Morabia A. Enigmas of Health and Disease: How Epidemiology Helps Unravel Scientic Misteries. New York: Columbia University Press; 2014.

Moreira, Henrique Morávia de Andrade Santos; Machado, Carla Jorge

doi:10.1590/1413-81232018233.18902016

Cited by 1 publication

(1 citation statement)

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“…Most of the historical-epidemiological studies mentioned above are statistical and survey-based studies conducted by health authorities or physicians. Since the 1889/90 pandemic, it has been standard practice to obtain health-related data from physicians following pandemics via surveys (6)(7)(8). However, the start of survey distribution and data collection among the general population at the beginning of the 20th century contributed to the larger picture of emerging disease statistics, particularly with regards to morbidity data.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Reinfections and Cross-Protection in the 1918/19 Influenza Pandemic: Revisiting a Survey Among Male and Female Factory Workers

Matthes¹,

Vu²,

Bhattacharyya³

et al. 2023

Int J Public Health

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Objectives: The COVID-19 pandemic highlights questions regarding reinfections and immunity resulting from vaccination and/or previous illness. Studies addressing related questions for historical pandemics are limited.Methods: We revisit an unnoticed archival source on the 1918/19 influenza pandemic. We analysed individual responses to a medical survey completed by an entire factory workforce in Western Switzerland in 1919.Results: Among the total of n = 820 factory workers, 50.2% reported influenza-related illness during the pandemic, the majority of whom reported severe illness. Among male workers 47.4% reported an illness vs. 58.5% of female workers, although this might be explained by varied age distribution for each sex (median age was 31 years old for men, vs. 22 years old for females). Among those who reported illness, 15.3% reported reinfections. Reinfection rates increased across the three pandemic waves. The majority of subsequent infections were reported to be as severe as the first infection, if not more. Illness during the first wave, in the summer of 1918, was associated with a 35.9% (95%CI, 15.7–51.1) protective effect against reinfections during later waves.Conclusion: Our study draws attention to a forgotten constant between multi-wave pandemics triggered by respiratory viruses: Reinfection and cross-protection have been and continue to be a key topic for health authorities and physicians in pandemics, becoming increasingly important as the number of waves increases.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%