Swine Flu 1976 Outbreak: Propaganda And Vaccination For H1N1 In 1976

Posted on November 4, 2009 by TDR in Communicable Diseases

Throughout the history of mankind, there had been numerous cases of ailments and diseases that struck very hard amongst human population. Some of them have become a legend on their own; thanks to the huge toll in human lives they took. One of these that stand out is the bubonic that which almost obliterated the entire population of Europe. While recent history is spared from the ravages of diseases that can equal that of the bubonic plague, the swine flu 1976 outbreak is the closest thing to the plague.

Being a geographically large nation and home to people from any part of the world, the United States is in a unique situation especially when it comes to disease outbreaks.

For one, the long border and coastal area of the nation is a factor that makes it easy for people who are carriers of certain diseases to enter the United States. One such disease that has hounded the U.S. for a long time is swine flu. As a matter of fact, there have been 4 major swine flu USA outbreaks dating back to 1918.

Swine Flu Outbreak In 1976

The swine flu 1976 outbreak is remarkable in its own right. This is because in this particular outbreak, a new strain of the virus causing the diseases was detected at an army recruit at a military camp in the United States.

What is more startling is that the strain of the virus was traced to have the same property as the strain which caused the outbreak in 1918. This is the first time that a swine flu virus from a previous outbreak was found to have similar characteristics with recent ones.

The swine flu 1976 outbreak was limited to the United States. However, just like with other diseases that have a history of affecting the entire globe, the outbreak in the US sent shivers to other countries lest the disease will spread to them. Domestically, the response in the US to the outbreak was prompt: President Ford ordered that every citizen of the United States be vaccinated not only for protection of individuals but more importantly to contain the spread of the swine flu 1976 outbreak.

Swine Flu Vaccination And Propaganda

One serious problem which beset efforts to control the swine flu 1976 outbreak was the fracas about the vaccinations for the virus then. This resulted after some individuals affected with the disease died soon after receiving immunization. As a result, swine flu propaganda 1976 outbreak became very strong that health officials not only had to face problems related to the ailment itself but also to propaganda. The situation became so intense than that people were more afraid of the vaccinations themselves than of the disease itself. The swine flu 1976 outbreak is indeed remarkable in this way as a manifestation of what malicious information can do to an otherwise beneficial program that seeks to address health concerns of the nation. In fact, by the time it was proven that the vaccines have nothing to do with the deaths of patients, it was too late; the public have become hostile to the vaccination program.

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