Á ò rí’rú eléyì rí, a fií dé rù b’omo ni; unprecedented is just a word, there’s really nothing new under the sun!

I am going to share with you snippets from an Articke by the Nigerian Health Blog about How the Spanish Influenza killed 500,000 out of 18 million Nigerians in 1918.

The 1918 influenza pandemic was the most severe pandemic in recent history. It was caused by an H1N1 virus with genes of avian origin. Although there is no universal consensus regarding where the virus originated, it spread worldwide between 1918-1919.

It is estimated that about 500 million people or one-third of the world’s population became infected with this virus. The number of deaths was estimated to be at least 50 million worldwide according to the CDC.

About 500k Nigerians, out of a population of 18million, died in less than 6 months, and between 50-80% of the population was stricken. The over-crowded urban centers (Yorubaland) were the hardest hit and, even though the pandemic declined almost as suddenly as it began, morbidity

mortality, and panic adversely affected the productive capacity of the country.

The Influenza officially hit Lagos on 14 September 1918 (Public Record Office, London) The 1st case in Lagos was confirmed on 14 Sept.

The rate of the spread and infection in Lagos was rapid and devastating. The spread in Lagos was fast and devastating such that in the first two months the causality figure was enormous – Lagos lost 1.5% of its 81,941 population.

By mid-1919 the pandemic came to an end, as those who had been infected either died or developed immunity against the virus. There was no vaccines for the disease or scientifically accepted treatment plan, Medicine as you now know,  was still in its primitive stages but

the colonial government and health authorities adopted the practice of self-isolation and restriction of movement as a way of curbing the spread.

Since 1918, the world has experienced three additional pandemics, in 1957, 1968, 2009 and most recently in 2019/2020.

IMPORTANT POINT TO NOTE: During the 1918 pandemic, churches, mosques, markets were closed down by the colonial masters to stop the spread of influenza similar to what the government has done in this century. There was a total lockdown.

As you can see, this Pandemic isn't the first or the worst to have happened. We can and we would win but that is only if we can join hands with our Government, Health workers and follow all laid down rules and instruction. This too shall pass and we'll all emerge victorious!

This thread is copied from an Article published by the Nigerian Health Blog and written by Udomoh Eshemokha, a practicing medical doctor, a philosopher, critical thinker, a globalist, a patriot, SEO expert and a patient blogger.