Social Impacts of a Flu Pandemic

A flu pandemic is not only a disaster in what regards the human death toll, but also in how our societies change during and after such an event. Oftentimes, dramatic changes will occur during such a pandemic with the normal lives of the inhabitants of the affected area being shattered. Socially, a flu pandemic has a lot more effects than other pandemics or epidemics such as AIDS for example. Although AIDS is a constant threat, it does not interfere too much with our normal lives (although it has brought a certain amount of unrest in our sexual lives).

The best example of a flu pandemic that had severe changes in the time's society is the Spanish Flu of 1918. Of course, some will argue that societies were already shattered at that time, because of the First World War, but the Spanish Flu brought additional changes and effects. This particular pandemic was one of the deadliest known to mankind, taking a toll of almost 3-4% of the total global population and affecting another 15% that managed to survive it. Combine this with the unrest caused by the war and you get an image of the instability of that time's societies.

The fear for further spread of the flu had most states enforcing severe measures upon the population. Local gatherings were interdicted, so for the duration of the pandemic, churches, theatres, markets and other similar places were abandoned. Mass transit, where available at that time, was also restricted heavily in most areas. Buses and trams were either stopped completely or the conductors would only allow travelers to board the vehicles if they wore protective masks.

During a pandemic, societies are also afflicted with a general fear which leads to heavy loss of productivity, higher crime rate and migrations. These migrations are also a cause of further spreading of a flu pandemic. For example, during the Spanish Flu and even during the Asian Flu of 1957, a lot of inhabitants of the affected countries tried to "run away" from the flu and emigrate to neighboring, unaffected countries. Among the few who made it across, some were active or inactive carriers of the virus, hence they spread it even further. Most countries tried to quell these emigrations and placed armed guards at the borders as well as setting up quarantines for infected persons (both methods were inefficient).

Even after the flu pandemic has passed and the immediate social impact loses effect, there will still be lasting effects in those particular societies for generations to come. In the years after a pandemic, the fear for a new one is still present and people will panic at the first sign of a common cold, possibly treating it as they would treat the flu.