The Spanish influenza pandemic killed at least 20 million people
worldwide after world war I, even in isolated corners, and some
estimates put it as high as 100 million. It was the worst mass
illness since the Black Death.
A friend who does research on malaria once told me it originated in
Europe, which was a surprise because I'd always thought it was
tropical. Apparently it was unknown in tropical areas until European
settlers reached there. He also said that it's looking like wormwood
- active ingredient in absinthe - is as effective as quinine for
easing attacks. But I'm not sure what his sources are.
Interesting. My daughter mentioned malaria but I told her it
couldn't be =
that because it's tropical. Cholera was >mentioned as well. I was =
thinking along the lines of the horrible influenza in the U.S. in =
19...teens that killed so >many. Wasn't it called the Spanish
Influenza?
Not just in the US - my father's uncle, a Derbyshire vicar, died of
it in =
1918 after taking many other victims' funerals, and it was
widespread on =
the European continent.
I think malaria (ague) and cholera were recognised diseases in the
16th =
century, so the sweating sickness must have been something different.
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