The Yellow Fever Epidemic Of 1878

In the summer of 1854, London was coming out as one of the most modern cities in the world. With nearly 2.4 million people living in the area at the time, the city’s infrastructure itself was having a hard time providing for the basic needs of its residents. The biggest problem existing within the city at that time was its waste removal system, or for better terms, its lack of one. Human waste was piling up everywhere, from people houses to the rivers and drinking water. This situation was the perfect breeding conditions for a number of diseases, and towards the end of that summer, one of the most deadly of them all took over. It took the work of both a physician and a local minister in order to discover the mysterious cause of the

In the early 19th Century the vast majority of housing for the working class was in a terrible condition, which were mainly due to overcrowding, poor ventilation and unsanitary environments. These issues lead to outbreaks of cholera on a number of occasions between the years 1813 and 1865. The Public Health Act was introduced in 1848, which required all local authorities to provide towns with hygienic sewage disposal and clean water supplies. Due to the presence of disease in slums, the Sanitary Reform Act was introduced in 1866. The act gave local authorities powers to inspect the cleanliness of homes in their district. (Naidoo and Wills, 2009). As stated by Berridge, Martin and Mold (2011), the Sanitary Reform Act aimed to address the problems with sewage, household waste and contaminated

It is hard to imagine in the twenty first century the level of filth that was experienced in the 1830’s on a daily basis. Sanitation, public health and sewer systems were problems that gripped the nation throughout the ninetieth century (1830-1860s), encouraging popular debate and proposal of changes. The growth of population and increase in the industry

While reading An American Plague, I noticed an interesting detail that Yellow Fever could actually be prevented. Murphy (2003) notes that doctors noted the symptoms of the sick patients from the disease Yellow Fever. Some of the symptoms were pain in the back and painful aching in the body. This detail led me to wonder if there was a way that you could prevent Yellow fever. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says that wearing bug repellent will reduce the chances for getting bit by a mosquito and they also talk about having more clothing on your body will also help because then mosquito's can not bite you. The article also talks about vaccines because we know have a yellow fever vaccine and that will cure yellow fever.

In American industrial cities, late 1800s, Poor neighborhood were not the best place to live. With poor living conditions, poor sanitation and crowded housing, many epidemics of infectious disease spread into the poor population and touched even the wealthy class. Cities such as New York were crowded and workers were living in tenements, which were often cramped, poorly lit and poorly aerated. Moreover, these tenements lacked of adequate plumbing, therefore waste was flooding in the public streets. Streets was crowded of waste and garbage. Population was poorly nourished and has a poor life hygiene like water pollution and poisoned food and milk. Accordingly, infectious disease was the common death reason. Big cities had known outbreaks of

In this chapter it talks about how Catherine LeMaigre was dying, and dying horribly and painfully. The two physicians sent for their esteemed colleague Dr. Benjamin Rush. They were trying to find out if they could stop the plague from spreading.

Public health was an extremely important issue that sparked reactions to the polluted water and air, the Corn Laws and the well-being of laborers in filthy conditions. “Diseases caused or aggravated by atmospheric impurities produced by decomposing animal and vegetable substances, by damp and filth, and close and overcrowded dwellings, prevail among the laboring classes. The annual loss of life from filth and bad ventilation is greater than the loss from death or wounds in modern wars” (doc 6), “Most workers lack clothing, bed, furniture, fuel wholesome food, even potatoes! They spend from twelve to fourteen hours each day shut up in low-ceilinged rooms where with every breath of foul air they absorb fibers of cotton, wool, or particles of copper, lead or iron. They live suspended between an insufficiency of food and an excess of strong drink; they are all wizened, sickly and emaciated, their bodies thin and frail, their limbs

In Philadelphia, 1793, a disease that haunted and still haunts America to this day was the yellow fever. It was caused by a little but deadly mosquito called aedes. It spread this disease to many people and it killed around 5,000 people per town. It was the most deadly plague in American history. Some say it was like the black plague. I’ll be talking about why it’s called the Yellow Fever, how did it spread, how it got to America, how it affected the capital, about our local area back then, the people who were trying to help fight it, and the first hospital ever built.

The 1878 yellow fever epidemic in Memphis proved to be fatal, killing almost all who got infected. The disease traveled up from New Orleans infecting and killing many on its way. Memphis was going through reconstruction and was becoming the center for merchants and travelers. Furthermore, Memphis began to become overly populated only increasing the devastation that would be caused by the yellow fever. This was a confusing period were even medical professionals did not know where the disease came from or how they could to stop it. The epidemic caused panic and challenged the state government of Tennessee and made changes to it that are still in effect today.

In the early 1900’s medicine was making some steps closer into some great improvements for health and better understanding of the human body. Doctors with sufficient knowledge of the human body and cures for diseases and viruses were scarce. People were much more concerned with government and politics, than health and medicine, until one of the greatest and most grotesque lethal pandemics that’s struck the earth in human history. This pandemic the “Spanish Flu” spread so rapidly and had an extremely high mortality rate. This was caused by the close contact of humans and poor cleanliness and sanitation, and the host (virus) and the body taking harsh action

Throughout history many different diseases have infected the world. Such diseases consist of measles, mumps, malaria, typhus and yellow fever. Many of these diseases are caused by different things and originated in different countries.

To fully comprehend the effect the yellow fever had on Pennsylvania in 1793, it is necessary to understand disease itself. This instance of widespread yellow fever in Philadelphia is known as an epidemic. An epidemic occurs when there is a pathogen present in the same area area as vulnerable a large number of people vulnerable to the said pathogen. Another common term for an epidemic is outbreak, but an outbreak usually occurs within a more limited area than an epidemic. An epidemic or outbreak can be brought on by an increase of a microbe that causes illness, the introduction of a disease-causing microbe into a new environment, a change to the environment that allows the pathogen to spread more readily, hosts in an area becoming more

Due to the description of the disease, Scarlet fever seems to have been dated back almost 2,500 years even back to the time of Hippocrates. Supposedly there has been 3 major epidemics of Scarlet Fever. The first uncontested account of scarlet fever came in 1553 similar to measles, diphtheria and other rashes however some say it was seen as early as 430 B.C. Scarlet fever brought about a death rate then as high as one hundred and fifty out of one hundred thousand, which is a very morbid death rate.

Though this is not common knowledge, or “untold”, Molly Caldwell Crosby’s The American Plague: The Untold Story of Yellow Fever, the Epidemic that Shaped our History is a resource that accounts it in its entirety. Its thorough account of medical and cultural history surrounding the virus is a guide through every part of the virus’s time in the United States, eradication, and eventual long term effects. The book is a paramount resource for anyone looking for a thorough knowledge of the subject of yellow fever, and shows that the United States, and the world, truly would not have been the same without the existence and manifestation of yellow fever in

Most people don’t know that 10% of people that get Yellow Fever die from it. However some viruses are more harmful than others which may scare some people. The many symptoms of Yellow Fever may make this viral infection seem frightening even though there is a treatment available, the history is quite unique, but how it is spread may surprise people.