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Just following the war, The international epidemic referred to was the deadly Spanish influenza that struck in the autumn of 1918. By the time the epidemic had run its course in July 1919, more than million people had been infected and more than 500,000 were dead.
The flu and its virulent companion, pneumonia, killed half as many US. troops at home as died in combat in World War I. During
the height of the epidemic, schools and churches were closed, and many people ventured outside only when wearing cotton masks. An elderly gentleman, reminiscing about The Flu epidemic at Clemson
University
in South Carolina, recalled the campus Trustee House being used as a temporary infirmary. They were just bringing the bodies in like firewood he exclaimed.
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Fears are nothing more At this point in the original manuscript, Hill related the following anecdotal material:
Physicians, as everyone knows, are less subject toattack by disease than ordinary laymen, for the reason thatphysicians DO NOT FEAR DISEASE. Physicians, withoutfear or hesitation, have been known to physically contacthundreds of people daily who were suffering from suchcontagious diseases as smallpox without becoming infected.Their immunity against the disease consisted, largely, if notsolely, in their absolute lack of FEAR.While traditional medical research
may suggest other explanations, it is notable that researchers and physicians have come more and more to emphasize the influence of positive attitudes on health, healing, and general well-being. The specific example Hill uses here may not holdup. The general principle does.
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