C. Roy ReynoldsBY THE second decade of the century pandemic outbreaks of diseases such as Yellow Fever and Small Pox no longer appeared to the people of Jamaica as immediate threats, but something just as menacing was just around the corner. The First World War was just winding down with all its carnage but the suffering and death was not at an end.
Beginning about the middle of the 1918 the Spanish Influenza would make its appearance and before it had run its course millions who thought their survival of the war looked promising would sicken and die. They would die not from bullets, bombs or poison gas but from the attack of unseen microbes. It has not been established exactly when the disease first appeared in Jamaica but by the end of October 1918 there was no doubt that it had arrived, and a formal acknowledgement was made in The Gleaner of November 1, 1918. The story was under the simple headline: 'The Spanish Influenza Here.'
It consisted of a compendium of reports from all over the island. From Ramble in Hanover came a report that the death toll was growing. Old Harbour reported that it and surrounding districts "are in the firm grip of the Spanish Influenza."
At Waldensia the story was that in the past two weeks the day school had closed as the principal and his entire staff "have been laid aside and nearly all the pupils are ill from the malady."
It was the same story all over the island. Ewarton, Christiana, Linstead, Alley, all reported outbreaks with fatalities increasing daily.
While the war might have disrupted the lives of the people that level of disruption was a tea party compared with what was caused by the epidemic. Schools closed their doors for the first time in memory. Social functions were suspended. People were advised to limit contact with their fellow beings. One report told of all the shops being closed, while from Claremont in St. Ann came news that in the district of Irons Mountain Joseph Drake died, becoming "the fifth person that has passed over to the Great Beyond in one family."
As things threatened to grind to a standstill even the act of trying to secure the bare necessities of life became a burden and an adventure.
Several markets joined the shops in closing their doors as both buyers and sellers came down with the disease or stayed away for fear of contracting it.
Establishments like the Victoria Market in Kingston were threatened with imminent closure as workers sickened and were sent home. Generous amounts of disinfectants were applied in a vain effort to contain the raging epidemic. There were strong calls made for the same sort of treatment of public transport such as the tramcar service in Kingston.
The parish of St. Thomas appeared to have been one of the most severely hit in the early days. On November 2, a Gleaner report told of mounting death and dislocation in that parish. Alarmed by the situation the Acting Colonial Secretary sent a letter on behalf of the Governor to the Parish Board of Health advising that an emergency grant of £500 had been approved to set up three hospital isolation facilities while the Board Clerk for Morant Bay sent an urgent request for a supply of cots.
It was a time of great confusion as even the advice from the Governor about setting up the isolation wards seemed to have run counter to a previous position that people should be treated at home rather than in hospitals to reduce the risk of cross-contamination. But it seemed that the epidemic had taken such a toll on health delivery personnel that this position was no longer tenable. Some like Dr. Clark of Vere literally "collapsed on the job". One district lost its only dispenser.
But if the authorities were at a loss as to what to do advice was not long in appearing on the pages of The Gleaner.
C. Roy Reynolds is a freelance journalist.
