Influenza : $b An epidemiologic studyVaughan, Warren T. (Warren Taylor)
History
Influenza : $b An epidemiologic study
Vaughan, Warren T. (Warren Taylor)
Influenza
Influenza was prevalent in Turkestan, Western Asia, in May of 1889. It
spread first to Tomsk in Siberia and did not appear in Petrograd until
the end of October. By the middle of November it had reached Berlin and
Paris, and one month later it was epidemic in New York and Boston. Four
months had been required for the disease to reach Petrograd from Bokhara
in Turkestan, while within two months thereafter it had traveled from
Russia to the United States. In both cases the rapidity of spread
corresponded to the rapidity of the means of communication of the
locality; the caravan in Turkestan and the transatlantic liner to
America. North America was widely infected in January of 1890. So, also,
Honolulu, Mexico, Hong Kong, Japan. Ceylon first experienced the
epidemic early in February, India at the end of the month, Borneo and
Australia on the first of March, Mandalay towards the first of May,
China and Iceland in July, Central Africa in August and Abyssinia in
November of 1890.
It should be noted that influenza was reported to have been prevalent in
Greenland at about the same time that it was in Bokhara. There appears
to have been no relationship between these two outbreaks.
The spread of the pandemic may be followed also by recording the period
of greatest mortality in the various cities. This period at Stockholm
followed that at Petrograd by three weeks, and that of Berlin by another
week. The period for Paris was a week later than for Berlin, that for
London another week later, and that for Dublin three weeks later than
that for London. The week of highest mortality in Dublin was later than
that for New York or Boston.
The earlier epidemics progressed more slowly. That of 1762 prevailed in
Germany in February, in London in April, in France in July, and in
America in October. In 1782 it attacked London in May, Exeter two weeks
later and Edinburgh early in June. In 1830–1832 the spread from Moscow
and Petrograd through Germany required no less than eight months to
cover the latter country.
In 1872 the time required for spread from Leipzig to Amsterdam was
eighteen days, the same time that was required for a merchant in the
latter town to reach Leipzig.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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