Understanding the Present Through the Past: A Comparison of Spanish News Coverage of the 1918 Flu and COVID-19 Pandemics

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Abstract

Through a comparative analysis of Spanish newspaper coverage of the 1918 flu and COVID-19 pandemics, this article explores the parallels between them, their roles in reflecting and facilitating public perceptions of infectious diseases, the national dialogues they incite, and the search for solutions in a global health crisis. I use qualitative analysis to interpret media themes of contagion as they shift from societal complacency to panic as disaster unfolds. In weaving together Philip Strong’s model for epidemic psychology and Jim A. Kuypers’s rhetorical approach to news framing, I analyze how newspapers communicate changing assumptions about epidemiologic risks during pandemics.

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Most cited references 28

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Presence of Genetic Variants Among Young Men With Severe COVID-19

Caspar van der Made, Annet Simons, Janneke H.M. Schuurs-Hoeijmakers … (2020)

Are genetic variants associated with severe coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in young male patients? In a case series that included 4 young male patients with severe COVID-19 from 2 families, rare loss-of-function variants of the X-chromosomal TLR7 were identified, with immunological defects in type I and II interferon production. These findings provide insights into the pathogenesis of COVID-19. Severe coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) can occur in younger, predominantly male, patients without preexisting medical conditions. Some individuals may have primary immunodeficiencies that predispose to severe infections caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). To explore the presence of genetic variants associated with primary immunodeficiencies among young patients with COVID-19. Case series of pairs of brothers without medical history meeting the selection criteria of young (age T; p.[Val795Phe]). In primary peripheral blood mononuclear cells from the patients, downstream type I interferon (IFN) signaling was transcriptionally downregulated, as measured by significantly decreased mRNA expression of IRF7 , IFNB1 , and ISG15 on stimulation with the TLR7 agonist imiquimod as compared with family members and controls. The production of IFN-γ, a type II IFN, was decreased in patients in response to stimulation with imiquimod. In this case series of 4 young male patients with severe COVID-19, rare putative loss-of-function variants of X-chromosomal TLR7 were identified that were associated with impaired type I and II IFN responses. These preliminary findings provide insights into the pathogenesis of COVID-19. This case series describes rare putative X-chromosomal loss-of-function variants associated with impaired peripheral mononuclear blood cell interferon signaling in 4 young male patients hospitalized with severe coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in the Netherlands.

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Predominant role of bacterial pneumonia as a cause of death in pandemic influenza: implications for pandemic influenza preparedness.

David M. Morens, Jeffery K. Taubenberger, Anthony S. Fauci (2008)

Despite the availability of published data on 4 pandemics that have occurred over the past 120 years, there is little modern information on the causes of death associated with influenza pandemics. We examined relevant information from the most recent influenza pandemic that occurred during the era prior to the use of antibiotics, the 1918-1919 "Spanish flu" pandemic. We examined lung tissue sections obtained during 58 autopsies and reviewed pathologic and bacteriologic data from 109 published autopsy series that described 8398 individual autopsy investigations. The postmortem samples we examined from people who died of influenza during 1918-1919 uniformly exhibited severe changes indicative of bacterial pneumonia. Bacteriologic and histopathologic results from published autopsy series clearly and consistently implicated secondary bacterial pneumonia caused by common upper respiratory-tract bacteria in most influenza fatalities. The majority of deaths in the 1918-1919 influenza pandemic likely resulted directly from secondary bacterial pneumonia caused by common upper respiratory-tract bacteria. Less substantial data from the subsequent 1957 and 1968 pandemics are consistent with these findings. If severe pandemic influenza is largely a problem of viral-bacterial copathogenesis, pandemic planning needs to go beyond addressing the viral cause alone (e.g., influenza vaccines and antiviral drugs). Prevention, diagnosis, prophylaxis, and treatment of secondary bacterial pneumonia, as well as stockpiling of antibiotics and bacterial vaccines, should also be high priorities for pandemic planning.

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Effect of Hydroxychloroquine on Clinical Status at 14 Days in Hospitalized Patients With COVID-19: A Randomized Clinical Trial

Wesley H. Self, Matthew W Semler, Lindsay M. Leither … (2020)

Data on the efficacy of hydroxychloroquine for the treatment of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) are needed.

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Author and article information

Journal

Title: Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly

Abbreviated Title: Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly

Publisher: SAGE Publications

ISSN (Print): 1077-6990

ISSN (Electronic): 2161-430X

Publication date Created: March 2022

Publication date (Electronic): December 18 2021

Publication date (Print): March 2022

Volume: 99

Issue: 1

Pages: 12-43

Affiliations

[1 ]University of Cambridge, UK

Article

DOI: 10.1177/10776990211061762

SO-VID: 4eeec8bc-76b3-45be-80f3-18de72aefe5f

License:

https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/

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