Coimbra’s response to the 1918-1919 influenza epidemic, seen from the viewpoint of a local newspaper

Abstract

This article investigates the 1918-1919 influenza epidemic in Coimbra using information found in the pages of a local newspaper. Rigorous and systematic analysis of the Gazeta de Coimbra reveals the urban bourgeoisie’s perception of this health disaster, considered the most severe in the twentieth century. Guided by the newspaper’s editor though an unofficial view of the facts, the reader can glimpse reactions to the first news of the epidemic, particularly the population’s fears related to this information, but also the response from authorities and civil society. The newspaper is critical in many aspects, openly censuring inaction by several institutions of the city such as the city council, the medical school at the University of Coimbra, and the Misericórdia charitable institution.