Thread by @PwaniTribune

There is nothing new under the sun, a short thread of data & correspondence at the Coast during the Spanish influenza outbreak (1918-1920) that mirrors the Corona pandemic. Vanga represents Kwale, Nyika represents Kilifi. Data from Tana River & Lamu wasn't readily available then.

The data above is for the period of Sept. 1918-March 1919. The outbreak globally was in waves, those that experienced a first wave (March 1918-August 1918) built up immunity & had a less severe second wave than countries that had first interaction with the flu in the second wave.

As is commonly known, Spanish influenza arrived in Kenya when a ship carrying World War 1 troops & carrier corps docked at the port of Mombasa from India in September 1918. In it were ailing persons that would introduce the second wave of the virus to our shores.

The virus did not originate in Spain, it is only referred to as 'Spanish' because Spain was neutral during the World War 1 & covered the outbreak without any need for propaganda. America, UK, France & Germany minimized reporting it to maintain morale in their military camps.

Kilifi reported the first cases of the flu in late September 1918 while the first death was reported in Taita Taveta on 1st November 1918. There are a few reasons for this, one being the introduction of colonial tax had made many in Kilifi opt for wage labour in Mombasa...

Returning home to Kilifi for their work breaks must have been the mode of transmission. Taita Taveta district reporting the first death must have been due to Voi being a railway town & returning troops & carrier corps settled on recently acquired lands along the railway...

Another explanation for Taita Taveta district reporting the first death could be the number of adult males (75%) in the region that served in the 1st World War. The Spanish flu could simply have been brought by sons returning home from their service as troops & carrier corps.

As it was reported then...
“… at modest estimate between 30% and 40% of the Taita are down with the complaint. The death rate appears during the last few days to be approximately 50 per diem, and to be on the increase...

...I anticipate at the present rate if the epidemic is of only 21 days duration the deaths will amount to probably over 1000, whatever action is taken.” Talbot Smith, Taita Taveta District Commissioner on 23rd November 1918.

With regard to who was mostly affected...“Death occurred mostly among the old men and women, and judging from the number of elders of council reported to have died must have run into hundreds…and …very few of the young and middle aged…

...natives are most secretive about illness and death among their people.” RW Lambert Vanga Kakoneni Asst. District Commissioner 20th January 1919.

Unconventional modes of prevention were also the order of the day, if a memo from AD Milne (Principal Medical Officer East Africa Protectorate) on 21st November 1918 to all Provincial and District medical officers in the East Africa Protectorate is anything to go by...

...“The administration of one teaspoonful of paraffin oil three times a day has been spoken of as having good result when administered to Africans suffering from this disease". Uji wa wimbi (millet meal) and mtama (finger millet meal) were also said to be good for the sickly.

“…Influenza is getting no better, and we are having more deaths. On account of it, it is impossible to get porters, so we have had to write this morning to put off Dr. Shepherd’s Safari. He was to have brought me up the most pressingly needed drugs now they will be delayed...

..." Ada Drake, Sub Assistant Surgeon, Taita Taveta District, in a 25th November 1918 letter to the District Commissioner requesting administrative support. It tells of the burden on medics during the Spanish influenza outbreak.

Spanish influenza in the end had a profound impact on the Coastal economy. The Kedal Fibre Estate, BEA Corporation Estate (Farms) and the Haubner Estate (Farms) in Taita Taveta had to close down due to the loss of labour. Work at the port of Mombasa was also disrupted.

Globally the death toll from Spanish influenza numbered anything from 20 Million to 100 Million. In Kenya it totalled to over 150,000...substantial figures that greatly affected our population demographics. Its full impact on life in our nation has never been fully documented.

Of great help to create this thread: 'Impact of the 1918 Influenza Pandemic in Coastal Kenya'
Fred Andayi, Sandra S. Chaves and Marc-Alain Widdowson.