Studying the 1918 Spanish flu pandemic in Brandon

Opinion

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 05/02/2024 (591 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

COVID increased interest in a pandemic from a century ago. That was the 1918 influenza — or Spanish flu — pandemic. How did that affect Brandon? I recently had the chance to chat with two folks from Brandon University who conducted the first study of that local event.

Ashley Austin wrote her Honours B.A. thesis in anthropology on the 1918 influenza in Brandon. Dr. Emily Holland was Austin’s thesis supervisor. Holland, an associate professor at BU, is a forensic and biological anthropologist.

The Spanish flu was huge. The pandemic killed tens of millions globally and 50,000 in Canada. “Spanish” was a misnomer. Early reports of the disease were suppressed in countries engaged in the First World War. Because Spain was neutral and not under press censorship, the flu first came to the world’s attention in Spanish news accounts.

Two waves of the pandemic affected Canada, in late 1918 and in early 1919. The first case of the flu in Canada was in Quebec on Sept. 8, 1918. It reached Winnipeg on Sept. 30 and Brandon on Oct. 14.

The idea to write a thesis on the 1918 flu in Brandon had its genesis when Austin took Holland’s course “Anthropology of Death.” The course included a tour of the Brandon Municipal Cemetery, which was led by then administrator Sandy Jasper. Austin was impressed by Jasper’s passion, as well as by the extensive database of information the city had of cemetery burials. When Austin wrote her thesis, she had the active cooperation of Jasper and the City of Brandon.

Confidentiality of the deceased was maintained while using the city burial records. Austin submitted an ethics application that was approved by the BU research ethics committee. The City of Brandon removed the names of individuals from the information released for Austin’s study. A strict protocol was in place for storing and accessing the raw data at the university. The final thesis contained only aggregate information, preserving anonymity of the dead.

Austin examined the period 1908-29: a decade before and a decade after the 1918 flu. She analyzed the causes of death of the approximately 4,000 people who died and were buried in the Brandon cemetery during that time.

Deaths in Brandon a century ago reveal a very different society from today. Nearly one-half of deaths were of those aged 19 and younger. Causes of death included quaint terms no longer used, like “summer complaint.” A not uncommon cause of death was malnutrition. Austin and Holland were surprised to learn how frequently Brandonites perished after being kicked by a horse.

From October 1918 to April 1919, Austin counted 61 people in Brandon who died of influenza. Another 13 died of pneumonia — often a complication of the flu. Like elsewhere, most of those who died were in their 20s and 30s.

Austin discovered that the influenza mortality rate in Brandon was much lower than in Winnipeg and in Canada overall. Austin identified a couple of possible reasons. One was the swift action taken by Brandon’s medical health officer, Dr. E.S. Bolton.

Seeing the flu coming, Bolton was ready. The day the flu appeared in Brandon, Bolton issued health orders to slow the spread of the virus. In contrast, Winnipeg delayed more than a week to implement similar directives.

“I hereby order,” Bolton stated in a notice published in the Oct. 14, 1918 Brandon Daily Sun, “that all schools, churches, theatres, picture show places and all other places where the public gather or congregate, shall be closed, and that all unnecessary gatherings of people about stores, street corners or other public places shall be prohibited.”

These measures foreshadow what would become familiar to us during COVID.

“Do your shopping by telephone whenever at all possible,” Bolton recommended. “Those who have no telephone are urged to shop in the morning.”

Austin noted another action that reduced the spread of the flu in Brandon. With schools closed, the Brandon Collegiate on Louise Ave. was converted into a temporary influenza hospital. This reduced flu exposure to other patients at the Brandon General Hospital.

Brandon Collegiate is now New Era School. That building is a concrete link between citizens today and where Brandonites a century ago were fighting — and dying of — the Spanish flu.

There are many more questions that invite further inquiry and Austin plans to continue her studies. Holland pointed out that because BU is primarily an undergraduate institution, students like Austin can take advantage of a wider range of research opportunities than they might elsewhere. This richer experience is great preparation for future work or graduate school.

Holland and Austin are enthusiastic about anthropology. Studying how people died in the past helps inform our sense of history, keep our community’s heritage alive and deepen our understanding of today.

“The dead inform the living,” Holland noted. “The dead have a lot to say about their lives that can help us live healthier and better lives.”