La gripe española en Bilbao. Análisis demográfico de la pandemia y sus consecuencias desde diferentes fuentes de información

The objective of this study is the analysis of the Spanish flu pandemic of 1918-1920 in the city of Bilbao. The capital of Biscay reaches high mortality rates as a result of the Spanish flu. From a demographic perspective, various aspects related to the pandemic have been analyzed: On the one hand, the different sources of information available at the time, the Civil Registry and the Statistical Bulletin of Bilbao, have been studied. The data provided by both sources have been compared and the differences have been explained. The different possible methodologies in the study of the pandemic have also been analyzed: The study of direct deaths from influenza, pneumonia and bronchopneumonia and the study of excess mortality. On the other hand, the population effects of the Spanish flu in the capital of Biscay have been described, especially the differences in mortality by the age or the sex of the deceased, or the direct relationship with crude birth rates.