SPANISH FLU 1918 - AFRICA , RECAP

• Africa Center for Strategic Studies, “African Adaptations to the COVID-19 Response,” Spotlight, April 15, 2020.

There is limited information available about the impact of the 1918 Spanish Flu pandemic in Africa, as many African countries were under colonial rule at the time and did not have the infrastructure in place to conduct comprehensive disease surveillance and reporting. It is believed that the pandemic did affect many parts of Africa, including East Africa.

According to historical reports, the mortality rate from the Spanish Flu in Africa varied widely depending on the region and population. Some areas experienced relatively low mortality rates, while others experienced significant mortality and morbidity. It is unclear which specific regions of Africa had the highest mortality rates during the pandemic, as this information was not systematically collected at the time.

Several risk factors likely contributed to the spread of the Spanish Flu in Africa, including factors such:

Population density: High population density can make it easier for viruses to spread from person to person. Many African communities at the time lived in close quarters with extended family members and neighbors, which could have facilitated the spread of the virus.

Poor sanitation and hygiene practices: Limited access to clean water, sanitation facilities, and soap can make it difficult to maintain good hygiene practices, such as handwashing. This can increase the risk of transmitting infectious diseases like the flu.

Inadequate access to healthcare: Many African communities at the time did not have access to adequate healthcare, which can make it difficult to diagnose and treat infectious diseases. This can increase the risk of severe illness and death from the flu.

Movement of troops: During World War I, troops from different countries moved around the world, including to various parts of Africa. This movement may have introduced and spread the Spanish Flu virus in some areas.

Malnutrition: Malnutrition weakens the immune system, making individuals more susceptible to infectious diseases like the flu.

Lack of understanding about the virus: In 1918, much was still unknown about the nature of influenza viruses and how they spread. This made it difficult to effectively communicate about the risks and appropriate prevention measures.

Poverty and socioeconomic disparities: Poverty and socioeconomic disparities can increase the risk of illness and death from infectious diseases, as individuals with limited resources may have more difficulty accessing healthcare or taking time off work to recover from illness.

Limited access to vaccines and treatments: During the Spanish Flu pandemic, there were no vaccines or antiviral treatments available to prevent or treat the flu. This meant that people had to rely on non-pharmaceutical interventions, such as isolation and quarantine, to try and limit the spread of the virus

****************************************************************************************

In terms of vaccination, it is not clear whether any vaccine was used in Africa during the 1918 pandemic, as vaccines for influenza were still in the early stages of development at that time. However, in more recent pandemics such as the 2009 H1N1 pandemic, some African countries have implemented vaccination campaigns targeting children under the age of five, who are considered to be at higher risk of severe illness and complications from influenza. This may be because young children often have less developed immune systems and are more susceptible to infections. Additionally, vaccination campaigns targeting young children may help to reduce the spread of influenza in the wider population by reducing the number of individuals who can transmit the virus.

The cause of the 50 million deaths during the Spanish Flu pandemic was a highly virulent strain of the influenza virus, known as the H1N1 virus. This strain was particularly deadly due to its ability to cause severe respiratory complications, leading to pneumonia and other secondary infections.

 ***************************************************************************************

                                                              SPANISH FLU 1918 

Circa 1918: A poster warning of the ‘influenza epidemic’ released by order of the government. (Image supplied by Pictorial History of Johannesburg, Anna H Smith)

The Spanish Flu, also known as the 1918 flu pandemic, was a deadly global outbreak of influenza that caused widespread illness and death in 1918 and 1919. It is estimated that the pandemic infected one-third of the world's population at the time, and caused an estimated 50 million deaths worldwide.

The pandemic was caused by an unusually severe strain of the influenza virus, which rapidly spread around the world due to the movement of soldiers during World War I. The virus was highly contagious and caused severe symptoms such as high fever, coughing, and shortness of breath. Many patients developed pneumonia and other secondary infections, which led to a high mortality rate.

The death toll of the Spanish Flu was especially devastating among young adults, as their immune systems overreacted to the virus, causing cytokine storms that led to severe inflammation and organ failure. The pandemic also had a significant impact on healthcare systems, as hospitals and medical staff were overwhelmed by a large number of patients.

To prevent the spread of the virus, governments implemented measures such as social distancing, quarantines, and the wearing of masks. Despite these efforts, the pandemic continued to spread until it eventually ran its course.

The Spanish Flu had a profound impact on the world, both in terms of the number of lives lost and its effects on healthcare and society. It led to significant advances in medical research, including the development of the first flu vaccine, and highlighted the need for improved public health measures to prevent and control future pandemics.

In Africa, including East Africa and Tanzania, the impact of the Spanish Flu pandemic was significant, although the exact number of deaths is difficult to determine due to limited data and documentation at the time. However, it is known that the pandemic had a devastating impact on many African communities, particularly those in urban areas and regions with high population density.

The Spanish Flu pandemic of 1918 was one of the deadliest pandemics in human history, claiming an estimated 50 million lives worldwide (Johnson and Mueller, 2002). South Africa was not spared from the devastating impact of the pandemic, with the first cases of the disease being diagnosed in Durban on September 14, 1918 (Potgieter et al., 1970).

The pandemic had a significant impact on South Africa, where almost half of the population of just over 6 million contracted the disease, and nearly 140,000 people died within a few weeks (Wallis, 2000). The disease spread rapidly throughout the country, and whole families were often ill or dying, with nobody left to care for them. The Black and Coloured sections of the population were most severely affected, especially the mineworkers, who suffered dreadfully. The death rate of Whites was also unusually high (Potgieter et al., 1970).

Doctors and nurses did their best to treat the ill, but they were too few in number to cope with the magnitude of the outbreak. Additionally, the epidemic occurred before modern antibiotic treatments were available, and the deaths were often due to secondary bacterial infections causing pneumonia (Potgieter et al., 1970).

The pandemic reached its peak in South Africa in October 1918, and the impact of the disease on the country is still being felt today. In 1998, an international, multi-disciplinary conference was held at the University of Cape Town to mark the 80th anniversary of the pandemic, where attention was paid to the causes, course, and consequences of this catastrophe (History Department, University of Cape Town, 

 In Tanzania specifically, there were reports of the pandemic affecting the country, particularly in the urban centers of Dar es Salaam and Dodoma. However, the government at the time downplayed the severity of the pandemic and did not implement significant measures to prevent its spread. This lack of action and information likely contributed to the high death toll in Tanzania and other parts of Africa.

H1N1 is a subtype of the influenza A virus that caused the 1918 Spanish Flu pandemic, as well as a more recent outbreak of swine flu in 2009. It is characterized by the presence of the hemagglutinin 1 (H1) protein and the neuraminidase 1 (N1) protein on its surface. The H1N1 virus can infect both humans and animals and can cause a range of symptoms from mild to severe.

Circa 1950: Mineworkers in the Kimberley diamond compounds, where the so-called Spanish Flu claimed the lives of thousands of workers earlier in the century. (Photograph by J. Jay Hirtz/ Frederic Lewis/ Getty Images)