Why Can’t We Call It the China Virus?
There are reasons we say “1918 Pandemic” Rather Than “Spanish Flu”
COVID-19 is the most disruptive pandemic since the 1918 Pandemic. Also known as “The Spanish Flu” the 1918 pandemic is not called “Spanish Flu” by most experts.
There are more reasons for this than meets the eye.
First of all, the 1918 pandemic, which may have killed as many as 100 million people, did not originate in Spain. In fact, most researchers agree that it originated in the United States. Many think it began in Haskell County, Kansas, from the Ft. Riley military post.
Today, the United Nations, and World Health Organization, (WHO) as well as most formal bodies of authority, have agreed that it causes problems of many kinds — not the least of which are diplomatic concerns — to refer to an illness by geographic location.
Imagine if your home town became known as epicenter for “The Concord Cholera”, or the “Nashville Virus.”
Also, to call an epidemic by its supposed location of origin is not very precise.
The 1918 pandemic, pinpoints specifically, the year it hit everyone the hardest. If we just call something the “China virus,” or “Spanish Flu,” it pins no historic date for future reference.