The Spanish Influenza Pandemic in The Northern Regions of the Kingdom of Hungary in 1918 (original) (raw)
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History in Flux : Journal of the Department of History, Faculty of Humanities, Juraj Dobrila University of Pula, 2019
The Spanish flu, one of the worst epidemics in history, appeared in 1918, on the eve of the end of the World War I. The characteristic of the epidemic on the territory of the city of Rijeka has been poorly studied. Certainly, the lack of primary sources, such as hospital registries, have made the understanding of the incidence and the course of the epidemic in the city more difficult. Therefore, the death certificates have emerged as the main primary source. The purpose of this paper is to explore and describe mortality caused by the (Spanish) flu during 1918 and at the beginning of 1919, using the death registers of those who lived in the area of the city center and the surrounding parishes. The results of the Spanish flu mortality research in the area of Rijeka are compared to the Spanish flu specific mortality on the territory of the three parishes situated in the wider area of Rijeka – Brseč, Mošćenice and Lovran. The elucidation of the characteristics of the Spanish flu epidemic and its impact on the quotidian life in the city of Rijeka is possible through the analysis of daily newspapers as well. In this paper, we have explored such articles in the La Bilancia, Rijeka’s newspaper published in Italian.
Mortality burden of the 1918-1919 influenza pandemic in Europe
Influenza and Other Respiratory Viruses, 2009
Background The origin and estimated death toll of the 1918-1919 epidemic are still debated. Europe, one of the candidate sites for pandemic emergence, has detailed pandemic mortality information. Objective To determine the mortality impact of the 1918 pandemic in 14 European countries, accounting for approximately three-quarters of the European population (250 million in 1918). Methods We analyzed monthly all-cause civilian mortality rates in the 14 countries, accounting for approximately three-quarters of the European population (250 million in 1918). A periodic regression model was applied to estimate excess mortality from 1906 to 1922. Using the 1906-1917 data as a training set, the method provided a non-epidemic baseline for 1918-1922. Excess mortality was the mortality observed above this baseline. It represents the upper bound of the mortality attributable to the flu pandemic. Results Our analysis suggests that 2AE64 million excess deaths occurred in Europe during the period when Spanish flu was circulating. The method provided space variation of the excess mortality: the highest and lowest cumulative excess ⁄ predicted mortality ratios were observed in Italy (+172%) and Finland (+33%). Excess-death curves showed high synchrony in 1918-1919 with peak mortality occurring in all countries during a 2-month window (Oct-Nov 1918). Conclusions During the Spanish flu, the excess mortality was 1AE1% of the European population. Our study highlights the synchrony of the mortality waves in the different countries, which pleads against a European origin of the pandemic, as was sometimes hypothesized.
Spatial-temporal excess mortality patterns of the 1918–1919 influenza pandemic in Spain
BMC Infectious Diseases, 2014
Background: The impact of socio-demographic factors and baseline health on the mortality burden of seasonal and pandemic influenza remains debated. Here we analyzed the spatial-temporal mortality patterns of the 1918 influenza pandemic in Spain, one of the countries of Europe that experienced the highest mortality burden. Methods: We analyzed monthly death rates from respiratory diseases and all-causes across 49 provinces of Spain, including the Canary and Balearic Islands, during the period January-1915 to June-1919. We estimated the influenza-related excess death rates and risk of death relative to baseline mortality by pandemic wave and province. We then explored the association between pandemic excess mortality rates and health and socio-demographic factors, which included population size and age structure, population density, infant mortality rates, baseline death rates, and urbanization. Results: Our analysis revealed high geographic heterogeneity in pandemic mortality impact. We identified 3 pandemic waves of varying timing and intensity covering the period from Jan-1918 to Jun-1919, with the highest pandemic-related excess mortality rates occurring during the months of October-November 1918 across all Spanish provinces. Cumulative excess mortality rates followed a south-north gradient after controlling for demographic factors, with the North experiencing highest excess mortality rates. A model that included latitude, population density, and the proportion of children living in provinces explained about 40% of the geographic variability in cumulative excess death rates during 1918-19, but different factors explained mortality variation in each wave. Conclusions: A substantial fraction of the variability in excess mortality rates across Spanish provinces remained unexplained, which suggests that other unidentified factors such as comorbidities, climate and background immunity may have affected the 1918-19 pandemic mortality rates. Further archeo-epidemiological research should concentrate on identifying settings with combined availability of local historical mortality records and information on the prevalence of underlying risk factors, or patient-level clinical data, to further clarify the drivers of 1918 pandemic influenza mortality.
A Foreign Lady: The Polish Episode in the Influenza Pandemic of 1918
Acta Poloniae Historica, 2016
The essay describes the Polish episode in the 1918-20 infl uenza pandemic, situating the occurrence in the European and international context, and covering some relevant research issues. The topic is introduced by a brief discussion of the most recent hypotheses regarding the genesis of the pandemic and how it related to the World War in its declining phase. The core section, discussing the situation in Poland, begins with a description of the civilisation crisis caused by the frontline recurring across the country and the policies pursued by the occupational powers and the tough sanitary conditions implied by these developments. A survey of accessible sources is preceded by an outlined reconstruction of the course of the epidemic in various areas of the country, delineation of its timeframe, description of the symptoms and of the responses to the disease, attempts made to prevent its dissemination, and treatment methods in use at the time. The author seeks to determine the basic fi gures such as the morbidity and mortality rates, as compared against the data available for the other countries. In conclusion, considered are the presumed reasons behind the disappearance of the 'Spanish fl u' epidemic experience from Polish collective memory.
The Spanish flu and the health system: Considerations from the city of Parma, 1918
Demographic Research, 2022
BACKGROUND The gravity of the Spanish flu has been often associated with inadequate health systems. However, few studies have used health data effectively in their analysis of epidemics. OBJECTIVE To analyze the role of hospitals in an Italian town during the Spanish flu and its effect on the risk of dying at home. METHODS Individual-level information from the Permission of Burials was used to evaluate the impact of the epidemic on city hospitals. A logistic model was used to estimate the odds of a home death in order to elucidate possible sociodemographic mechanisms linked to hospital saturation issues. RESULTS During the epidemic the odds of dying at home increased by 29% overall, driven especially by an increase in home deaths among the poorest social groups. However, the well-off maintained the highest odds of dying at home throughout 1918. CONCLUSIONS Hospitals facilitated the spread of the epidemic in the city and contributed to its high mortality level. The increase in the odds of dying at home for the poorest was likely associated with hospital saturation, which conversely does not appear to have affected the well-off. In fact, this social group already had very high levels of home deaths in the pre-epidemic period. CONTRIBUTION Evaluating the role of hospitals during the Spanish flu allows better comprehension of the spread and evolution of the epidemic, especially regarding possible saturation issues and differential access to health resources.
The Lethal Spanish Influenza Pandemic in Poland
Medical science monitor : international medical journal of experimental and clinical research, 2017
The Spanish influenza pandemic in the years 1918-1920 was the largest and most tragic pandemic of infectious disease in human history. Deciphering the structure of the virus (including the determination of complete genome sequence) of this pandemic and the phylogenetic analysis and explanation of its virulence became possible thanks to molecular genetic analysis of the virus isolated from the fixed and frozen lung tissue of influenza victims who died in 1918 and were buried frozen in Alaska and Spitsbergen. Epidemiological data from the course of this pandemic in Poland have not been previously published. For analysis, we used source materials such as clinical studies and case reports of doctors fighting against the pandemic and registries of influenza cases in units of the Polish Army and military hospitals. Clinically, the pandemic of 1918 was characterized by the same symptoms and course as influenza in other years. Pathologically, the disease was similar to the other pandemic, i...
The 1918 Spanish influenza pandemic: plus ça change, plus c’est la même chose
Microbiology Australia, 2020
Towards the end of world war one, the world faced a pandemic, caused not by smallpox or bubonic plague, but by an influenza A virus. The 1918–19 influenza pandemic was possibly the worst single natural disaster of all time, infecting an estimated 500 million people, or one third of the world population and killing between 20 and 100 million people in just over one year. The impact of the virus may have influenced the outcome of the first world war and killed more people than the war itself. The pandemic resulted in global economic disruption. It was a stimulus to establishment of local vaccine production in Australia. Those cities that removed public health restrictions too early experienced a second wave of infections. Unfortunately, it seems that the lessons of infection control and epidemic preparedness must be relearnt in every generation and for each new epidemic.
The impact of pandemic influenza, with special reference to 1918
International Congress Series, 2001
Pandemic influenza, by definition, affects the overwhelming majority of countries and population subgroups in the world in a very short period of time. The impact of pandemics is not merely a matter of the biology of the particular virus in individuals. Pandemics are a social phenomenon affected by prevailing social circumstances, e.g., war, economic conditions, crowding, and food supply. In turn, pandemics affect social organization and events, e.g., governance and famine. Much of the study of pandemic influenza has been in industrialized countries in temperate zones; the occurrence of excess morbidity and mortality, and the strain on health care and other services in these countries are well known. A conference in 1998 brought together an increasingly large body of historical research about the pandemic of ''Spanish influenza'' in 1918-1919. It included interesting contributions about the impact of the pandemic in areas such as sub-Saharan Africa, India (where mortality is estimated at 17 million, or about half the world total), and the Pacific Islands. There are important lessons for contemporary society from the impact of the pandemic of 1918-1919 and other pandemics. One can make a compelling case for pandemic preparedness, including developing and executing strategies both to prevent and to ameliorate pandemic spread.
2013
The reconciliation of 1867 between Austria and Hungary brought great changes to Hungarian public administration: the way towards the building up of a modern public administration had been opened. Although there was a functioning public health system and a related legislation from the late 18th century, major issues - such as balanced geographical distribution of medical personnel, fair access to medical services even in the poorer regions of the country, and the effective protection against some contagious diseases - were not resolved for decades. During the reform work of public administration since the 1870s, the lawmakers touched repeatedly the framework and functioning of the public health as well. Although the general conditions of the domain depended traditionally on the municipalities and counties due to the national importance of the matter, the government made efforts to make the functioning of the public health more efficient through centralisation. The contagious diseases...