The 1918 flu in Xinzo de Limia and Moreiras

In autumn 1918 the flu pandemic reached Xinzo de Limia and Moreiras, then two separate concellos. In both it lasted until spring 1919 and was especially virulent in October, November and December 1918 ^[1].

The context

The epidemic began in March 1918 at a military camp in Kansas and reached the European front; in Spain it probably entered by train from France, with Spanish and Portuguese labourers returning. It was called the "Spanish flu" only because Spain, a neutral country, reported on it without censorship. In Spain 40 % of the population was infected and nearly 300,000 people died ^[1]. In Ourense there were 16,412 deaths in 1918, double the average of the five years before or after, and between August 1918 and April 1919 144.9 people per 10,000 inhabitants died in the province. The governor suspended the monthly fair in September and the visits to cemeteries on All Souls’ Day, and banned visiting houses with deaths; in some towns the bells were not rung "so as not to frighten" ^[1].

In Xinzo and Moreiras

• On 8 October the Xinzo authorities said there were no cases, but closed the schools as a precaution. The first death was on 16 October, the young Francisco Vidal Gallego, aged 22 ^[1].
• In Moreiras the first victim was on 6 November, the young Carolina Colmenero Pérez, aged 28 ^[1].
• Xinzo had about 7,000 inhabitants in 1918 and Moreiras between 1,100 and 1,200 (1,460 in the year of the merger, 1927). Sixty people died in Xinzo and 56 in Moreiras, nearly as many with far fewer inhabitants. The pandemic affected mainly those under 50 ^[1].
• In 1919 there were almost no deaths; the last victims died in March and April ^[1].

The author took the data from the death registers of the Xinzo and Moreiras Civil Registry and publishes a table of deaths by settlement ^[1].

Who cared for the sick

Xinzo had seven doctors (Leopoldo Álvarez, Teodoro Colmenero, Matías González, Eladio Izquierdo —oculist—, Lorenzo Mathé, Emilio Núñez and Marcial Velasco) and three pharmacies (widow of Arturo Álvarez, Constantino Elices and Manuel Saa). In Moreiras there was probably no doctor or pharmacy ^[1]. Leopoldo Álvarez did outstanding humanitarian work and the Republican town council decided, for his merits, to dedicate to him the street then called Estrella: Leopoldo Álvarez street, which starts from Avenida de Madrid, at the corner of the Praza Maior, and ends in the churchyard of the old church of Santa Mariña ^[1].

Links

• Curiosities of A Limia
• Xinzo de Limia
• History of A Limia

Sources

1. Edelmiro Martínez Cerredelo, «Outono de 1918: a epidemia de gripe nos concellos de Xinzo de Limia e Moreiras», Historia de Xinzo, 08/11/2018. https://historiadexinzo.wordpress.com/2018/11/08/outono-de-1918-a-epidemia-de-gripe-nos-concellos-de-xinzo-de-limia-e-moreiras/