Matsemi Mofokeng from Tumahole, Parys, celebrated her 102nd birthday on 16 July. She was born in the same year that Avbob was established. All the more reason to celebrate their more than a century celebration together say Riaan and Michael from Avbob who surprised Matsemi with a cake for her birthday.
Matsemi was born just after the Spanish flu pandemic hit SA, like many other countries in the world. This was an unusually deadly pandemic caused by the H1N1 influenza A virus. Lasting from February 1918 to April 1920, it infected 500 million people – about a third of the world’s population at that time – in four successive waves.
Today, some similarities can be seen between the Covid-19 pandemic and the Spanish flu pandemic.
During the time of the Spanish flu pandemic, mortality was high among people younger than five years old, 20–40 years old and 65 years of age and older. The high death rate among healthy people, including those in the 20–40 year age group, was a unique feature of this pandemic.
The 1918 flu was first observed in Europe, the United States and parts of Asia before swiftly spreading around the world.
At the time, no effective drugs or vaccines were available.
Citizens were ordered to wear masks. Schools, theatres and businesses were shuttered and bodies piled up in makeshift morgues before the virus ended its deadly global march.
During the Spanish flu pandemic of 1918, the New York City health com- missioner tried to slow the trans- mission of the flu by ordering businesses to open and close in stag- gered shifts to avoid overcrowding on the subways.
