Poverty and Public Health During the Spanish Influenza Epidemic in Chile, 1918-1920
"LOS CULPABLES DE LA MISERIA": POVERTY AND PUBLIC HEALTH DURING THE SPANISH INFLUENZA EPIDEMIC IN CHILE, 1918-1920 A Dissertation submitted to the Faculty of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences of Georgetown University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in History By Hugo Alberto Maureira, M.A. Washington, D.C. March 26, 2012 Copyright 2012 by Hugo Alberto Maureira All Rights Reserved ii "LOS CULPABLES DE LA MISERIA": POVERTY AND PUBLIC HEALTH DURING THE SPANISH INFLUENZA EPIDEMIC IN CHILE, 1918-1920 Hugo Alberto Maureira, M.A. Thesis Advisor: Erick D. Langer, Ph.D. ABSTRACT During the Spanish influenza global pandemic, of 1918-1920, tens of thousands of people died in Chile. From the moment that the first cases appeared in Chile, in late September 1918, Chilean physicians argued over the nature and cause of the outbreak. Some argued that it was not Spanish influenza, but epidemic typhus. This study chronicles the events and impact of Spanish influenza on Chile. It also examines the country's public health response as it targeted the working-class and poor. In some cases the response was brutal. In Parral and Concepción, the Brigadas Sanitarias forcibly evicted thousands of people and burned down their homes. The historical record strongly suggests that Chile was struck by Spanish influenza, not a typhus epidemic. Yet, typhus served as a convenient diagnosis for physicians at the time. It fit a certain profile that Chileans had of their country. As a disease, typhus normally affects societies on the verge of collapse.
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