Effects on Public Health The 1918 influenza pandemic had a major effect on public health in America at that time. Coordination between different levels and branches of government has improved communication regarding the spread of influenza, increased the number of people in hospitals, increased vaccine uptake, and led to improvements in infection control and containment of influenza . (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1997248/). Authoritative Measures The influenza pandemic occurred in a way that shocked many. Its spread was extremely rapid and was eventually brought to the attention of the government. The fact that the First World War was underway pushed governments even more to do something to combat the pandemic (Hayes 390). Public health authorities in the United States created their own containment plan similar to what they did with the bubonic plague. Their action plan was to reduce contact between individuals. Their ideas were created based on their knowledge of how the virus spread through the air by coughing and sneezing. Because they concluded that the virus spread through the air, they tried to limit contact between affected and unaffected people so that they did not share the same air. Public gatherings and meeting places were seen as a threat and a great place for the virus to spread and therefore were closed. In the United States, the Committee of the American Public Health Association, APHA, created measures that significantly limited public gatherings. They concluded that the gathering of bodies in a single space where they shared breathing was dangerous. Many entertainment venues such as theaters, saloons, and dance halls were closed. Public funerals were also banned. The schools were close... to the center of the map... known symptoms and patterns of disease. Experiments conducted by scientists Nicolle and Le Bailly in Paris were the first explanation that influenza was caused by a virus that passes the filter. They demonstrated that influenza was due to a submicroscopic infectious agent and not a bacterium. Scientific experiments like these had immediate preventative applications. They were part of an effort to create a vaccine that would prevent the flu. At the time, vaccines were considered the best preventative therapy. Different scientists have tried to create effective vaccines, each with a different understanding of the virus. Dr. Rosenow invented a vaccine to target the multiple bacterial agents involved in patients' serum. Its purpose was to increase immunity against the bacteria and not against the cause of the initial symptoms (Virginia). The effect of war on the spread of influenza