Does anyone remember and was here during the Hong Kong flu?

on the bay · ‎03-09-2010

It was 1968, veterans returning from Vietnam brought this back with them.

I know I was alive and cognizant then but I don't remember anyone ever talking about it. I was going to ask my mother but I doubt she would remember.

I just thought it would be interesting hearing others persepective who lived through this and remembers.

"If you walk the footsteps of a stranger, you'll learn things you never knew. Can you sing with all the voices of the mountains? can you paint with all the colors of the wind?"

Bhvbum · ‎07-18-2010

I remember it but it was spread over a period of better than 2-2 1/2 years. Deaths in the U S over those 24-36 months added up to 33,800 in the U.S according to Wikileaks.

As a comparison, this Covid-19 Pandemic, we will have by next week 100,000 deaths in just 3 months.

I am not aware of anything being closed down then, but the death toll is nothing like our current coronavirus.

sharlee · ‎03-09-2010

Oh yeah; I had it - I was in college.

I mostly remember because my family doctor, after taking my vitals, peering down my throat and listening to my cough, took his stethoscope out of his ears and said, "My dear, you've been Hong Konged." As opposed to being shanghai'ed, I guess.

Don't remember it being any worse than a bad cold, probably because I was young and healthy at the time.

"Behold! We are not bound forever to the circles of the world, and beyond them is more than memory." J.R.R. Tolkien

proudlyfromNJ · ‎05-01-2010

Well, I certainly was alive. I had just married my first husband. I don't remember it affecting us or anyone we knew. I don't remember even thinking about it.
Now, this virus is a different story for us as we know people in our small town who have died. I have never known anyone who died from a type of sickness before.

on the bay · ‎03-09-2010

@Bhvbum -

I wasn't meaning at all to compare this to what we are going thru now as nothing has been what this virus has done ever.

I just was thinking, gosh I was alive during that time but never knew about it then.

Another time in history that makes you think, why didn't I know, what was I doing?.

Yet other things I remember so clearly even in elementary school-

the Kennedy, Nixon election (we all "voted" with our parents in our classes), to the Cuban Missile Crisis, knowing we might not be here the next minute, waiting for the bus,

and doing a report on Miles Standish

and our teacher telling us Pres. Kennedy had been shot.

Also being aware at a very young age at discrimination because our mother always taught us we were all or should be equal.

You know things like that. Just being surprised that there were things I was not aware of.

I wonder if people were really worried like with polio or afraid etc.

"If you walk the footsteps of a stranger, you'll learn things you never knew. Can you sing with all the voices of the mountains? can you paint with all the colors of the wind?"

DJP · ‎03-09-2010

I had it in high school. It lasted a week or two for me. I read that 100,000 people died from it in the U.S. One million worldwide.

JaneMarple · ‎05-23-2011

@on the bay wrote:
It was 1968, veterans returning from Vietnam brought this back with them.
I know I was alive and cognizant then but I don't remember anyone ever talking about it. I was going to ask my mother but I doubt she would remember.
I just thought it would be interesting hearing others persepective who lived through this and remembers.

Yes I remember it well, I was 7 and unfortunately came down with it along with my twin sister. I remember the family doctor coming to the house a few times., My mother put us in our parent's bedroom to take care of us. How my parents or 2 other sisters missed catching it is a mystery.

You Don't Own Me- Leslie Gore
(You don't Know) How Glad I Am- Nancy Wilson

twinny70 · ‎07-03-2012

@on the bay wrote:
@Bhvbum -
I wasn't meaning at all to compare this to what we are going thru now as nothing has been what this virus has done ever.
I just was thinking, gosh I was alive during that time but never knew about it then.
Another time in history that makes you think, why didn't I know, what was I doing?.
Yet other things I remember so clearly even in elementary school-
the Kennedy, Nixon election (we all "voted" with our parents in our classes), to the Cuban Missile Crisis, knowing we might not be here the next minute, waiting for the bus,
and doing a report on Miles Standish
and our teacher telling us Pres. Kennedy had been shot.
Also being aware at a very young age at discrimination because our mother always taught us we were all or should be equal.
You know things like that. Just being surprised that there were things I was not aware of.
I wonder if people were really worried like with polio or afraid etc.

My twin sister got Bulbar Polio back in 1952. We were 4 years old and I can still remember being quarantined to our home. We had to wash our hands in what was an awful smelling antiseptic. Thank goodness for the Sauk vaccine.

on the bay · ‎03-09-2010

Wow! All those experiences must have been so scary!

I only remember in orchestra camp we all in one cabin, all of a sudden came down with something we called the green death. We were all so sick we couldn't get up out of our bunks. I was never so sick. I don't remember the year. Maybe that was an awful food poisoning or something. One kid had to go to the hospital. It lasted several long long days.

I've seen documentaries about polio and know that was such a frightening time for our parents for their children,

and the Hong Kong flu

@twinny70 . and @JaneMarple ,

and @DJP!

Thank you for sharing that.

I'm glad you all survived!

"If you walk the footsteps of a stranger, you'll learn things you never knew. Can you sing with all the voices of the mountains? can you paint with all the colors of the wind?"