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Vladimir Krivošejev, PhD
National Museum of Valjevo
Valjevo, Republic of Serbia

 

THE CONSEQUENCES OF THE SPANISH FLU PANDEMIC IN VALJEVO COUNTY 1918–1919

Vol. XXXIX, 1/2021, pp. 35–52
https://doi.org/10.29362/ist20veka.2021.1.kri.35-52

 

ABSTRACT/RESUME:

The Spanish Flu pandemic that afflicted the entire planet between 1918 and 1919 did not bypass the population in occupied Serbia, nor the soldiers at the Salonica front. It escalated immediately after the breakthrough of the front and culminated in the moments of delight and euphoria that followed the liberation. The purpose of this paper is to point to the possible entry route of the epidemic, the chronology of its development in the Valjevo County, as well as the number of victims it took in each community. The analysis of an almost complete, 100% sample of church death registers shows that the population started dying at the beginning of October in the lowland areas but that the mortality there was relatively low. The epidemic spread from the plains to the more remote and inaccessible mountain villages, where the mortality rate was very high, so that in some communities more than 9% of the population died. The epidemic lasted through the end of 1918, while on the territories where the consequences were more widespread, there were noticeably less relapses afterwards. It seems that the population in the remote, inaccessible communities had a more limited access to healthcare facilities in towns and a lower awareness of public hygiene, while limited means of communication made these communities more isolated and thus lowered their herd immunity. These circumstances meant that a significantly higher percentage of rural communities contracted the disease, which in turn contributed to the subsequent buildup of herd immunity.

 

KEYWORDS: Epidemic 1918, Pandemic, Spanish Flu, Spanish Influenza, World War I, Serbia, Valjevo County

 

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