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Int J Circumpolar Health
. 2024 Dec;83(1):2325711.
doi: 10.1080/22423982.2024.2325711. Epub 2024 Mar 6. The 1919-21 influenza pandemic in Greenland
Mathias Mølbak Ingholt 1 2 , Lone Simonsen 1 , Svenn-Erik Mamelund 3 , Paneeraq Noahsen 4 , Maarten van Wijhe 1
Affiliations
In Alaska, the 1918-20 influenza pandemic was devastating, with mortality rates up to 90% of the population, while in other arctic regions in northern Sweden and Norway mortality was considerably lower. We investigated the timing and age-patterns in excess mortality in Greenland during the period 1918-21 and compare these to other epidemics and the 1889-92 pandemic. We accessed the Greenlandic National Archives and transcribed all deaths from 1880 to 1921 by age, geography, and cause of death. We estimated monthly excess mortality and studied the spatial-temporal patterns of the pandemics and compared them to other mortality crises in the 40-year period. The 1918-21 influenza pandemic arrived in Greenland in the summer of 1919, one year delayed due to ship traffic interruptions during the winter months. We found that 5.2% of the Greenland population died of the pandemic with substantial variability between counties (range, 0.1% to 11%). We did not see the typical pandemic age-pattern of high young-adult mortality, possibly due to high baseline mortality in this age-group or remoteness. However, despite substantial mortality, the mortality impact was not standing out relative to other mortality crises, or of similar devastation reported in Alaskan populations.
Keywords: 1889–92 pandemic; 1918–20 influenza pandemic; Greenland; Historical epidemiology; excess mortality.
. 2024 Dec;83(1):2325711.
doi: 10.1080/22423982.2024.2325711. Epub 2024 Mar 6. The 1919-21 influenza pandemic in Greenland
Mathias Mølbak Ingholt 1 2 , Lone Simonsen 1 , Svenn-Erik Mamelund 3 , Paneeraq Noahsen 4 , Maarten van Wijhe 1
Affiliations
- PMID: 38446074
- PMCID: PMC10919313
- DOI: 10.1080/22423982.2024.2325711
In Alaska, the 1918-20 influenza pandemic was devastating, with mortality rates up to 90% of the population, while in other arctic regions in northern Sweden and Norway mortality was considerably lower. We investigated the timing and age-patterns in excess mortality in Greenland during the period 1918-21 and compare these to other epidemics and the 1889-92 pandemic. We accessed the Greenlandic National Archives and transcribed all deaths from 1880 to 1921 by age, geography, and cause of death. We estimated monthly excess mortality and studied the spatial-temporal patterns of the pandemics and compared them to other mortality crises in the 40-year period. The 1918-21 influenza pandemic arrived in Greenland in the summer of 1919, one year delayed due to ship traffic interruptions during the winter months. We found that 5.2% of the Greenland population died of the pandemic with substantial variability between counties (range, 0.1% to 11%). We did not see the typical pandemic age-pattern of high young-adult mortality, possibly due to high baseline mortality in this age-group or remoteness. However, despite substantial mortality, the mortality impact was not standing out relative to other mortality crises, or of similar devastation reported in Alaskan populations.
Keywords: 1889–92 pandemic; 1918–20 influenza pandemic; Greenland; Historical epidemiology; excess mortality.