coblocks_accordion_ie_support":"","advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[12763,51014,76943049],"tags":[24765,5154,678875829,22379,541876,136219,29189,678875826,569498],"class_list":["post-19293","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-collections","category-guests","category-revealing-data","tag-1910s","tag-chicago","tag-covid-19","tag-data","tag-digital-humanities","tag-epidemic","tag-influenza","tag-presbyterian-hospital","tag-spanish-flu"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/circulatingnow.nlm.nih.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/herrick-clinic_feature.jpg?fit=900%2C400&ssl=1","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p3xcDk-51b","jetpack-related-posts":[],"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/circulatingnow.nlm.nih.gov\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19293","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/circulatingnow.nlm.nih.gov\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/circulatingnow.nlm.nih.gov\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/circulatingnow.nlm.nih.gov\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/19605840"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/circulatingnow.nlm.nih.gov\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=19293"}],"version-history":[{"count":11,"href":"https:\/\/circulatingnow.nlm.nih.gov\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19293\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":19312,"href":"https:\/\/circulatingnow.nlm.nih.gov\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19293\/revisions\/19312"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/circulatingnow.nlm.nih.gov\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/19302"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/circulatingnow.nlm.nih.gov\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=19293"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/circulatingnow.nlm.nih.gov\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=19293"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/circulatingnow.nlm.nih.gov\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=19293"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}} |