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http://hdl.handle.net/11375/14366
Title: | Miasma To Microscopes: The Russian Influenza Pandemic in Hamilton |
Authors: | Herring, D. Ann Carraher, Sally Lim, Marie K. Mrmak, Melissa Hancock, Kelly Maris, Natasha K. Thompson, Samantha Martel, Kelly A. Schafer, Devan Emes, Lisa Colasanti, Vanessa Spry, Melinda Montero, Marta Murray, Frances Toth, Gabrielle S. Byford, Sarah K. Steenhoek, Meghan Rubignoni, Ema Hartwick, Courtney A. Alonso, Jennifer Da, Silva Stephanie Monnaie, Jessica |
Keywords: | Russian Influenza;pandemic;epidemic;flu;Hamilton;nineteenth century;Anthropology;Biological and Physical Anthropology;Anthropology |
Publication Date: | 2011 |
Abstract: | <p>While many readers will be familiar with the well known “Spanish Influenza”, a<br />term that refers to the iconic 1918 influenza pandemic, its predecessor, the<br />Russian Influenza – a pandemic that occurred in several waves during the late<br />nineteenth century (1889-94) – seems to have been lost from public memory. Yet,<br />in a mere four months it spread rapidly around a world that was becoming<br />increasingly interconnected by ships and railways (Valleron <em>et al</em>. 2010).<br />The details of the pandemic’s progress and effects were extensively reported in<br />newspapers and medical periodicals. The people of Hamilton were well aware of<br />its movements long before it reached the city. As an illness that seemed to<br />manifest itself simultaneously in mild and severe forms, doctors of the period<br />were at a loss to explain what was causing such widespread and variable suffering<br />(Smith 1995:55). This was a time when medical authorities debated whether<br />disease was caused by miasma – noxious odours and poisonous gases – or by<br />invisible bacteria that could only be seen with a microscope; a time in which the<br />public was essentially left to its own devices to treat the illness popularly known<br />as “la grippe”.</p> |
URI: | http://hdl.handle.net/11375/14366 |
Identifier: | anthro_coll/5 1004 2500862 |
Appears in Collections: | Anthropology Publications |
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