Influenza and the Urban Environment, 1918-1920

Type of resource
Authors/collaborators
Title
Influenza and the Urban Environment, 1918-1920
Abstract
The post-First World War Spanish influenza pandemic struck Montreal in two waves: between September 1918 and January 1919, almost 20,000 Montrealers fell ill with influenza. Of these, more than 3,600 died; a second, albeit less severe, wave struck Montreal in the winter of 1920. Between January and April of that year, 4,336 residents of the city fell ill with influenza and 431 died of the disease and its complications. The author describes the short- and long-term effects of the pandemic on the ways in which early-twentieth century Montrealers (doctors, nurses, civil servants, and ordinary citizens) experienced, perceived, and planned the city's urban environment as a result of the disease. The author points out that in the absence of a sure-fire method of prevention or proven cure for influenza, state personnel, health professionals, and social reformers all placed their faith in an improved urban environment, especially the eradication of the city's slums, as a means of prevention.
Book Title
Metropolitan Natures: Environmental Histories of Montreal
Place
Pittsburgh, PA
Publisher
University of Pittsburgh Press
Date
2011
Pages
68-81
Language
en
Citation
Fahrni, Magda. “Influenza and the Urban Environment, 1918-1920.” In Metropolitan Natures: Environmental Histories of Montreal, edited by Stéphane Castonguay and Michèle Dagenais, 68–81. Pittsburgh, PA: University of Pittsburgh Press, 2011.
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