Impact of the War on the Pandemic

Barry argues through his book that World War I had a negative impact on the pandemic. He points out that if the country had not been at war, it is possible that the flu would not even have become a pandemic. Barry additionally blames the rapid spread of the flu on the overcrowding at military camps. He also faults the government for putting so much emphasis on the war effort that they neglected to consider an epidemic.

Barry suggests that if America had not been at war, the flu would not have spread beyond Haskell County. He writes: “As sparsely populated and isolated as Haskell was, the virus infecting the county might well have died there … except this was wartime” (95). It is surmised that a soldier visiting Haskell County probably brought the flu from home to Camp Funston, where there was a...