Sociologists, Epidemiologists, Survivors Recall 1918
1918 H1N1 Pandemic
You may be interested to learn that sociologists frequently work with epidemiologists to share their expertise in understanding human behavior and culture in an effort to reduce the spread and transmission of a whole host of infectious disease such as HIV/AIDS, SARS, or even “Swine Flu.”
The recent H1N1 “Swine Flu” epidemic has drawn attention to the last major influenza pandemic which occurred in 1918 – 1920 when an estimated 20-40 million people died worldwide. In the below articles, a survivor recounts her experiences with the 1918 “Spanish flu” pandemic, while an article from a former professor and colleague of mine details the transmissability and impact of an earlier strain of H1N1.
1918 Flu Survivors Share Memories
1756-2589/asset/NCFR_RGB_small_file.jpg?v=1&s=0570a4c814cd63cfaec3c1e57a93f3eed5886c15)
1540-6210/asset/society_affiliation_image.gif?v=1&s=812a48e1b22880cc84f94f210b57b44da3ec16f9)
Terrific stuff, indeed. But I am not an epidemiologist. I am intruded by the relations between people. People and media. Media and power, and so on. HIV changed these in a dramatic way, for instance. The Pope and the church, in fact….
Frightening stuff, and what an amazing picture from the archives! They remind me of the heroic Florence Nightingale (she loved, among other things, pie charts and circular histograms).
But I am not an epidemiologist. I am intruded by the relationship between people. People and media. Media and power, and so on. HIV changed these in a dramatic way, for instance. The Pope and the church, in fact….
It will be interesting to see how the epidemiologists and sociologists are able to track the Swine Flu outbreak. It might yield patterns of border crossing that were not explicit prior to the epidemic.
Keri