-------------------edit---------------------
text-only version to avoid the scroll-delay-problem:
------------------edit , links from below----------------
----------------------------------------------------------
Japan was closed from contact with other country between 1639 and 1853.
There were only very few ships that could enter mainly Dutch ships
in an artificial island. There was no immigration, almost no visiting,
foreigners were arrested or killed.
So Japan escaped those pandemics until the Russian flu reached Japan
in Feb.1890.
It seems reasonable to assume that even in the decades after the formal opening
in 1853, contacts with foreigners were very limited, there were no established
trading routes and organisations, people didn't speak English, some old laws
were still in place.
The railway system, which already existed in Europe,USA,India, Russia
and which mainly contributed to the fast spread of the 1889 pandemic
was still in its infancy in Japan.
Timeline[edit]
1872 - Opening of Japan's first railway between Shimbashi (Tokyo) and Yokohama
1881 - Foundation of Nippon Railway, Japan's first private railway company
1882 - Opening of Horonai Railway, first railway in Hokkaido
1888 - Opening of Iyo Railway, first railway in Shikoku
1889 - Opening of Kyushu Railway, first railway in Kyushu
In the 1918 pandemic and to a lesser degree also in 1957 and 1968 and 2009 pandemics
it was observed that the elderly were partly protected, they died in lower numbers than expected
and it was speculated that this was due to acquired immunity from previous exposures
to similar flu-strains. For 1957,1968,2009 -but not for 1918- this was supported by
serological findings that showed antibodies in those elderly before the pandemic
reached their location.
The effect was not very big, although significant, except in 1918, where people above ~40
were very well protected and died much rarer than the younger folks.
The most heard reason for this is still an immunity from similar strains
that circulated before ~1892 and then waned. Recent findings showed fewer such
protection of the elderly in more remote countries and communities consistent with
the theory that they had fewer exposure to flu before 1892. One problem with that theory
is, that there was almost no reported flu in the decades before 1889 in some countries.
E.g. for England we (uni melbourne link) have detailed reports for its absence.
Still England showed the same sparing of elderly deaths in 1918 and 1957.
The age distribution links
1918 to flu before 1892
1957 to flu before 1874, 1880-1884 (the dating is not very clear here)
1968 to flu in 1890-1897, mainly 1892-1894
mortality data from 1889,1918,1957,1968,2009 to be posted here later
I came to this when I examined 1957 data, showing the protection of the
elderly in Germany,Italy,France,UK,USA - but not Japan
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Asian Futures, Asian Traditions
book by Edwina Palmer from 2005, ~60 Euros
> Her work together with husband Geoffrey Rice on the history of the 1918 influenza
> pandemic in Japan is appraised as the most thorough in the subject to date
http://www.jstor.org/discover/10.230...21102675277871
from 1993
~280000 Japanese deaths from flu in 1918
relatively low death rates in Japan
they speculate due to traditional herbal medicines
In collaboration with Dr Edwina Palmer, Geoffrey Rice published three articles about
the 1918 pandemic in Japan: one in Journal of Japanese Studies, v.19 (1992) is currently
the most substantial account available in English.
http://igitur-archive.library.uu.nl/...ling_final.pdf
thesis,2010, Netherlands
The aim of our study is to develop a formal hypothesis that
tuberculosis (TB) was responsible for the W-shaped mortality in the Spanish flu
pandemic.
[that looks pretty silly, after all that we'd read about it]
age-curve of deaths for Japan for 1918 on page 24.
So, yes, they also had the W-shape in 1918, suggesting the elderly
had acquired immunity from a similar virus that circulated in Japan
before 1892
.--------------------------------------------
Asian Futures, Asian Traditions
book by Edwina Palmer from 2005, ~60 Euros
> Her work together with husband Geoffrey Rice on the history of the 1918 influenza
> pandemic in Japan is appraised as the most thorough in the subject to date
http://www.jstor.org/discover/10.230...21102675277871
from 1993
~280000 Japanese deaths from flu in 1918
relatively low death rates in Japan
they speculate due to traditional herbal medicines
http://www.flutrackers.com/forum/sho...d.php?t=200998
http://wwwnc.cdc.gov/eid/article/19/...03_article.htm
In collaboration with Dr Edwina Palmer, Geoffrey Rice published three articles about
the 1918 pandemic in Japan: one in Journal of Japanese Studies, v.19 (1992) is currently
the most substantial account available in English.
http://igitur-archive.library.uu.nl/...ling_final.pdf
thesis,2010, Netherlands
The aim of our study is to develop a formal hypothesis that
tuberculosis (TB) was responsible for the W-shaped mortality in the Spanish flu
pandemic.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Japan, yearly exports of silk in Myen, 1868-1889:
6,6,4,8,5,7,5,5,13,10,8,10,9,11,16,16,11,13,17,19, 26
Japan, length of railway in km, 1872-1888 :
29,29,62,62,105,105,105,118,158,197,275,393,412,57 7,693,956,1468
Japan, yearly railway passengers in thousand, 1872-1889
495,1415,2094,4238,2933,3097,3478,4337,5332,5759,6 004,5161,4100,
3761,5919,8405,11366,
Japan, merchant ships registered 1870-1888:
35,71,96,110,118,149,159,183,195,199,210,298,344,3 90,412,461,460,486,524
Japan,mail traffic in millions, 1870-1888:
?,?,?,17,?,30,37,45,54,67,79,94,112,107,113,115,12 1,137,159
Japan, currency in banknotes in circulation, in MYen 1868-1888:
24,50,56,60,68,90,104,100,107,119,166,164,159,153, 144,132,124,123,136,138,137
Japan gov.expenditure in MYen,1868-1888:
31,21,20,19,58,63,82,69,59,48,61,60,63,71,73,83,77 ,61,83,79,82
Japan, number of children in school in thousand,1873-1888:
1326,1715,1926,2068,2163,2273,2315,2349,2607,3004, 3238,3233,3097,2893,2714,2928
-------------------------------
http://www.san.beck.org/21-7-JapanMo...on1800-94.html
The Conscription Act in January 1873 required all twenty-year-old males to register for military service
in 1872 the Education Ordinance mandated modern elementary education
The number of western educators and advisors in Japan reached a peak of 574 in 1874.
Human Mortality Database. University of California, Berkeley (USA), and Max Planck
Institute for Demographic Research (Germany). Available at www.mortality.org or
www.humanmortality.de (data downloaded on [date]).
---------------------------------------
(why didn't I find that earlier) from:
A comparative study of the 1918?1920 influenza pandemic
in Japan, USA and UK: mortality impact and implications
for pandemic planning , 2009
> Regarding our copyright, please refer to the link below for details.
> http://www.stat.go.jp/english/info/riyou.htm
--------------------------------------------
Tokyo:
http://www.toukei.metro.tokyo.jp/tne...index.htm#1961
------------------------------------------
In Japan, the system of influenza reporting detailed in the
Communicable Disease Prevention Law was used during
1948?1998. The law required physicians to report all cases
of clinically diagnosed influenza to a nearby health center
within 24 hours. The health centers transferred these reports
to the local governments and to the Ministry of Health
and Welfare. Influenza morbidity data were regularly reported
to the Secretariat of the Ministry of Health and Welfare and
published in an annual periodical, Statistics on Communicable
Diseases, during 1948?1998.28
Statistics on Communicable Diseases, during 1948?1998
.28
28. Statistics and Information Department, Minister?s Secretariat,
Ministry of Health and Welfare in Japan. Statistics of
communicable diseases. 1968?1999 (in Japanese).
Densenby? t?kei
(I can't find this online)
nihon tokai nenkan = Japan statistical yearbook
-----------------------------------------------------------------
text-only version to avoid the scroll-delay-problem:
------------------edit , links from below----------------
----------------------------------------------------------
Japan was closed from contact with other country between 1639 and 1853.
There were only very few ships that could enter mainly Dutch ships
in an artificial island. There was no immigration, almost no visiting,
foreigners were arrested or killed.
So Japan escaped those pandemics until the Russian flu reached Japan
in Feb.1890.
It seems reasonable to assume that even in the decades after the formal opening
in 1853, contacts with foreigners were very limited, there were no established
trading routes and organisations, people didn't speak English, some old laws
were still in place.
The railway system, which already existed in Europe,USA,India, Russia
and which mainly contributed to the fast spread of the 1889 pandemic
was still in its infancy in Japan.
Timeline[edit]
1872 - Opening of Japan's first railway between Shimbashi (Tokyo) and Yokohama
1881 - Foundation of Nippon Railway, Japan's first private railway company
1882 - Opening of Horonai Railway, first railway in Hokkaido
1888 - Opening of Iyo Railway, first railway in Shikoku
1889 - Opening of Kyushu Railway, first railway in Kyushu
In the 1918 pandemic and to a lesser degree also in 1957 and 1968 and 2009 pandemics
it was observed that the elderly were partly protected, they died in lower numbers than expected
and it was speculated that this was due to acquired immunity from previous exposures
to similar flu-strains. For 1957,1968,2009 -but not for 1918- this was supported by
serological findings that showed antibodies in those elderly before the pandemic
reached their location.
The effect was not very big, although significant, except in 1918, where people above ~40
were very well protected and died much rarer than the younger folks.
The most heard reason for this is still an immunity from similar strains
that circulated before ~1892 and then waned. Recent findings showed fewer such
protection of the elderly in more remote countries and communities consistent with
the theory that they had fewer exposure to flu before 1892. One problem with that theory
is, that there was almost no reported flu in the decades before 1889 in some countries.
E.g. for England we (uni melbourne link) have detailed reports for its absence.
Still England showed the same sparing of elderly deaths in 1918 and 1957.
The age distribution links
1918 to flu before 1892
1957 to flu before 1874, 1880-1884 (the dating is not very clear here)
1968 to flu in 1890-1897, mainly 1892-1894
mortality data from 1889,1918,1957,1968,2009 to be posted here later
I came to this when I examined 1957 data, showing the protection of the
elderly in Germany,Italy,France,UK,USA - but not Japan
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Asian Futures, Asian Traditions
book by Edwina Palmer from 2005, ~60 Euros
> Her work together with husband Geoffrey Rice on the history of the 1918 influenza
> pandemic in Japan is appraised as the most thorough in the subject to date
http://www.jstor.org/discover/10.230...21102675277871
from 1993
~280000 Japanese deaths from flu in 1918
relatively low death rates in Japan
they speculate due to traditional herbal medicines
In collaboration with Dr Edwina Palmer, Geoffrey Rice published three articles about
the 1918 pandemic in Japan: one in Journal of Japanese Studies, v.19 (1992) is currently
the most substantial account available in English.
http://igitur-archive.library.uu.nl/...ling_final.pdf
thesis,2010, Netherlands
The aim of our study is to develop a formal hypothesis that
tuberculosis (TB) was responsible for the W-shaped mortality in the Spanish flu
pandemic.
[that looks pretty silly, after all that we'd read about it]
age-curve of deaths for Japan for 1918 on page 24.
So, yes, they also had the W-shape in 1918, suggesting the elderly
had acquired immunity from a similar virus that circulated in Japan
before 1892
.--------------------------------------------
Asian Futures, Asian Traditions
book by Edwina Palmer from 2005, ~60 Euros
> Her work together with husband Geoffrey Rice on the history of the 1918 influenza
> pandemic in Japan is appraised as the most thorough in the subject to date
http://www.jstor.org/discover/10.230...21102675277871
from 1993
~280000 Japanese deaths from flu in 1918
relatively low death rates in Japan
they speculate due to traditional herbal medicines
http://www.flutrackers.com/forum/sho...d.php?t=200998
http://wwwnc.cdc.gov/eid/article/19/...03_article.htm
In collaboration with Dr Edwina Palmer, Geoffrey Rice published three articles about
the 1918 pandemic in Japan: one in Journal of Japanese Studies, v.19 (1992) is currently
the most substantial account available in English.
http://igitur-archive.library.uu.nl/...ling_final.pdf
thesis,2010, Netherlands
The aim of our study is to develop a formal hypothesis that
tuberculosis (TB) was responsible for the W-shaped mortality in the Spanish flu
pandemic.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Japan, yearly exports of silk in Myen, 1868-1889:
6,6,4,8,5,7,5,5,13,10,8,10,9,11,16,16,11,13,17,19, 26
Japan, length of railway in km, 1872-1888 :
29,29,62,62,105,105,105,118,158,197,275,393,412,57 7,693,956,1468
Japan, yearly railway passengers in thousand, 1872-1889
495,1415,2094,4238,2933,3097,3478,4337,5332,5759,6 004,5161,4100,
3761,5919,8405,11366,
Japan, merchant ships registered 1870-1888:
35,71,96,110,118,149,159,183,195,199,210,298,344,3 90,412,461,460,486,524
Japan,mail traffic in millions, 1870-1888:
?,?,?,17,?,30,37,45,54,67,79,94,112,107,113,115,12 1,137,159
Japan, currency in banknotes in circulation, in MYen 1868-1888:
24,50,56,60,68,90,104,100,107,119,166,164,159,153, 144,132,124,123,136,138,137
Japan gov.expenditure in MYen,1868-1888:
31,21,20,19,58,63,82,69,59,48,61,60,63,71,73,83,77 ,61,83,79,82
Japan, number of children in school in thousand,1873-1888:
1326,1715,1926,2068,2163,2273,2315,2349,2607,3004, 3238,3233,3097,2893,2714,2928
-------------------------------
http://www.san.beck.org/21-7-JapanMo...on1800-94.html
The Conscription Act in January 1873 required all twenty-year-old males to register for military service
in 1872 the Education Ordinance mandated modern elementary education
The number of western educators and advisors in Japan reached a peak of 574 in 1874.
Code:
int(-10000+40000*deathrate(1957)/ (deathrate(1958)+deathrate(1955)+deathrate(1956)+deathrate(1959))) 55-59 60-64 65-69 70-74 75-79 80-84 85-89 --------------------------------------------- de, 475 , 464 , 563 , 479 , 289 , 75 , 171 us, 202 , 333 , 328 , 205 , 78 , 96 , 193 uk, 139 , 158 , 24 ,-117 ,-408 ,-474 ,-601 fr, 391 , 368 , 425 , 396 , 134 ,- 11 , 49 it, 626 , 586 , 774 , 565 , 361 , 113 , 260 jp, 745 , 778 , 897 ,1154 ,1227 ,1210 ,1551 AUS 46 -48 128 - 71 - 79 -280 -262 tha 114 369 323 813 490 1002 1199 mex 365 309 458 109 157 177 43 usa 160 377 324 213 39 140 222 CDN 361 391 393 - 8 22 36 - 55 PHI 441 963 1349 1253 1571 1388 .... chi 313 172 645 350 1267 437 513 COL 320 288 289 39 97 -147 280 egy 1486 1602 1615 2348 2336 2340 2845 FRG 547 424 576 462 286 219 - 26 ita 644 559 800 542 265 181 107 jpn 803 798 935 980 1226 1333 1107 hk_ 833 -409 489 70-1013 310 -132 SGP 516 837 657 94 756 -164 218 saw -682 831 259 - 77 69 -373 -471 FRA 314 161 427 427 370 263 - 8
Institute for Demographic Research (Germany). Available at www.mortality.org or
www.humanmortality.de (data downloaded on [date]).
---------------------------------------
(why didn't I find that earlier) from:
A comparative study of the 1918?1920 influenza pandemic
in Japan, USA and UK: mortality impact and implications
for pandemic planning , 2009
> Regarding our copyright, please refer to the link below for details.
> http://www.stat.go.jp/english/info/riyou.htm
--------------------------------------------
Tokyo:
http://www.toukei.metro.tokyo.jp/tne...index.htm#1961
------------------------------------------
In Japan, the system of influenza reporting detailed in the
Communicable Disease Prevention Law was used during
1948?1998. The law required physicians to report all cases
of clinically diagnosed influenza to a nearby health center
within 24 hours. The health centers transferred these reports
to the local governments and to the Ministry of Health
and Welfare. Influenza morbidity data were regularly reported
to the Secretariat of the Ministry of Health and Welfare and
published in an annual periodical, Statistics on Communicable
Diseases, during 1948?1998.28
Statistics on Communicable Diseases, during 1948?1998
.28
28. Statistics and Information Department, Minister?s Secretariat,
Ministry of Health and Welfare in Japan. Statistics of
communicable diseases. 1968?1999 (in Japanese).
Densenby? t?kei
(I can't find this online)
nihon tokai nenkan = Japan statistical yearbook
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Comment