The body, however, does not take this invasion lying down. Fevers are caused by the body raising its own temperature in order to make itself an inhospitable host for the virus. Thicker mucus is caused by an influx of white blood cells (parts of the blood that are meant to fight off infection) to the nose and throat. The symptoms typically exhibited by an infected host are not because of the virus, but because of the body’s response and attempt to fight off a foreign agent that has entered the body. The body’s response to infection is belie Hospital committee charged with redesigning ved to be the reason that the Great Influenza Epidemic of 1918 was so deadly. It is thought, based on experiments with samples of the disease, to have elicited an extreme and severe immune response in the body called a cytokine storm. These “storms” as they are called, are caused by the immune response that goes unregulated and is not able to stop itself, causing a victim to succumb to the response of their own body. In the case of this strain of influenza, the virus rapidly multiplies in the body, causing the body to react acutely, creating symptoms like inflammation, or the lungs filling up with fluid and white blood cells. An afflicted patient could possibly die of suffocation if the inflammation and fluid buildup go untreated. Younger, better developed immune systems are more susceptible to cytokine storms because their immune systems work faster and harder, making their cytokine storms more intense. This is thought to be one of the main reasons why more young and healthy people died of the flu when typically, “[the] conventional flu usually claims mostly the very young and very old.” (NBCNews). The very young have yet to build up a strong immune system that can fight away harmful viruses like influenza, and the very old do not have a strong immune system anymore that can put up a fight against influenza, neither strong enough to produce a cytokine storm. The Great Influenza was able to gain contact with more young people due to the state of the world at the time of the pandemic. The last year of World War One was 1918, the same year as the outbreak of this disease. Young men and women, as soldiers and nurses, were in constant movement between America and Europe to “serve at the frontline[s].” (American Experience) [American Nurs Hospital committee charged with redesigning es in World War 1] This wartime movement of people caused the disease to spread at an increased rate, as shown by the first wave of influenza coming from a military camp in America, wh Hospital committee charged with redesigning ich eventually spread to Europe when the soldiers shipped out. The soldiers who were moving back and forth were none other than those who were most susceptible to complications from the flu: the young and healthy. The Great Influenza hit hard and fast, all across the world, including America and Europe where the epidemiological histories of each area  Hospital committee charged with redesigning could have had an effect on the virus’s morbidity and mortality rate. EPIDEMIOLOGICAL HISTORY OF AMERICA An epidemic is classified as a number of cases of a disease in an area that is higher than the expected amount for that time period. The United States of America, while being much younger than many countries in Europe, has a lengthy history of epidemics and disease outbreaks, due to its history of immigration and colonization. These disease outbreaks can be studied in regards to how they affected the population of America and then applied to if they would have affected the infection rate of the Great Influenza Epidemic of 1918. In 179 Hospital committee charged with redesigning 3, there was an outbreak of yellow fever in Philadelphia, which eventually reached epidemic proportions. When a group of immigrants arrived from the Caribbean, they brought with them pestilence that caused the city to slowly erupt into chaos as more and more people fell ill with the yellow fever. The virus itself is “mosquito-borne…fever.” (Yellow Fever- prevention in travelers) spreading where mosquitos bite and feed on an infected person and then spread it to another person by biting them. Yellow fever comes with typical flu symptoms like fever, body aches, and nause Hospital committee charged with redesigning a, and then once a victim goes into the toxic phase, they experience symptoms like jaundice, seizures, or bleeding from various orifices in the face such as the eyes, nose, or mouth. The virus killed over 3,000 people despite efforts by volunteers, specifically the black community in >