The Impact of the Spanish Influenza on the Ottoman Empire

Abstract

As the Spanish influenza affected almost all the world, the Ottoman Empire suffered from it. The geoepidemiology of the Ottoman was vulnerable to epidemic or pandemic diseases. Since it was an active participant of the First World War, it can be said that it was inevitable situation to escape from this devastating pandemic. Probably, the pandemic disease entered into the Ottoman from Europe and it led to cases or death in many places of Anatolia. The armies were so affected from it that this pandemic played a considerable role in the end of the war. So as to prevent this pandemic influenza, some precautions such as closure of public spaces like schools were taken. Much social mobility resulted from wartime caused this epidemic influenza to spread world widely easily. In order to prevent the pandemic, new inoculations and drugs were tested, but these attempts failed to prevent the spread of the flu completely. On account of the fact that present sources are inadequate, it is impossible to say the exact number of dead people of this pandemic. Nevertheless, available primary and secondary sources give us to estimate the impact of this pandemic disease on the Ottoman Empire.