Benigna entre nós, porém, epidêmica : a Influenza espanhola e suas formas de curar na cidade da Parahyba através do Jornal O Norte (1918)

Abstract

This study, situated within the field of the History of Health and Diseases, focuses on the 1918 Spanish Influenza pandemic and its repercussions in the city of Parahyba, investigated through the analysis of the newspaper O Norte. The main objective is to investigate and analyze the impact of the pandemic on the capital of Paraíba during the year of 1918, observing how the newspaper reported and described the arrival of the disease, the first recorded cases, the preventive measures adopted by local authorities, and the community's reactions to the advancement of the illness. Furthermore, it seeks to understand the information disseminated by the newspaper regarding forms of cure and recommended treatments against the Influenza, including popular methods, medical interventions, and compounded remedies available at the time. The research question guiding this study is: in what ways did the newspaper O Norte represent the pandemic in the city of Parahyba in 1918, and what meanings can be attributed to these representations? The starting hypothesis is that the newspaper, while reporting the effects of the disease, simultaneously constructed discourses that minimized its severity and praised the actions of the state government, aligning itself with political interests.