Of Pandemics, Epidemics, Endemics, and Violence: Death Rates in Uruapan, Michoacán, México (1909-1923)

Abstract

The demographic impact of the 1918 flu pandemic is measured by analyzing the death certificates of the Civil Registry in Uruapan, together with the number of lives claimed by epidemics, endemics, and violence. Death rates during normal periods are also examined, with the impact being disaggregated by age group and sex. Several waves of flu took place between 1918 and 1920. The period between 1909 and 1923 saw epidemic outbreaks of diseases that became endemic, such as smallpox and typhus, as well as other contagious diseases such as measles and malaria. Another factor contributing to the death rate was the violence that erupted following the onset of the Mexican Revolution, reflected in the increase in homicides.