A Spanish flu 1918 remains a landmark of global devastation, but a recent study sheds light on a long-standing myth associated with this deadly pandemic.
While many believed the disease struck indiscriminately, claiming both the young and healthy and the frail, research published October 9 in the journal PNAS challenges this notion, revealing that the pandemic has disproportionately affected the most vulnerable people. vulnerable.
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The new perspective challenges popular belief that has held for decades, highlighting the importance of consulting sources beyond conventional historical documents.
The study results, based on analysis of skeletal remains, suggest that the Spanish flu most significantly impacted those already in a fragile state.
According to Sharon DeWitte, study co-author and professor of anthropology at CU Boulder, the idea that the pandemic killed young, healthy people is not supported by her findings.
Such misperception may have originated as conventional wisdom and been repeated over the years, becoming false truth.
(Image: Wiki Commons/Reproduction)
The research was based on a collection of centuries-old human remains, known as the Hamann-Todd Human Osteological Collection, which houses more than 3,000 skeletons.
Amanda Wissler, co-author and assistant professor of anthropology at McMaster University, devoted hours to painstakingly analyzing the bones of these real victims of the Spanish flu.
By observing the tibias in search of porous lesions, which indicate trauma, infection, stress or malnutrition, the study revealed that the most fragile were 2.7 times more likely to die during The Epidemic.
The researchers also hypothesize that socioeconomic factors, education, access to healthcare, and institutional racism may have played a role. critical in the vulnerability of certain groups during the pandemic, similar to what has been observed in more recent health crises, such as the Covid-19 pandemic. Covid-19.
In addition to rewriting part of the history of the Spanish flu, the study offers important lessons for preparing for future pandemics.
The conclusions highlight the need to recognize variation in the risk of death between individuals and direct resources to reduce these dangers, something fundamental to the well-being of the entire population.
Therefore, the research not only unravels a century-old myth, but also provides crucial insights for addressing public health challenges in the present and future.
