The Last Irish Plague
The Great Flu Epidemic in Ireland 1918-19
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 9088303 |
|---|---|
| Authors | F Holmes (Shawnee Mission Medical Center, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2011 |
| Volume | 66 |
| Issue | 4 |
| Pages | 589-591 |
| Publication date | 2011-10-01 |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Journal of the History of Medicine and Allied Sciences (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0022-5045 • E-ISSN: 1468-4373 |
| Publisher | Oxford University Press (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1093/jhmas/jrr037 |
| OpenAlex | W1833395321 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 4 |
Regional studies of epidemic diseases are especially cogent in understanding the effects on populations, governments, and medical facilities. Foley has given us a nicely balanced account of the 1918/19 influenza epidemic in Ireland, utilizing government and medical reports, secondary sources, and an extensive variety of Irish newspaper accounts. In fact, this latter source is the greatest strength of her work, providing the context for this engaging social history. With 20,000 influenza deaths in a population just exceeding 4,000,000, the Irish influenza death rate was roughly proportional to that of other European countries. However, Foley's approach to documentation allows her to present, in impressive detail, the disproportionate burden of disease borne by the urban poor and those in remote rural areas, particularly the western islands. Prostration of entire families by influenza led to lack of food, fluids, and heat in the cold of winter, further worsening morbidity and mortality. She correctly identifies the three waves of the epidemic with different effects on the population, the second being the worst. Foley also vividly documents the disproportionate mortality in young adults and, especially, pregnant women.
Archaeology · Context (archaeology) · Environmental health · Foley · Geography · Irish · Mortality rate · Plague (disease) · Population · Sociology · Climate Change and Health Impacts · Demography · Global Public Health Policies and Epidemiology · Health and Conflict Studies · History · Medicine · Surgery
| Citations per year | 0.5 |
|---|---|
| Citation span | 2018 - 2021 (4) |
| Highly cited | No |