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A text of Louis Gagné
The Spanish flu arrived in Canada at the end of the summer of 1918. Soldiers participating in the First World War (1914-1918) in Europe brought back the H1N1 virus on their return home.
The flu is lightning. Patients often die after one or two days.
After a lull, it reappears in the winter of 1919, then in the spring of 1920, before dissipating for good. In the space of a few months, the virus killed three times more people than the 14-18 war.
The H1N1 flu still present
According to Dr. Jasmin Villeneuve, medical consultant at the National Institute of Public Health of Quebec (INSPQ), the appearance of a new strain of influenza also aggressive is not excluded. The pandemic influenza A (H1N1) 2009 is here to remind us.
"Even though the pandemic did not have the same impact as the Spanish flu, it was still a new virus that happened in a population that was not immune to it and that spread rapidly in the world. the population, "says Dr. Villeneuve.
Immunity
Because the flu virus is constantly changing, humans never develop perfect immunity after contracting the disease, as is the case with chickenpox, for example. However, even partial, immunity greatly increases the chances of survival of patients, says the medical consultant.
In the case of influenza, to be already a little protected, it can make the difference between: I make a very, very severe infection, then I risk to die, or I make an infection, a flu, then I go out after a week or ten days.
This is precisely why the 1918 Spanish flu mainly killed young people in their twenties. Unlike their elders, these adults had never been in contact with the H1N1 strain. They had therefore developed no immunity against the virus.
Dr. Villeneuve mentions that the same phenomenon was observed in 2009: "We realized that older people were less affected because the virus that circulated […] was related to another virus that had circulated several years before […] They therefore had immunity which persisted and which made it possible to protect them. "
Spread
Several factors contributed to the spread of Spanish influenza in 1918. Promiscuity, poor hygiene conditions, war and the development of rail and marine transport have contributed to the spread of the virus across Canada and the planet.
Rapid transport is still one of the most important drivers of the spread of influenza and other diseases such as Ebola, measles and Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV). ).
"Displacements are faster than the incubation time of viruses or infections. This means that a person can become infected in one country, develop his infection and be contagious later in another country, "says Jasmin Villeneuve.
He recalls that this is how the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) entered Canada in 2003. A person who contracted the virus in Hong Kong took a flight to Toronto, unaware that she was infected. thus allowing the disease to enter Canadian soil.
Decrease in mortality
Since people travel more often and more quickly today, why is it that pandemics are not as devastating as in the days of the Spanish flu?
Advances in medicine and public health policy, global surveillance mechanisms, timely dissemination of information via the Internet, and the development of effective vaccines, among others, help to reduce the burden of disease. mortality and progression of diseases.
Not to mention that it is now possible to quickly find potentially infected people through social networks and flight lists of airlines.
"If I go to the WHO website [Organisation mondiale de la santé], I can follow every day the evolution of the Ebola epidemic in Congo […] I can know what is going on and tell my health facilities in Quebec: "There is Ebola in Congo, here is what happens. There is someone coming, here are the measures to put in place '', says Dr. Villeneuve.
In a few days, even a few hours, you can get the message. Information travels and people can be prepared to know what to do.
Vigilance
In spite of these considerable progress, the occurrence of pandemics remains possible, hence the importance of staying up-to-date in our methods of detection, prevention and management of pandemics, insists Dr. Villeneuve.
The medical adviser mentions that the training and protocols put in place in times of crisis tend to sink into oblivion once the situation is back to normal.
He cited the example of SARS in 2003, which prompted several hospitals to purchase self-contained breathing apparatus. A few years later, hospital staff were often unable to find them or to remember how they worked.
According to him, the vigilance and the maintenance of the knowledge acquired during different crises represent the main challenge in the prevention and the fight against pandemics.
The flu that had nothing Spanish
The Spanish flu owes its name to war and military censorship in belligerent countries. As they are likely to undermine the morale of civilian populations, news about the flu is relegated to the end of newspapers or simply ignored. Spain does not take part in the conflict. His media can therefore talk more freely about the virus. When it spreads within the royal family, the Iberian newspapers wrote extensively on the subject. The European and North American media then start talking about the "Spanish flu".
References
– " Spanish flu: the big killer " Quebec Science, 8 September 2015
– " Doctor at the time of the Spanish flu », Interview of Dr. Albert Cholette by journalist Lizette Gervais for the show Daily life, broadcast on Radio-Canada on the 1st October 1976
– "The Spanish flu in Canada (1918-1920)", Parks Canada Website
– " '' They are everywhere … '': Women and the city in times of epidemic, Montreal, 1918-1920 " Review of history of French Americavolume 58, number 1 summer 2004
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