Black flu 1918 : the story of New Zealand's worst public health disaster / Geoffrey W. Rice.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Preface -- 1. Understanding the 1918 influenza pandemic (What is influenza? ; What is the difference betweem an epidemic and a pandemic? ; What was different about the 1918 flu? ; Spanish Flu or Black Flu? ; Where did it start? How did it spread?) -- 2. What part did the First World War play? (What turned a mild flu into a killer flu? ; Mustard gas: did a world war cause a worldwide disease outbreak? ; Scary headlines ; Australia's maritime quarantine) -- 3. The flu reaches New Zealand (Do your duty! ; Did Bill Massey bring the flu on the Niagara? ; Auckland's Armistice epidemic ; Rapid spread ; Celebrating peace, spreading infection) -- 4. Organising support as the flu spreads (Block system, depots, temporary hospitals ; The southern cities ; Maori communities were devastated ; Western Samoa) -- 5. Caring for the sick and their families (Feeding the feeble: soup kitchens and distribution of food and medicine ; What happened to the children? ; Inhalation sprayers and official cough medicine ; Desperate measures ; Deaths in mental hospitals and military camps ; Then suddenly it was all over) -- 6. Reviewing the disaster (How many New Zealanders died in the 1918 flu? ; The Epidemic Commission ; Dr. Maksgill and the new Health Act, 1920 ; The myth of mass graves in Auckland ; New hospitals and changes to town planning ; New school classroom design ; Why so few memorials to the 1918 flu?) -- 7. Research and lessons learned (Recent research: Why was 1918 so deadly? ; Could it happen again? Are we prepared? ; Lessons of the 1918 flu in New Zealand ; The cost of flu to New Zealand ; Nation-building).

Many New Zealand families were affected by the 1918 influenza pandemic. In the space of about six weeks, over 6400 Pakeha died and an estimated 2500 Maori ... Because the victims' bodies turned black when they died, many believed it was the plague ... This book shows how we coped back in 1918 - the response of public health officials, how the sick were nursed, how thousands of convalescents were fed and the lessons learned that may still be useful today.