At a time like this one, it seems appropriate to refer to a monograph published by the Institute of Social Sciences in 2009, A Pandemia Esquecida : Olhares comparados sobre a Pneumónica 1918-1919 (The Forgotten Pandemic: Comparative views on Pneumonic 1918-1919), by José Manuel Sobral, Luísa Lima, Paula Castro and Paulo Silveira e Sousa. Since work on this topic is relatively scarce (note, among others, the one by the physician and historian João Frada, A Gripe Pneumónica em Portugal Continental – 1918/Pneumonic Flu in Portugal - 1918, Lisbon, Sete Caminhos, 2005), and almost always narrowed to an academic niche, the work of these authors seems indispensable for those who want to deepen their knowledge of this topic.

Also called Spanish Flu, it may have affected one in three or four people worldwide - epidemiological data are better known in some countries than in others and, in many cases, with little consensus.

In Portugal, it was particularly devastating. It is estimated to have wiped out up to 2% of the population. The country was particularly poor at the time, and the pandemic generated panic among the population, uncovering the unpreparedness of government institutions, as well as the weak assistance and health care network. Today, it remains poorly known outside the academic niches, and references to its devastating action occur most often in a decontextualized and fragmented way.

André Silva 

Library and Information Area