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The Diffusion of the Influenza Pandemic of 1918 in Hartford,Connecticut

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  04 January 2016

Peter Tuckel ,
Sharon Sassler ,
Richard Maisel  and
Andrew Leykam
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Abstract

This study uses geographic information systems (GIS) to measure the incidence andtrack the spread of the influenza pandemic of 1918 in Hartford, Connecticut. Thedata for the study are based on the death certificates of individuals who livedin Hartford and died from the disease, digitized maps of Hartford for the periodcirca 1918, and two supplemental random samples of the 1920 U.S. censusschedules. The findings suggest that, instead of viewing the epidemic as asolitary event, one can better understand it as a set of somewhat discreteevents or “mini-epidemics” occurring within the confines of onecity. These mini-epidemics affected various subgroups in the populationdifferently in terms of the timing of the onset, the duration, and the lethalityof the disease. The major point of differentiation of these subgroups wasethnicity, which overlapped with geography.

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Social Science History , Volume 30 , Issue 2 , Summer 2006 , pp. 167 - 196
Copyright
Copyright © Social Science History Association 2006 

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