Analysis of information sources in references of the Wikipedia article "Spanish flu" in English language version.
I came across this seemingly astute analysis in the Dec. 21, 1913, Gazette.... It was a 'Special Cable to the Gazette Through the International News Service.' Grip Is a Disease Without a Country; All Nations Repudiate Malady: Each Blaming Other Kingdoms, London, Dec. 20. — The grip is a disease without a country, according to a new book just issued which is devoted to the malady. Every country tries to make it out a native of another land.... Eighteenth-century Italian writers say Dr. Hopkirk spoke of "una influenza di freddo" (influence of cold), and English physicians, mistaking the word influenza for the name of the disease itself, used it. The same term is also used in Germany, where a host of dialect names still prevail, such as lightning catarrh and fog plague.
In the popular mind calamities often need to have their origin and cause identified and other countries or peoples credited with blame. This xenophobic response has been common in Europe, that impulse to blame others or the silent places of the Asian heartlands for the source of disease.
One is, that every epidemic owns one unknown source, whence it spreads; each nation, in turn, attributing to its neighbour from whom it derived the disease, the unenviable honour of originating it. Thus the Italians have termed it the German disease; the Germans, the Russian pest; the Russians, the Chinese Catarrh;
The outbreak immediately preceding the present one was in 1879, and has been well described by Da Costa. Like every other disease about whose pathology we know very little, this malady has not a scientifically correct name, but at different times and in different countries has received names which are almost purely local; thus the Russians have called it the Chinese catarrh, because it has often invaded Russia from China. The Germans call it the Russian pest, while the Italians in turn call it the German disease.
In one area where Blacks were the first victims, the accusatory term 'Kaffersiekte' was coined; in another district, where the position was reversed, Blacks returned the compliment with, White man's sickness'
There was a high west wind at the time and this was thought to be the carrying agent so that the affliction was called 'the disease of the wind.'
In Tehran, the disease was called the "illness of the wind" (nakhushi-yi bad) due to its initial occurrence during a strong westerly wind burst and its rapid spread.
As this included the period of the great influenza epidemic when Type IV infections were usually prevalent, it will be seen that the proportion of fixed types among carriers and among cases is not far from the same.
On September 13, 1918, the first cases of the great influenza epidemic were admitted, and during the next 10 weeks over 4,100 patients were admitted.
In flew Enza—say it fast and it becomes 'influenza.' It was a catchy little rhyme, and boys and girls skipped rope to it.
A popular playground skipping rhyme caught the ease with which this 'new disease' was transmitted: I had a little bird; Its name was Enza; I opened the window; And in-flu-enza. As influenza spread from Glasgow to Aberdeen, and from Liverpool to London's Mile End, it was not long before playgrounds throughout the country echoed to the chant.
Medical professionals and officials in Spain protested. They said the Spanish people were being falsely stigmatized.... If you've ever wondered about the staying power of a brand, the 'Spanish Flu' is a case in point. A full 100 years later, the 'Spanish Flu' is still referenced — and still remains a source of irritation in Spain.
Total deaths in Ireland 1916: 50,627
Two papers were published in The Lancet in 1917 describing an outbreak of disease constituting 'almost a small epidemic'. The first paper was written by physicians at a hospital center in northern France,3 and the second by a team at an army hospital in Aldershot, in southern England. In both earlier instances and in the 1918 pandemic the disease was characterized by a 'dusky' cyanosis, a rapid progression from quite minor symptoms to death
Labelled 'purulent bronchitis' for want of a better term, the disease proved fatal in half the cases and many soldiers also developed cyanosis. 2 years later, British respiratory experts, also writing in The Lancet, but this time in the wake of the pandemic, would decide the disease had been 'fundamentally the same condition' as 'Spanish' influenza
French journalists had, initially, called it the 'American flu'; but the fact that the American soldiers were his allies in the warlike conflict advised not to assign such a link to them.... Another most popular name in Madrid, was the 'Soldado de Nápoles' (Naples soldier), a popular song in the zarzuela (popular musical genre or 'género chico' in Spain) called La canción del olvido (The forgotten song) due both, were 'highly contagious'. Today, there are many authors who avoid such a name (the Spanish flu) and they aptly refer to it as the '1918- 1819[sic] influenza pandemic'
On June 29th 1918 Martín Salazar, Spain's inspector-general of health, stood up in front of the Royal Academy of Medicine in Madrid. He declared, not without embarrassment, that the disease which was ravaging his country was to be found nowhere else in Europe. In fact, that was not true. The illness in question, influenza, had been sowing misery in France and Britain for weeks, and in America for longer, but Salazar did not know this because the governments of those countries, a group then at war with Germany and its allies, had made strenuous efforts to suppress such potentially morale-damaging news.
The use of 'Spanish' can often have negative connotations, with the adjective often unfairly used to describe unwelcome events and problems. The most obvious example is the so-called 'Spanish flu,' a reference to the 1918 influenza pandemic...
In Europa wurde die Spanischer Grippe auch als 'Blitzkatarrh', als 'Flandern-Fieber', 'flandische Grippe', bei Engländern und Amerikanern als 'three-day'- oder 'knock-me-down'-Fieber, und in Frankreich als 'la grippe', als 'bronchite purulente' (eitrige Bronchitis) oder beim französische Militärärzte als 'Krankheit 11' (maladie onze) bezeichnet. Die Benennung von Krankheiten und insbesondere Seuchen nach ihrem vermuteten Ursprungsort ist nichts Ungewöhnliches. Es ist der Versuch, einem Geschehen auf die Spur zu kommen. Zugleich werden auf diese Weise Krankheiten als etwas Äußerliches gekennzeichnet, als etwas Fremdes, das eingedrungen ist oder eingeschleppt wurde.[In Europe, the Spanish flu was also referred to as 'Blitzkatarrh', as 'Flanders fever', 'Flanders flu', in English and Americans as 'three-day' or 'knock-me-down' fever, and in France as 'la flu', as 'bronchite purulente' (purulent bronchitis) or by French military doctors as 'disease 11' (maladie onze). The naming of diseases and especially epidemics according to their presumed place of origin is nothing unusual. It is an attempt to track down what is happening. At the same time, in this way, diseases are marked as something external, as something foreign that has invaded or been introduced.]
In Großbritannien wurde die Krankheit dagegen als 'Flandrische Grippe' bezeichnet, weil sich viele —en in den Schützengräben von Flandern ansteckten.[In Britain, on the other hand, the disease was called the 'Flanders flu' because many soldiers became infected in the trenches of Flanders.]
Another rhyme with deadly origins appeared during a worldwide influenza pandemic in 1889-1890. Certain the disease could be stopped by sealing up the home from the poisoned air outside, this safety tip emerged in schools: There was a little girl, and she had a little bird; And she called it by the pretty name of Enza; But one day it flew away, but it didn't go to stay; For when she raised the window, in-flu-Enza
in the original Hebrew the people of Israel asked: "Ma'n Hu?" {?מן הוא} – English for 'what is it?' and that is the origin of the name 'manna'
In turn, when Russia reported on the situation in Moscow, Pravda printed "Ispanka (The Spanish Lady) is in town" and the name has stuck.
Many other nicknames were given to the pandemic, many based on nationality or race: 'Spanish Lady', 'French Flu', 'Naples Soldier', 'Purple Death', 'War Plague', 'Flanders Grippe', 'Kirghiz Disease', 'Black Man's Disease', 'Hun Flu', 'German Plague', 'Bolshevik Disease' or even the 'Turco-Germanic bacterium criminal entreprise'. These discriminatory epithets reflect the many rumors and theories that quickly spread about the origins of the pathology.
Sometimes a virus contains both avian-adapted genes and human-adapted genes. Both the H2N2 and H3N2 pandemic strains contained avian flu virus RNA segments. "While the pandemic human influenza viruses of 1957 (H2N2) and 1968 (H3N2) arose through reassortment between human and avian viruses, the influenza virus causing the 'Spanish flu' in 1918 appears to be entirely derived from an avian source (Belshe 2005).
Yet the "Spanish" flu epidemic of 1918–19 resulted in about 25,000 extra deaths in Ireland, many of them young adults. This was almost as many deaths as occurred among the Irish fighting in the First World War.
The first patients in Japan, reported Shukan Gendai (May 2–9), began showing symptoms around April 1918. Initially the disease was referred to as the "Sumo Kaze" (sumo cold) because a contingent of sumo wrestlers contracted it while on a tour of Taiwan. Three well known grapplers, Masagoishi, Choshunada and Wakagiyama, died before they could return from Taiwan. As the contagion spread, the summer sumo tournament, which would have been held on the grounds of Yasukuni shrine, was cancelled.
daily newspapers carried an increasing number of advertisements for influenza-related remedies as drug companies played on the anxieties of readers and reaped the benefits. From the Times of London to the Washington Post, page after page was filled with dozens of advertisements for preventive measures and over-the-counter remedies. 'Influenza!' proclaimed an advert extolling the virtues of Formamint lozenges.
Las primeras noticias aparecieron en la prensa de Madrid el 21 de mayo de 1918.[The first news appeared in the press of Madrid on 21 May 1918.]
the names given to this disease in different parts of the world reflected prevailing concerns about certain ethnic groups and ideologies. The disease was called the 'Singapore fever' in Penang and the Bolshevik disease in Poland.
the Purple Death … name resulted from the specific skin colour in the most severe cases of the diseased, who by the rule also succumbed to the disease, and is also at the same time the only one which does not link this disease with the Iberian peninsula. This name is actually the most correct.
Two papers were published in The Lancet in 1917 describing an outbreak of disease constituting 'almost a small epidemic'. The first paper was written by physicians at a hospital center in northern France,3 and the second by a team at an army hospital in Aldershot, in southern England. In both earlier instances and in the 1918 pandemic the disease was characterized by a 'dusky' cyanosis, a rapid progression from quite minor symptoms to death
Labelled 'purulent bronchitis' for want of a better term, the disease proved fatal in half the cases and many soldiers also developed cyanosis. 2 years later, British respiratory experts, also writing in The Lancet, but this time in the wake of the pandemic, would decide the disease had been 'fundamentally the same condition' as 'Spanish' influenza
'The Serbian Newspaper' wrote in the period October 23 / November 5, 1918 at the peak of the second, deadliest wave of the pandemic: 'Various countries have been assigning the origin of this imposing guest to each other for quite some time, and at one point in time they agreed to assign its origin to the kind and neutral Spain, which had been fighting off this honour just as much as German submarines, so imposing in their search for hospitality off Spanish shores.'
French journalists had, initially, called it the 'American flu'; but the fact that the American soldiers were his allies in the warlike conflict advised not to assign such a link to them.... Another most popular name in Madrid, was the 'Soldado de Nápoles' (Naples soldier), a popular song in the zarzuela (popular musical genre or 'género chico' in Spain) called La canción del olvido (The forgotten song) due both, were 'highly contagious'. Today, there are many authors who avoid such a name (the Spanish flu) and they aptly refer to it as the '1918- 1819[sic] influenza pandemic'
Two papers were published in The Lancet in 1917 describing an outbreak of disease constituting 'almost a small epidemic'. The first paper was written by physicians at a hospital center in northern France,3 and the second by a team at an army hospital in Aldershot, in southern England. In both earlier instances and in the 1918 pandemic the disease was characterized by a 'dusky' cyanosis, a rapid progression from quite minor symptoms to death
French journalists had, initially, called it the 'American flu'; but the fact that the American soldiers were his allies in the warlike conflict advised not to assign such a link to them.... Another most popular name in Madrid, was the 'Soldado de Nápoles' (Naples soldier), a popular song in the zarzuela (popular musical genre or 'género chico' in Spain) called La canción del olvido (The forgotten song) due both, were 'highly contagious'. Today, there are many authors who avoid such a name (the Spanish flu) and they aptly refer to it as the '1918- 1819[sic] influenza pandemic'
local interpretations of the crisis had become deeply reminiscent of the increasing disobedience of the Israelites in the wilderness of Sin. It was therefore urged that the epidemic be called 'Man hu,' (an obvious corruption of "manna") meaning 'what is it?'
Etymology: In ancient times, before epidemiology science, people believed the stars and "heavenly bodies" flowed into us and dictated our lives and health—influenza means 'to influence' in Italian, and the word stems from the Latin for 'flow in.' Sickness, like other unexplainable events, was attributed to the influence of the stars... But the name for the infamous 1918 outbreak, the Spanish flu, is actually a misnomer.
Labelled 'purulent bronchitis' for want of a better term, the disease proved fatal in half the cases and many soldiers also developed cyanosis. 2 years later, British respiratory experts, also writing in The Lancet, but this time in the wake of the pandemic, would decide the disease had been 'fundamentally the same condition' as 'Spanish' influenza
The unknown disease which appeared in Madrid a fortnight ago spread with remarkable rapidity.... It is reported that there are well over 100,000 victims in Madrid alone.... Although the disease is clearly of a gripal character...
Crosby's America's Forgotten Pandemic: The Influenza of 1918, Wilson asked Army Chief of Staff General Peyton March in October 1918 if he had heard of the popular jump rope rhyme parodying the virus, and recited part of it.
French doctors gave it the name of "la grippe," which is now anglicized into "the grip" ... It is known all over the world, and there is a disposition in every nation to shift the odium of it upon some other country. Then the Russians call it the Chinese catarrh, the Germans often call it the Russian pest, the Italians name it the German disease, and the French call it sometimes the Italian fever and sometimes the Spanish catarrh.
En España, se le llamó al principio 'la fiebre de los tres días', atendiendo a la creencia, como en otros países, de que la gripe era una enfermedad leve. Las primeras noticias sobre la gripe, llamando la atención sobre que algo distinto estaba ocurriendo, aparecieron en la prensa a finales de mayo. Por ej. en el diario ABC el 22 de mayo mediante una escueta nota en la página 24: 'Los médicos han comprobado, en Madrid, la existencia de una epidemia de índole gripal, muy propagada, pero, por fortuna, de carácter leve'.[In Spain, it was initially called 'the three-day fever', based on the belief, as in other countries, that the flu was a mild illness. The first reports about the flu, drawing attention to the fact that something different was happening, appeared in the press at the end of May. For example, in the newspaper ABC on 22 May, through a brief note on page 24: "The doctors have verified, in Madrid, the existence of an epidemic of a influenza nature, very widespread, but, fortunately, of a mild nature.']
John M. Barry : The government lied. They lied about everything. We were at war and they lied because they didn't want to upend the war effort. You had public health leaders telling people this was just the ordinary flu by another name. They simply didn't tell the people the truth about what was happening.
In turn, when Russia reported on the situation in Moscow, Pravda printed "Ispanka (The Spanish Lady) is in town" and the name has stuck.
John M. Barry : The government lied. They lied about everything. We were at war and they lied because they didn't want to upend the war effort. You had public health leaders telling people this was just the ordinary flu by another name. They simply didn't tell the people the truth about what was happening.
Yet the "Spanish" flu epidemic of 1918–19 resulted in about 25,000 extra deaths in Ireland, many of them young adults. This was almost as many deaths as occurred among the Irish fighting in the First World War.
Total deaths in Ireland 1916: 50,627
Sometimes a virus contains both avian-adapted genes and human-adapted genes. Both the H2N2 and H3N2 pandemic strains contained avian flu virus RNA segments. "While the pandemic human influenza viruses of 1957 (H2N2) and 1968 (H3N2) arose through reassortment between human and avian viruses, the influenza virus causing the 'Spanish flu' in 1918 appears to be entirely derived from an avian source (Belshe 2005).
The Russians called it the Chinese flu. In Japan, it was wrestler's fever. In South Africa, it was known as either the white man's sickness or kaffersiekte blacks' disease. Soldiers fighting in the Great War called it the three-day fever—a highly inaccurate description—and when it first struck in the spring of 1918, German soldiers called it Flanders fever, after one of the war's most notorious and deadly battlefields
On June 29th 1918 Martín Salazar, Spain's inspector-general of health, stood up in front of the Royal Academy of Medicine in Madrid. He declared, not without embarrassment, that the disease which was ravaging his country was to be found nowhere else in Europe. In fact, that was not true. The illness in question, influenza, had been sowing misery in France and Britain for weeks, and in America for longer, but Salazar did not know this because the governments of those countries, a group then at war with Germany and its allies, had made strenuous efforts to suppress such potentially morale-damaging news.
The Russians called it the Chinese flu. In Japan, it was wrestler's fever. In South Africa, it was known as either the white man's sickness or kaffersiekte blacks' disease. Soldiers fighting in the Great War called it the three-day fever—a highly inaccurate description—and when it first struck in the spring of 1918, German soldiers called it Flanders fever, after one of the war's most notorious and deadly battlefields
