Of lessons not learnt from 1918 pandemic

Jose Ameal Pena, a 107-year-old man who survived the 1918 influenza pandemic, had a message for the world in an interview on Monday. "We must help each other and be like walking sticks to each other," he said.

There are many lessons to be learned from the 1918 pandemic when World War I was drawing to a close. Most countries then were mobilizing their resources against each other; mutual cooperation was unthinkable, providing the perfect conditions for the virus to spread.

The major powers of the time blamed the outbreak on one another, a fact borne out by even its naming. Historical records show the first infections occurred in a United States military camp but the US hid the fact. Information about the virus was uncovered in neutral Spain, leading to the pandemic being called "Spanish flu" for almost 100 years before it was corrected. That does not mean the 1918 pandemic should be named after the US, just as China opposes attempts at linking any virus with any specific place.

Have human beings learned any lessons from 1918? Certainly not in the West. While some politicians and media outlets were opposing joint efforts to fight the novel coronavirus outbreak, others have been busy labeling it the "Wuhan" or "Chinese" virus.

China has almost brought the epidemic under control, but it is spreading elsewhere despite China sharing information.

It is high time the world heeded what Jose said. Help each other out, instead of passing the buck. That's the only way to curb the epidemic's spread. Hopefully, some Western politicians will mend their ways before it is too late.