Az 1918–1919. évi influenza–(spanyolnátha-)járvány Debrecenben

Abstract

In 1918, the last year of the First World War, the Spanish flu epidemic, which spread worldwide and claimed the life of millions, reached the city of Debrecen. Based on the contemporary local newspapers, Debreczeni Ujság (News of Debreczen) and Debreczeni Független Újság (Intependent News of Debreczen), as well as Mayor and Chief Medical Officer reports, it is possible to outline how the city tackled the disease, what defense strategies were applied and how effective they were. In addition, the death registers reveal which social strata were most afflicted by the disease. In the study, I present the (primarily) press-based story of the Spanish flu pandemic in Debrecen on the one hand, and on the other hand, I use the quantitative methods to link up the statistics on victims. Based on all these, the question can be answered: How serious was the 1918 flu epidemic in Debrecen?