"Destroyer and teacher": Managing the masses during the 1918-1919 influenza pandemic.
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.
Tomes
Nancy
N
Department of History, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY 11794-4348, USA. nancy.tomes@stonybrook.edu
D003140:Communicable Disease Control / Q000266:history*; D004196:Disease Outbreaks / Q000266:history*; D006293:Health Promotion / Q000266:history*; D049673:History, 20th Century; D006801:Humans; D006920:Hygiene / Q000266:history*; D007251:Influenza, Human / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000266:history*; D040241:Social Marketing; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology; D014505:Urban Population