{"id":3160,"date":"2020-05-27T20:02:05","date_gmt":"2020-05-27T17:02:05","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.garwheritage.co.uk\/?p=3160"},"modified":"2020-05-27T20:04:07","modified_gmt":"2020-05-27T17:04:07","slug":"the-spanish-flu","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.garwheritage.co.uk\/wordpress\/?p=3160","title":{"rendered":"The Spanish Flu"},"content":{"rendered":"

O<\/strong><\/span><\/span>ne Hun<\/strong><\/span><\/span>dred Years ago it was the<\/strong><\/span><\/span> <\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/span>Spanish<\/strong><\/span><\/span> <\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/span>flu<\/strong><\/span><\/span>.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

2020 will go down in history<\/span><\/span> <\/span><\/span><\/span>as the year of the<\/span><\/span> <\/span><\/span><\/span>Coronavirus<\/span><\/span>,<\/span><\/span> <\/span><\/span><\/span>a reminder that it was 100 years ago that the last great pandemic<\/span><\/span> <\/span><\/span><\/span>ended<\/span><\/span>, in December of 1920<\/span><\/span>. That one, known as the Span<\/span><\/span>ish flu,<\/span><\/span> infected<\/span><\/span>, it is esti<\/span><\/span>ma<\/span><\/span>ted, a<\/span><\/span>round 5<\/span><\/span>0<\/span><\/span>0<\/span><\/span> <\/span><\/span><\/span>million<\/span><\/span> <\/span><\/span><\/span>pe<\/span><\/span>ople<\/span><\/span>,<\/span><\/span> <\/span><\/span><\/span>a quarter of the world<\/span><\/span>\u2019<\/span><\/span>s popula<\/span><\/span>tion,<\/span><\/span> <\/span><\/span><\/span>and killed an estimated 50 million<\/span><\/span>,<\/span><\/span> <\/span><\/span><\/span>altho<\/span><\/span>ugh the real number<\/span><\/span>s<\/span><\/span> <\/span><\/span><\/span>remained unknown<\/span><\/span>.<\/span><\/span> <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span>There were more deaths from this than<\/span><\/span> <\/span><\/span><\/span>there were from<\/span><\/span> <\/span><\/span><\/span>the first World War.<\/span><\/span> <\/span><\/span><\/span>It was labelled<\/span><\/span> <\/span><\/span><\/span>\u2018<\/span><\/span>Spanish<\/span><\/span> <\/span><\/span><\/span>flu<\/span><\/span>\u2019<\/span><\/span>,<\/span><\/span> <\/span><\/span><\/span>but<\/span><\/span> <\/span><\/span><\/span>there<\/span><\/span> <\/span><\/span><\/span>was no proo<\/span><\/span>f t<\/span><\/span>hat it originated in Spain<\/span><\/span>; reporting re<\/span><\/span>strictions during WW1 forbade the demoralising reporting of<\/span><\/span> <\/span><\/span><\/span>deaths from illness in<\/span><\/span> <\/span><\/span><\/span>the war protagonists of<\/span><\/span> <\/span><\/span><\/span>France<\/span><\/span>,<\/span><\/span> <\/span><\/span><\/span>Britain<\/span><\/span>,<\/span><\/span> <\/span><\/span><\/span>Germany and<\/span><\/span> <\/span><\/span><\/span>Belgium,<\/span><\/span> <\/span><\/span><\/span>but there were no restr<\/span><\/span>ictions<\/span><\/span> <\/span><\/span><\/span>on reporting an<\/span><\/span>ything coming out of Spai<\/span><\/span>n, which was neutral during the<\/span><\/span> <\/span><\/span><\/span>conflict.<\/span><\/span> <\/span><\/span><\/span>Ki<\/span><\/span>n<\/span><\/span>g Alfonso<\/span><\/span> <\/span><\/span><\/span>X<\/span><\/span>III became very ill with it<\/span><\/span>,<\/span><\/span> <\/span><\/span><\/span>and his progress<\/span><\/span> <\/span><\/span><\/span>was<\/span><\/span> <\/span><\/span><\/span>followed in detail in the press, and because of that<\/span><\/span>,<\/span><\/span> <\/span><\/span><\/span>f<\/span><\/span>alse impressions were given that<\/span><\/span> <\/span><\/span><\/span>Spain<\/span><\/span> <\/span><\/span><\/span>was particular<\/span><\/span>ly badly hit,<\/span><\/span> <\/span><\/span><\/span>hen<\/span><\/span>ce the<\/span><\/span> <\/span><\/span><\/span>\u2018<\/span><\/span>Spanish<\/span><\/span>\u2019<\/span><\/span> <\/span><\/span><\/span>flu<\/span><\/span> <\/span><\/span><\/span>labe<\/span><\/span>l<\/span><\/span>.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Like the<\/span><\/span> <\/span><\/span><\/span>present<\/span><\/span> <\/span><\/span><\/span>day discussions as to the origin o<\/span><\/span>f<\/span><\/span> <\/span><\/span><\/span>the co<\/span><\/span>rona virus,<\/span><\/span> <\/span><\/span><\/span>opinion is divided as to where the<\/span><\/span> <\/span><\/span><\/span>\u2018<\/span><\/span>Spanish<\/span><\/span>\u2019<\/span><\/span> <\/span><\/span><\/span>flu originated. Some scientists have traced it back to a US army soldier<\/span><\/span> <\/span><\/span><\/span>in Kansas,<\/span><\/span> <\/span><\/span><\/span>who became ill in early<\/span><\/span> <\/span><\/span><\/span>1918<\/span><\/span>.<\/span><\/span> <\/span><\/span><\/span>He was a cook in a<\/span><\/span> <\/span><\/span><\/span>unit<\/span><\/span> <\/span><\/span><\/span>that<\/span><\/span> <\/span><\/span><\/span>had been living in very poor conditions, alongside animals,<\/span><\/span> <\/span><\/span><\/span>before the unit was then<\/span><\/span> <\/span><\/span><\/span>sent to Eur<\/span><\/span>ope<\/span><\/span> <\/span><\/span><\/span>to fight. The cramped and insanitary conditions in the trenches<\/span><\/span> <\/span><\/span><\/span>there<\/span><\/span> <\/span><\/span><\/span>meant that the virus had free rein.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

As in the prese<\/span><\/span>nt pandemic of the Covid-<\/span><\/span>19 virus,<\/span><\/span> <\/span><\/span><\/span>schools<\/span><\/span> <\/span><\/span><\/span>and businesses were closed and much public activity such as sport and theatres<\/span><\/span> <\/span><\/span><\/span>and church<\/span><\/span> <\/span><\/span><\/span>atten<\/span><\/span>dances were curtailed<\/span><\/span> <\/span><\/span><\/span>or cancelled<\/span><\/span> <\/span><\/span><\/span>as the a<\/span><\/span>uthorities sought to contain the infection. Whole families<\/span><\/span> <\/span><\/span><\/span>fell ill, member<\/span><\/span>s dying<\/span><\/span> <\/span><\/span><\/span>within<\/span><\/span> <\/span><\/span><\/span>day<\/span><\/span>s of each other<\/span><\/span>, and de<\/span><\/span>mand for burial spaces rocketed.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Life<\/span><\/span> <\/span><\/span><\/span>for the working class at the end of the war meant that the virus cou<\/span><\/span>ld have free and speedy access to all those<\/span><\/span> <\/span><\/span><\/span>under-<\/span><\/span>nouris<\/span><\/span>hed and living in crowded and insanitar<\/span><\/span>y condit<\/span><\/span>ions.<\/span><\/span> <\/span><\/span><\/span>Foo<\/span><\/span>d was scarce<\/span><\/span> <\/span><\/span><\/span>and<\/span><\/span> <\/span><\/span><\/span>without<\/span><\/span> <\/span><\/span><\/span>the necessary balance of vitamins to build up any immunity, and there was no general access to<\/span><\/span> <\/span><\/span><\/span>affordable<\/span><\/span> <\/span><\/span><\/span>medical care for<\/span><\/span> <\/span><\/span><\/span>the many. It was ironic indeed that<\/span><\/span> <\/span><\/span><\/span>many of the troops wh<\/span><\/span>o had s<\/span><\/span>urvived the trenc<\/span><\/span>h warfare in Eur<\/span><\/span>ope and<\/span><\/span> <\/span><\/span><\/span>made it home then died of this terrible infection, and the total number of deaths from the virus was greater than the number of those lost during the war.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

In<\/span><\/span> <\/span><\/span><\/span>Wales the figure was estimated as<\/span><\/span> <\/span><\/span><\/span>betwe<\/span><\/span>en 10,000 and 12,000 deaths<\/span><\/span> <\/span><\/span><\/span>from the deadly in<\/span><\/span>f<\/span><\/span>l<\/span><\/span>uenza<\/span><\/span>. In<\/span><\/span> <\/span><\/span><\/span>July 1918 the Western Mail reported that<\/span><\/span> <\/span><\/span><\/span>\u2018<\/span><\/span>Influenza is spreading in South W<\/span><\/span>ales. It is in ep<\/span><\/span>idemic form and whole families are being laid up<\/span><\/span>\u2019<\/span><\/span>. Doctors we<\/span><\/span>re fa<\/span><\/span>iling to keep up with the many<\/span><\/span> <\/span><\/span><\/span>calls<\/span><\/span>,<\/span><\/span> <\/span><\/span><\/span>and who<\/span><\/span>le families were laid up at the same time. At this ti<\/span><\/span>me of course there was no NHS and no modern<\/span><\/span> <\/span><\/span><\/span>Welfare S<\/span><\/span>tate<\/span><\/span>, and the first flu<\/span><\/span> <\/span><\/span><\/span>vaccine was some 20 years off.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

The flu had started to take hold in Wales in<\/span><\/span> <\/span><\/span><\/span>the s<\/span><\/span>ummer m<\/span><\/span>onths in the<\/span><\/span> <\/span><\/span><\/span>s<\/span><\/span>outh-<\/span><\/span>e<\/span><\/span>as<\/span><\/span>t<\/span><\/span> <\/span><\/span><\/span>valleys<\/span><\/span> <\/span><\/span><\/span>where death rates of up to 16 per 1000 were recorded in one<\/span><\/span> <\/span><\/span><\/span>week. Swansea was not so badly hit with 4 deaths per 1<\/span><\/span>000 in one week.  However there was a second wave caused by a mutation in the virus<\/span><\/span> <\/span><\/span><\/span>that hit in No<\/span><\/span>vembe<\/span><\/span>r<\/span><\/span> <\/span><\/span><\/span>o<\/span><\/span>f 1918; the Cardiff death rate was peaking at 38 per 1000, and Swansea just below that in the w<\/span><\/span>orst weeks.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

The worst-hit area in Wales was<\/span><\/span> <\/span><\/span><\/span>Ogmore and Garw<\/span><\/span>, where the death rate was 106<\/span><\/span> <\/span><\/span><\/span>per 1000 in one week in November 19<\/span><\/span>18. During this week alone<\/span><\/span> <\/span><\/span><\/span>57 people died in these two valleys, the highest death rate in a week anywhere in England and Wales.<\/span><\/span> <\/span><\/span><\/span>By the<\/span><\/span> e<\/span><\/span>nd of the pandemic in 1920 the overall death rate in Wales was calculated at 4.3 per 1000, with North Wales seeing the high<\/span><\/span>est number of deaths.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

The end of<\/span><\/span> <\/span><\/span><\/span>it<\/span><\/span> <\/span><\/span><\/span>came when the virus appeared to weaken from a mutation<\/span><\/span>, and was less<\/span><\/span> <\/span><\/span><\/span>\u2018<\/span><\/span>effective<\/span><\/span>\u2019<\/span><\/span> <\/span><\/span><\/span>because b<\/span><\/span>y then many people would have built up an immunity.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

In the absence of the NHS there were many remedies on sale that promised to<\/span><\/span> <\/span><\/span><\/span>ward off the dreade<\/span><\/span>d infection.<\/span><\/span><\/div>\n
<\/span><\/span><\/div>\n

One was<\/span><\/span> <\/span><\/span><\/span>\u201c<\/span><\/span>NOSTROLINE Nasal Specific<\/span><\/span>\u201d<\/span><\/span>, promising to protect against Influe<\/span><\/span>nza,<\/span><\/span> <\/span><\/span><\/span>Nasal Catarrh,<\/span><\/span> <\/span><\/span><\/span>Hea<\/span><\/span>d Colds and other infectious disorders.<\/span><\/span> <\/span><\/span><\/span>\u201c<\/span><\/span>It destroys the germs and soothes nose and throat<\/span><\/span>. Dela<\/span><\/span>ys are dangerous. Get it now<\/span><\/span>\u201d<\/span><\/span>.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201c<\/span><\/span>Leading che<\/span><\/span>mists<\/span><\/span>\u201d<\/span><\/span> everywhere were selling this at 1\/3, or by post, 1\/5<\/span><\/span>, and EH Davies and R Lucas, b<\/span><\/span>oth in Dunraven Place Bri<\/span><\/span>dge<\/span><\/span>nd had it, so did JL Hopkins of Po<\/span><\/span>ntycymer, JC Jones of A<\/span><\/span>berke<\/span><\/span>nfig,<\/span><\/span> <\/span><\/span><\/span>T Llewellyn of Ogmore Vale, TB B<\/span><\/span>amford and LU Lewis of<\/span><\/span> <\/span><\/span><\/span>Port Talbot.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Over in Tunbridge Wells Doctor Mackenzie<\/span><\/span>\u2019<\/span><\/span>s<\/span><\/span> <\/span><\/span><\/span>Influenza Tonic<\/span><\/span> <\/span><\/span><\/span>(Spanish Flu- Preven<\/span><\/span>tion is better than cure-<\/span><\/span>)<\/span><\/span> <\/span><\/span><\/span>was being toute<\/span><\/span>d as the<\/span><\/span> <\/span><\/span><\/span>\u201c<\/span><\/span>sure preventative of<\/span><\/span> <\/span><\/span><\/span>this di<\/span><\/span>s<\/span><\/span>tressing malady<\/span><\/span> <\/span><\/span><\/span>and will also cure and relieve the worst cases of Influenza, cold in the head, pains in the back and limbs, p<\/span><\/span>rostrations and general weaknesses<\/span><\/span>\u201d<\/span><\/span>.<\/span><\/span> <\/span><\/span><\/span>A bottle of this could be purchased from Pearmund the C<\/span><\/span>hemist of Calverley Road, Tunbridge Wells, for 1\/1<\/span><\/span>, 2\/9\/ or 4\/6 per bottle.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

One wonders what effect these would h<\/span><\/span>ave had on the coronavirus!<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

From the Garw Valley Heritage Society <\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Look after you<\/strong><\/span><\/span>rselves and others, and we look forward to a brighter few mon<\/strong><\/span><\/span>ths ahead.<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

One Hundred Years ago it was the Spanish flu. 2020 will go down in history as the year of the Coronavirus, a reminder that it was 100 years ago that the last great pandemic ended, in December of 1920. That one, known as the Spanish flu, infected, it is estimated, around 500 million people, a quarter of the world\u2019s population, and killed an estimated 50…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3161,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[33],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3160","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-local-stories"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.garwheritage.co.uk\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/img_3004.png","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.garwheritage.co.uk\/wordpress\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3160","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.garwheritage.co.uk\/wordpress\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.garwheritage.co.uk\/wordpress\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.garwheritage.co.uk\/wordpress\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.garwheritage.co.uk\/wordpress\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3160"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.garwheritage.co.uk\/wordpress\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3160\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3163,"href":"https:\/\/www.garwheritage.co.uk\/wordpress\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3160\/revisions\/3163"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.garwheritage.co.uk\/wordpress\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/3161"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.garwheritage.co.uk\/wordpress\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3160"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.garwheritage.co.uk\/wordpress\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3160"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.garwheritage.co.uk\/wordpress\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3160"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}