Centenary of ‘Spanish Flu’ pandemic in Australia
The pneumonic influenza or ‘Spanish Flu’ pandemic of 1918-19 killed more than 50 million people worldwide. As soldiers returned to their home countries following the Great War of 1914-1918, the flu spread rapidly around the globe. It was the deadliest outbreak of infectious disease since the ‘Black Death’ of the Middle Ages.
‘Spanish Flu’ came ashore in Victoria in January 1919 and within months had spread to almost all major cities and towns across Australia.
Michael is joined by historian Dr Peter Hobbs to talk about this near forgotten piece of Australian history that saw about a third of our population falling ill and around 15,000 having died as a result of the infection.
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