Introduction
The influenza epidemic that began between 1917 and 1918 was an exceptionally deadly period of human history, which led to significant social, political and health-related upheavals. In Epidemic Influenza by Edwin Oakes Jordan (1927), it is noted that approximately 21,642,283 people died of the outbreak, with most deaths occurring in Asia, while North America recorded around 1,000,000 fatalities. The epidemic spread amidst the context of World War I (1914-1918), when transmission was facilitated by the frequent movement of people from one country to another via ships and trains. The distribution of information on the disease and the sanitary measures taken to contain it depended heavily on the level of censorship that different countries experienced due to their involvement in the war. Some Spanish language newspapers, such as El Mañana (McAllen, Texas), El Imparcial de Texas (Roma, Texas), and La Prensa (San Antonio, Texas), were able to provide more extensive coverage of this disease in lieu of English-language media censorship. Although Spain maintained a neutral stance during the war and generated important reporting on the epidemic, it was labeled in some media outlets as the origin of the disease, which led to the name “Spanish Influenza” or “the Spanish flu.” However, the first reported cases actually emerged from Funston Military Camp, Kansas, USA, on March 5, 1918 (Patterson and Pile, 1991:19).
Tracking the development of this epidemic and the measures taken to contain it not only reveals how this health crisis unfolded, but also highlights the social problems, political agendas, and societal issues that impacted Hispanic communities in the United States during this historical period. Some of the most pressing issues included:
- Racism and discrimination toward vulnerable communities, particularly Hispanic and African American groups
- The failure of preventative health measures within large populations, leading to significant death tolls
- The conflicts and limitations resulting from World War I
- A lack of information about the disease and the sanitary measures needed to eradicate it
- Opportunistic merchants offering false remedies and homemade cures
- Emotional panic and humanitarian crises caused by confusion regarding the illness and a lack of timely prevention
- A strained healthcare system, alongside inadequate responses from authorities and government health policies
Notably, there are significant parallels between this epidemic and the COVID-19 virus, which emerged in 2019. In the article “Between Two Pandemics: The Spanish Flu and COVID-19,” Mario Ramírez seeks to identify the parallels between what he considers the two greatest health crises in human history (2021). The author notes how both epidemics were contained and highlights how similar sanitary measures were taken in each case. This is corroborated in La Prensa (San Antonio, Texas) and El Mañana (McAllen, Texas), where readers can observe striking similarities in the actions taken by government and health authorities during the 1918 flu pandemic, including social distancing, quarantines, mask-wearing, and extensive hygiene practices such as the use of honey and tar mixtures, laxatives, ointments and soluble anemia tablets. Notably, both crises were marked by a high degree of misinformation and sensationalism which not only contributed to public confusion and the failure of sanitary measures, but also directly affected the vulnerable communities most in need of preventative information.
For example, in 1918 many news articles focused on homemade remedies and advertisements for miracle products that claimed to cure the disease, which were undoubtedly placed by various pharmaceutical companies looking to make a profit. Additionally, “Miscellaneous and Curious Notes,” as La Prensa called them, began to appear in print media, using the growing threat of the so-called “Spanish Influenza” (La Prensa, 1918) to preach morality to the youth and discourage expressions of affection like kissing, which could spread the virus through saliva. Literary and poetic works also emerged surrounding the topic, attempting to reflect the social sentiment and address the emotional impact of the crisis. Among these were Las crónicas diabólicas by Jorge Ulica in El Heraldo de México (1918), which used humor, sarcasm and irony to express the discomfort caused by the outbreak.
Through this digital exhibit, the Recovering the US Hispanic Literary Heritage Program seeks to highlight some of the significant events from the 1918 influenza epidemic, focusing on how the disease was reported and addressed in three newspapers from that era: La Prensa, El Heraldo de México, and El Mañana. By exploring these archives, we can identify the ways both accurate information and widespread misinformation were disseminated, shedding light on the media’s role in shaping public understanding of the virus.