Lessons to be learned from the Spanish flu pandemic of 1919 -Part 2 -Pearls and Irritations (original) (raw)
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Spanish influenza of 1918-19: The extent and spread in South Australia
Australasian epidemiologist, 2015
The 1918-19 Spanish influenza was the first pandemic for which official records were compiled in South Australia. This followed the recognition of the disease as notifiable under the Public Health Act and the establishment of a surveillance system by the then South Australia Central Health Board (a precursor to the current South Australian Health Department). This is the first paper to describe the Spanish influenza epidemic for South Australia from an epidemiological and geographical perspective. Notification numbers were retrieved from the South Australian Central Health Board meeting records. Data were entered into an Excel spreadsheet and Epi info 7 software to enable a geographical analysis. There were 8,839 influenza notifications: of these, 4,854 (55.0%) originated from metropolitan areas (Attack Rate 9.9 per 1,000 population) and 3,985 notifications (45.0%) originated from regional areas (Attack Rate 8.0 per 1,000 population). There was a lack of comprehensive epidemiologica...
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 SPANISH FLU PANDEMIC – A LESSON NOT LEARNED
The Covid-19 pandemic that began last year inevitably prompted scientists to look back at the last major Spanish flu pandemic that occurred a century ago, sweeping across the globe and contributing to massive human losses from which some nations had to recover. Much like today, the threat of the Spanish flu was initially underestimated, most likely due to the hostilities happening as a result of WWI. The War ended, but the virus evolved from an epidemic to a major, unprecedented pandemic. Authorities reacted slowly to the spread of the flu, and the health system was completely unprepared to deal with the new and unknown danger. At first, even doctors, virologists, and epidemiologists could not come to terms with the type of virus they were dealing with. However, as the pandemic spread, the world adapted to the new conditions. States and local authorities introduced a series of restrictive measures to prevent the spread of the virus, hygiene measures were tightened, and there were orders for the mandatory wearing of masks, as well as the closure of shops, and cultural and educational institutions. There are many points that are similar from the time of the Spanish flu pandemic to today's conditions related to Covid-19. Just as it had unexpectedly appeared in 1918, the Spanish flu disappeared in 1920. It took scientists more than a decade after the end of the pandemic to discover the cause of the outbreak, but even today there are still many unknowns related to the Spanish flu.
Bulletin of The World Health Organization, 2009
Objective To examine the level of stated compliance with public health pandemic influenza control measures and explore factors influencing cooperation for pandemic influenza control in Australia. Methods A computer-assisted telephone interview survey was conducted by professional interviewers to collect information on the Australian public's knowledge of pandemic influenza and willingness to comply with public health control measures. The sample was randomly selected using an electronic database and printed telephone directories to ensure sample representativeness from all Australian states and territories. After we described pandemic influenza to the respondents to ensure they understood the significance of the issue, the questions on compliance were repeated and changes in responses were analysed with McNemar's test for paired data. Findings Only 23% of the 1166 respondents demonstrated a clear understanding of the term "pandemic influenza". Of those interviewed, 94.1% reported being willing to comply with home quarantine; 94.2%, to avoid public events; and 90.7%, to postpone social gatherings. After we explained the meaning of "pandemic" to interviewees, stated compliance increased significantly (to 97.5%, 98.3% and 97.2% respectively). Those who reported being unfamiliar with the term "pandemic influenza," male respondents and employed people not able to work from home were less willing to comply. Conclusion In Australia, should the threat arise, compliance with containment measures against pandemic influenza is likely to be high, yet it could be further enhanced through a public education programme conveying just a few key messages. A basic understanding of pandemic influenza is associated with stated willingness to comply with containment measures. Investing now in promoting measures to prepare for a pandemic or other health emergency will have considerable value. Une traduction en français de ce résumé figure à la fin de l'article. Al final del artículo se facilita una traducción al español. املقالة. لهذه الكامل النص نهاية يف الخالصة لهذه العربية الرتجمة
A Case Study on the Spanish Flu 1918 - How it burrowed Into the City of New Orleans
International Journal of Science and Research (IJSR)
The influenza outbreak killed more people in New Orleans than had died even in the very worst yellow fever epidemics. How did the outbreak turn into this destructive form initially, health workers misjudged the virus' threat. Citizens have not heeded advice to stop public demonstrations, and have opted to attend parades and protests. Victims died instantly, often within hours following an illness. The advent of the ship represented New Orleans' first exposure of a disease that eventually killed at least 40 million people around the worldand forced health care providers here and beyond to enforce the same kind of social distancing steps that officials have requested in the face of the current coronavirus threat: quarantine of the infected, quarantining those exposed to them, the prohibition of mass gatherings and public interactions. They acquire time to study, physicians, and hospitals to treat the current patients without comorbidities collapsing in the health care system, researchers to develop vaccines for others, and drug companies to generate and administer the vaccination. But New Orleans took longer than many other large U.S. cities in 1918 to begin implementing social distancing measuresseven days after the local death rate rose on Oct. 1. And New Orleans had their sanctions lifted fairly early: after 78 days. Social distancing may be the best solution if viewed purely from the viewpoint of public health, they say, but these are the decision-making government officials, and they have to calibrate public health, timing, economics, and common opinion. The epidemic that lasted until 1918-1919, is considered the deadliest pandemic in human history. Today, as the world is grinding to a halt in reaction to the coronavirus, the 1918 epidemic is being examined by scientists and historians as clues to the most successful way to avoid a global pandemic. The then-implemented attempts to curb the spread of flu, may gilessons for combating the curb the illness.
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.
“Destroyer and Teacher”: Managing the Masses during the 1918–1919 Influenza Pandemic
Public Health Reports, 2010
The Spanish influenza arrived in the United States at a time when new forms of mass transportation, mass media, mass consumption, and mass warfare had vastly expanded the public places in which communicable diseases could spread. Faced with a deadly “crowd” disease, public health authorities tried to implement social-distancing measures at an unprecedented level of intensity. Recent historical work suggests that the early and sustained imposition of gathering bans, school closures, and other social-distancing measures significantly reduced mortality rates during the 1918–1919 epidemics. This finding makes it all the more important to understand the sources of resistance to such measures, especially since social-distancing measures remain a vital tool in managing the current H1N1 influenza pandemic. To that end, this historical analysis revisits the public health lessons learned during the 1918–1919 pandemic and reflects on their relevance for the present.