The 1918 H1N1 pandemic, often called the Spanish flu, did not originate in Spain. It originated in one of three places, France, China, or most probably, Fort Riley or Haskell County, both in Kansas in the US. That said, I agree that calling the present pandemic Chinese flu or #WuFlu is NOT racist.
I never said it originated in Spain. Actually, we don't know where it originated. As Wikipedia notes:
"To maintain morale, World War I censors minimized early reports of illness and mortality in Germany, the United Kingdom, France, and the United States.Papers were free to report the epidemic's effects in neutral Spain, such as the grave illness of King Alfonso XIII, and these stories created a false impression of Spain as especially hard hit. This gave rise to the pandemic's nickname, "Spanish flu". Historical and epidemiological data are inadequate to identify with certainty the pandemic's geographic origin, with varying views as to the origin."
My point is that many, including the CDC, still refer to the 1918 Influenza as "the Spanish Flu." And no one calls them "racist."
But thank you for highlighting the fact that the CDC is not comprised of historians.
3 comments:
The 1918 H1N1 pandemic, often called the Spanish flu, did not originate in Spain. It originated in one of three places, France, China, or most probably, Fort Riley or Haskell County, both in Kansas in the US. That said, I agree that calling the present pandemic Chinese flu or #WuFlu is NOT racist.
I never said it originated in Spain. Actually, we don't know where it originated. As Wikipedia notes:
"To maintain morale, World War I censors minimized early reports of illness and mortality in Germany, the United Kingdom, France, and the United States.Papers were free to report the epidemic's effects in neutral Spain, such as the grave illness of King Alfonso XIII, and these stories created a false impression of Spain as especially hard hit. This gave rise to the pandemic's nickname, "Spanish flu". Historical and epidemiological data are inadequate to identify with certainty the pandemic's geographic origin, with varying views as to the origin."
My point is that many, including the CDC, still refer to the 1918 Influenza as "the Spanish Flu." And no one calls them "racist."
But thank you for highlighting the fact that the CDC is not comprised of historians.
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