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Jonesie, thanks for posting the link to this article. The conclusions about the differential rate of mortality by age groups for this earlier pandemic (in Chicago 1889-1893) has implications for a potential H5N1 pandemic.
Last edited by Laidback Al; June 13, 2007, 10:49 PM.
Live news, investigations, opinion, photos and video by the journalists of The New York Times from more than 150 countries around the world. Subscribe for coverage of U.S. and international news, politics, business, technology, science, health, arts, sports and more.
ALTHOUGH the present epidemic
of influenza began in Europe
several months ago cablegrams
informing us of the continued or recurring
prevalence of the disease in England,
France and Germany are received from
day to day. This prompts an inquiry
into the history of past epidemics of this
disease with a view to determining what
we may expect in the next few years.
Hirsch's "Handbook of Historical and
Geographical Pathology" records almost
one hundred epidemics occurring in the
eight hundred years prior to 1889. It is
clearly set forth that practically each of
these epidemics lasted longer than one
year or else recurred several times during
the course of two or more years. Consideration
of this fact led us to study the
record of the pandemic of 1889-93 as it
exhibited itself in Chicago. The material
for the'study was found in the yearly
reports of the Chicago Health Department
for the years 1888 to 1894 inclusive.
In 1890 Dr. S. Wickersham, health
commissioner, said in his annual report:
"Influenza beginning in our city early
in January reached its height the last
week in January at which time my belief
is that over 100,000 of our citizens were
sufferers from that cause alone. It continued
to prevail during February, March
and April in a modified degree. Its duration
was about four months. In the
week having the highest mortality there
were 694 deaths."
(...)
It is extremely useful to recognize the 1888/89 influenza pandemic as one of the precursor of the modern epidemics. It is also useful to research further into its origin (ie: poultry epizootics, early human epidemics in Italy, sequelae with neurological symptoms (''Nona'', sleepy sickness)) and historical records.
that was 2007, meanwhile we know that flu probably doesn't spread by
volcanoes or wind.
But the outbreak in Bokhara is well documented.
Dr. Heyfelden, in a paper he contribnted to the
" Unsere Zeit,"* gave evidence which proves con-
clusively that influenza was prevalent at Bokhara
long before St. Petersburgh was affected. .
* Unsere Zeit. Leipzig, 1890, p. 185.
48 THE EPIDEMIC OF 1889-1890.
Influenza in ^For a full account of the disease as it appeared in
May 1889. ^^^^^ ^'^^V I must refer the reader to Dr. Heyfeldens
paper, hut as this has not been published in English I
give a brief resume of its chief points.']
Dr. Heyfelden believes that the epidemic com-
menced at Bokhara in May 1889, and was prevalent
there from that month until August. Europeans,
amongst whom were railway servants and soldiers,
were the first people affected, and the disease after-
wards spread to the Jews and natives of the city.
The characteristics of the disorder were malaise,
nausea, shivering, a high temperature, and various
nervous symptoms. The fever lasted from one to
five days, at the end of which time the temperature
often became subnormal. During the attack pro-
fuse sweating occurred. The appetite was bad.
Great nervous prostration succeeded the febrile
stage. There is no reason to doubt, from this de-
scription, that influenza was prevalent at Bokhara.
A question of great interest is, what was its origin ?
Was it imported, or did it arise there ? To these
questions Dr. Heyfelden' s paper gives no decided
answer. It is true that he does not suggest that it
was imported, and he does suggest that influenza
is really a severe form of a well-known endemic
maladv. But the evidence is not conclusive. It
seems that a malarial fever is prevalent at Bokhara
in the late summer of every year, and when people
began to suffer in the way just described some
physicians were of opinion that this malarial fever
had appeared earlier than usual. This they ac-
counted for by the fact that the ground water was
high and the country generally was unusually damp.
BOKIIAHA, MAY, JUNE, JULY, 1889. 49
Two reasons were given why the people were more
susceptible than usual to such an outbreak. In the
first place, they had suffered much from cold during
the unusually severe winter of 1888-89, because
their dwellings were only adapted for summer use.
They had consequently spent what little money they
had in fuel rather than nourishment, so that they
had been underfed and were half starved. The
severe fast of Ramadan increased the wretchedness
of their physical condition. In the month of May the
people were so prostrate that even the youngest and
strongest often fainted, or were sick on taking their
first bite or their first sip. The second cause which
contributed to the wretchedness of their condition
was the fact that many of them suffered from the
Filuria {sic) Medinensis und Buchariensis, and this
parasite was more prevalent than usual because
there had been a drought during the summer of
1888, and the people had drunk to the bottoms of
the wells, to which the ova of the worm naturally
gravitate. The fever thus attacked a weakened,
bloodless population. It was computed that half
the inhabitants suffered, and that of a population of
eighty or a hundred thousand from frve to seven
thousand died. This estimate was perhaps exces-
sive, for some deaths occurred from typhus and
typhoid fever, which are always extremely prevalent
in a city like Bokhara, where, between high walls
and in a small space, the people are crowded
together with horses, cattle, sheep, and even
camels, and where also little attention is paid to
hygiene.
The height of the epidemic was in July, when
whole households, including little children, were
simultaneously affected. At one time the servants
at the Russian Embassy were nearly all suffering,
so that there was no one either to cook the meals,
or to perform ordinary every day duties.
Dr. Heyfelden has no doubt that the disease he
saw at Bokhara was the same as that which afflicted
St. Petersburgh in October 1889, and which occurred,
as he says, " first in isolated cases then in heaps."*
Amongst the first sufferers in St. Petersburgh those
who had previously had malarial fever supposed
they were suffering from a relapse or recurrence,
and they were strengthened in that conviction when it
happened that treatment by quinine appeared bene-
ficial. It was soon observed, however, that people
who had not had malaria were afflicted in the same
way, and after a time it was recognised that influ-
enza was present, and the fact was noticed first by
the lay and afterwards by the medical portion of
the press. At length there was an epidemic ; trade
was much interfered with, the performances at the
theatres had to be changed at short notice because
of the illness of the players ; those who lived in
common — as scholars and soldiers — were afflicted
in greater number than those who lived more
private lives.
* Im October 1889 traten in St. Petersburg nach einem feuch-
ten, kiihlen Sommer, dem ein aussergewohnlich warmer Herbst
gefolgt war, erst vereinzelt, dann hiiufiger acute Fieberaufiille auf.
Unsere Zeit, 1890, p. 188.
ST. PETERSBURGH, OCTOBER AND NOVEMBER, 1889. 51
In the beginning of November, Moscow and other
Finnish towns were affected by the disease, and news
received from the Crimea, and from Tiflis, confirmed
the appearance of the disorder in those places.
A physician who left Chabarowka at the end of
September, and reached St. Petersburgh at the
beginning of December, brought tho news that he
had recognised some cases of influenza, first at
Omsk and afterwards in all the other Siberian post
stations which he had to pass between that town
and the capital.
At St. Petersburgh the height of the epidemic Height of ^
occurred at the end of November, from which time tho^^in^^^^*^
the number of cases gradually lessened. Novombor.
I wish to call attention to the fact that both at
Bokhara and at St. Petersburgh isolated cases of
influenza preceded the epidemic.
The accompanying chart shows the increase in
the death rate which occurred in St. Petersburs"h
during and after the epidemic. The accompanying
Chart (II.) is prepared from the weekly returns given
by the Ilegistrar-General, and shows the death rate
from the week ending October 19th to the week
ending July 5th. A glance at the chart shows —
(i.) That the highest death rate was not reached
suddenly.
(ii.) That the highest death rate corresponded in
point of time with the height of the epidemic.
(iii.) That after the height of the epidemic the
fall in the death rate was slower than' the rise
which preceded it.
Exactly the same things arc to bo noticed in the
Chart (III.) which is drawn to the same scale, and
shows the death rate which occLUTcd at Vienna
during the same period.
Before the end of November influenza had
reached Berlin, and, according to Professor Leyden,
about a third of the inhabitants were affected.
The last Emir of Bukhara was Muhammad Alim Khan (1880–1944). The Trans-Caspian railway
was built through the city in the late 19th century. The nearest station is at Kagan,
a dozen miles away, but the emir had a private spur built to Bokhara itself.
The Railway reached Samarkand via Bukhara in 1888, where it halted for ten years until
extended to Tashkent and Andijan in 1898.
1879 as a narrow-gauge railway to Gyzylarbat
construction through to Ashkabad and Merv (modern Mary) was completed in 1886
Originally the line began from Uzun-Ada on the Caspian Sea, but the terminus was
later shifted north to the harbour at Krasnovodsk. The Railway reached Samarkand
via Bukhara in 1888, where it halted for ten years until extended to Tashkent and Andijan in 1898.
The railway permitted a massive increase in the amount of cotton exported from the region.
This increased from 873,092 pudy in 1888 to 3,588,025 in 1893. Also sugar, kerosene,
wood, iron and construction material were imported into the area
1889 Russian flu four months killed million of people sweeping the globe
September 12, 2013 10:19:02 Source: Global Times
Mainland China appears H7N9 (Influenza A virus H7N9 subtype full name) epidemic, causing a lot of attention. Many media have been recalled since the 20th century, several large outbreaks of influenza, especially in 1918 of the "Spanish flu." In fact, in 1918 years ago, have also been a lot of flu disaster, especially in 1889, the aircraft has not yet become a transport context, a "Russian flu" spread throughout the world in just a few months, resulting in about 1 000 000 people were killed .
Some people believe that in 1889 -1890 years, Russia H2N2 influenza caused by influenza virus subtypes cause. The summer of 1889, Russia's Central Asian city of Bukhara Empire poverty serious outbreak of flu . At that time Russia had just built up to 900 miles of the trans-Caspian railway. According to records, in Bukhara, flu mortality rate of 5% -8.75%, which implies that there may also be popular with both malaria and other diseases. However, there are some news that the epidemic from western Siberia and northern Kazakhstan.
To October, the plague spread to Moscow and St. Petersburg, and then into Poland, along the roads, railways and rivers spread to Finland, Hungary, Germany and Austria. In Western Europe, this disease is known as the "Russian flu." But Russian officials believe that it is a miasma, including plague drift into the breeze from China, because in 1888, China Yellow River floods, as many as 2 million people and livestock drowned, the Russians called the "Chinese cold." A popular theory from France claimed that "China cold" were living in filthy and dirty environments Russian peasants transformed into flu.
The end of October, Paris, London and Edinburgh influenza virus infection by many people. Then, ship the flu spread U.S. East Coast. In mid-December, the New York and Boston have reported influenza cases.
January 1890, influenza across the Midwestern United States into Canada. At the same time, the flu through the Mediterranean into North Africa, through the Atlantic and Pacific ports spread to South Africa, South America, Japan, the U.S. West Coast, China, Singapore, India, Australia, New Zealand and Indonesia. In the dissemination process, dock workers are usually the first victims. Illinois Secretary of Health noted that only three or four months time, the flu has global coverage. However, there are exceptions, until the end of 1890, the distant region of Kashmir has not been affected.Similarly, the spread of influenza in Africa relatively slow speed.
With the flu virus spreads to the world, in many countries, the newspaper headlines that flu outbreak. For example, Kentucky Maysville "Evening Gazette" in 1889 with a number of days after Christmas flu front page news. A Boston correspondent writes: "To be sure, more than 1/10 of the people affected by it." Many reported that the groups most affected by the flu is 15 years old -40 years old crowd, followed by the elderly. Maybe old people from the 1840s epidemic gained some immunity. Children and babies because basically do not participate in social activities, the impact is minimal.
In Europe, 1889 -1890 influenza pandemic is considered to be the largest of the 19th century "killer." This is because Europe has laid a dense railway network in 1889 has over 125,000 miles rail line connecting major European cities. In the UK, adult influenza interrupted the downward trend in mortality from infectious diseases, with the average level compared to the previous decade, in 1889 -1890 years, died of bronchitis, tuberculosis, typhoid London citizens increased significantly. In Paris, an average of 2.5 per 1,000 people have died from the flu; Lisbon 1.6 per 1000 people died of the flu.Influenza is also thought to cause a major factor in mental disorders, such as Scotland's Royal Edinburgh psychiatric hospital data show that in 1890 the 140 hospitalized patients with major depression also suffer flu "toxins" torture. Some historians say, the flu is caused by people "temporary insanity" of a factor in 1890 in Europe, suicide and attempted suicide rates have increased significantly.
At that time Pope Leo XIII made an unprecedented move to allow people suffering from influenza in the church Katsumi Shoushen of Lent, abstinence aspects can be special exemption. However, in Europe, public opinion against the forced isolation, many people see this as a minor illness. In Edinburgh, despite the launch isolation hospital, but no one patient stay.
In this pandemic, due to sick workers, production, public services and transport were also disrupted. St. Bartholomew's Hospital in London, January 1890 and February, average hourly day clinic to treat 25 patients with influenza . Only in January 1890, the London Metropolitan police force had 1660 people died from the flu. Even British Prime Minister Salisbury Marquis bedridden. In Russia, Czar Alexander III struggling to recover from the flu.
It is worth mentioning that died in the influenza pandemic of celebrities including the British poet Robert Browning, Alfred Tennyson, and Queen Victoria's grandson, Prince Albert Victor (lineal heir to the British throne). According to estimates, a total of approximately 100 million people worldwide die from this flu.
The face of this pandemic, doctors have used the "virus" is the word to explain the direct cause of influenza. Historians Smith said at the time, the reason for the cause of this epidemic made a lot of different points of view. But in the end the doctors had not been able to determine the source of this flu.
(Author: Ge Yuanfen)
"Safety and security don't just happen, they are the result of collective consensus and public investment. We owe our children, the most vulnerable citizens in our society, a life free of violence and fear." -Nelson Mandela
In the Northern Italy this pandemic caused a severe outbreak of influenza, with neurological complications, sometimes somnolent (as the disease was well known as the ''Nona'' and accounts for the consequences of the infection in Young persons were heard even during the first half of XX century).
Contrary to recent studies, it was suggested that the earlier infection with this pandemic virus had prevented a more devastating impact of the 1918'19 Spanish flu due to some cross-reactive antibodies elicited by the infection with the former virus.
The virus of 1889-90 could have originated from birds, and in N Italy there were historically reported animal die-off before the onset of human outbreak.
Italy was hit severely by this 'Nona' for reasons perhaps never fully elucidated as the development of the neurological complications (Post-encephalitic parkinsonism).
Incidentally I could suggest this PDF document for its staggering account of the number of Young Italian soldiers died from illness during the 1918 fall. It would be interesting to see the statistics of these deaths compared to those for battle/accidents: http://www.cimeetrincee.it/indip.pdf
------~5400 listed deaths with birthdate and deathdate
I'm trying to convert these to computer-readable format ...
--------------------
I got 100 from Oct.1918 only, gave up
----------------------
I'm looking for such lists from Oct/Nov 1918
many people 25-32 years, so to examine whether the
peak mortality coincides with the 1889 pandemic,
whether the 1989f seasons or the seasons before 1989
gave immunity to 1918
This should have been done already ?!
-----------------------------------
1989-1895 at least is supposed to have been H3:
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