[ad_1]
ORIf you study the ravages of the Spanish flu through newspaper archives, much of it fits well with the current situation. However, the consequences differ considerably, not least because the epidemic hit an already struggling country, with widespread poverty, malnutrition and other stresses from the ongoing world war. Innumerable families lived together in confined spaces and with poor hygienic conditions, both in the city and in the countryside. And it was the young people who died. Here I have followed Svenska Dagbladet’s report on the epidemic in 1918 and 1919.
In the summer of 1918, the new disease began to spread throughout the country in a way that caused growing concern. Worse than cholera, it is feared. On July 31, the Spanish flu is definitively established in Stockholm, says SvD, interviewing health inspector Dr. Backlund. He points out that it is in the barracks, telephone exchanges and other places where many people gather in a strictly limited area that the epidemic is worst. This was something that would be repeated over and over again during the rest of the year, as many reports testify before hundreds of people bedridden in various regiments around the country. When those who were not sick were sent home, they in turn could cause outbreaks in their places of origin.
