[The 1918 influenza from the perspective of the Hongkong Chinese Daily (Xiang Gang Hua Zi Ri Bao)].

ABSTRACT

The 1918 outbreak of influenza in Hongkong was reported in the Hongkong Chinese Daily (Xiang Gang Hua Zi Ri Bao). It was said that the influenza began in June 1918 with mild symptoms, but spread wildly in November with strong momentum as a second wave. It killed about 3,000 people in Hongkong that year. It subsided in Hongkong, Guangdong and other places after February 1920. The reports and news on the 1918 influenza in the Hongkong Chinese Daily mostly came from medicine-related business rather than official news, in particular, the news of influenza treatment. Many influenza treatments were reported in the newspaper, such as Tui Shao tablets and Qing Bu Wan in Watson's pharmacy, Bai Sheng Tea and Bai Sheng Oil in Cheng De Tang, and Bai Sheng Tea in Xin Yu Xian Tang. The reports and news about the 1918 influenza in the Hongkong Chinese Daily have their historical value for the research of epidemic influenza in Hongkong, Guangdong and other places.