Bahrain's Battles against Epidemics

The Arabian Gulf region may have experienced many waves of epidemics over the last few centuries, but not enough documentation is easily available.

However, “the British authorities’ records of epidemics between 1893 and 1924 serve as our best historical source of information” says Dr Abdul Aziz Yousif Hamza who was the Undersecretary of Bahrain’s Ministry of Health and whose contribution towards improving emergency services of hospitals here is immense.

In his book, “Tears on an Island: A History of Disasters in the Kingdom of Bahrain” (2009), with his painstaking research, he offers us excellent documentation on the various battles Bahrain had fought against disasters – both, natural as well as man-made.

Dr AbdulAziz Yousif Hamza's Book contains 
clear and comprehensive listings 
of epidemics in the country.

Cholera was the first recorded epidemic. And, it was contained in the same year it had broken out, in 1893; but sadly, not before it took the lives of 7000 people. With all steamers enforcing a strict quarantine against Bahrain at that time, there was a 33% decline in the annual pearl fishing income, according to the author.

Oral history tells us that even a few decades earlier to this, two outbreaks of Cholera, in 1820 and 1871, with origins in India, had already been very tragic for Bahrain. They are remembered as ‘Dharb Al-Awal’ and ‘Dharb Al-Thani’ - ‘The First Hit’ and ‘The Second hit’.

No proper numbers are available on the deaths, but outbreaks will remain in Bahrain’s collective memory.

In his book, Dr Abdul Aziz Hamza writes that “In the period 1893-1924, nine epidemics of plague, three epidemics of cholera, and one wave of influenza occurred in Bahrain, six of which were severe. A total of 24,205 people are estimated to have died”. The devastation will seem larger only when we realize that the population of Bahrain had only been around 100,000 then; which meant that nearly 25% had lost their lives.

But thanks to doctors, nurses, and paramedics of the American Mission Hospital (established in 1900, which had had 110 beds by the 1910s), of the small Victoria Memorial Hospital (which closed in 1948), and also of the Quarantine established in Halat Abu Maher, in Muharraq, the country had come out undaunted from these huge medical crises.

To write this piece, as I dug into material related to contagious diseases in Bahrain, I found it fascinating that despite its small size, Bahrain had always fought these outbreaks with formidable courage and resilience.

Plague, cholera, typhoid, smallpox, poliomyelitis, influenza, hepatitis a, rubella, mumps, measles, and meningitis have all affected Bahrain at different points in recorded history. They took scores of lives. But Bahrain’s medical facilities quickly rose up to meet these challenges and successfully thwarted the outbreaks. More recently, even fears of SARS and Swine Flu have been effectively tackled and contained.

Our faith in the medical facilities of this nation, therefore, can be reinforced and bolstered when we look at history; and especially at the quick action we are seeing all around us, on the arrival of coronavirus to Bahrain’s shores.

It is good to see that the government has quickly sealed off entry-points, such as airports and seaports, cancelled classes, in public and private schools, set up hotlines like 444 so that medical authorities can be easily reached, and even disseminated the needed information through text messages.

But, we should avoid panic and paranoia by not getting swayed easily by misinformation that’s floating around as Whatsapp forwards.

We must remember that the real experts are the doctors and medical authorities. We must pay attention to their announcements, and heed to them.  Our friends, however good their intentions could be, are not really experts. And we must be careful in evaluating their forwards.

With today’s advanced medical techniques and global cooperation, Bahrain, like always, will come out strong. Yet again.