TIP #280 - PLAGUES AND EPIDEMICS CONCLUSION Continuing with the theme of epidemics begun last week, I am going to conclude this week with the major outbreaks of plagues and epidemics that affected our ancestors. I will be starting prior to the formation of Kentucky, and include other states where our ancestors could have had family. Sources will be listed at the end. After reading this, do you find yourself asking "how did we all survive?" You can check previous tips entitled "Kentucky Time Lines" at the web site (see signature line under Tips) for the epidemics that hit Kentucky. 1592-96 One of the earliest outbreaks of measles among native Americans in North America struck the Seneca Indians in central New York state, and caused hundreds or maybe thousands of deaths. 1617-19 A smallpox outbreak killed 90% of the Massachusetts Bay Indians, probably introduced from fishing boats that visited the coast before there was a permanent English settlement0 there. The few remaining natives were weakened, and were unable to resist the landing of the Mayflower settlers at Plymouth in 1620. 1633 Smallpox again struck the Indians in Massachusetts, probably brought on arriving ships of settlers. At least 15 children died on incoming ships, as well as about 20 colonists already resident. 1634 Smallpox in Connecticut, a catastrophic epidemic that was introduced by Dutch traders and killed 95% of the Indians along the Connecticut River, and spread north into Canada. The English settlers were mostly immune, having had the disease as children themselves, but attributed their escape, and the Indians' death, to God's will. The elimination of the natives in the Connecticut valley opened up that area to settlement 1648-49 Another smallpox outbreak spread to many towns in the Massachusetts colony. By this time there had been many children born in the colony who were susceptible. A simultaneous epidemic of whooping cough added to the severity of the epidemic, and to the overall death toll. 1657 Boston: Measles 1662 Smallpox killed more than a thousand Iroquois in central New York state. 1666 A smallpox outbreak struck Boston, but was relatively mild, and only about 40 people died. 1677-78 Another smallpox epidemic in Boston was much worse than the 1666 epidemic, and killed several of the town leaders. 1687 Boston: Measles 1668 Probably the earliest recorded epidemic of yellow fever non-tropical America, striking New York in late summer and early fall of 1668, and described as an "autumnal bilious fever in infectious form". The contemporary descriptions leave some possibility open that it could have been some other disease, but yellow fever seems the most likely. 1690 New York: Yellow Fever 1699 Charleston SC had an epidemic, the first there to be positively identified as yellow fever; probably about 160-190 died 1702 Yellow fever struck New York, killing more than 500 people over a three-month period, which was probably about 10% of the population at the time. 1706 Charleston SC was struck with yellow fever again. About 5% of the population died. 1713 Boston: Measles 1721-22 Smallpox struck Boston again, with about 6000 people affected in a total population of 11,000, of whom 844 died. This epidemic prompted the first use of inoculation against smallpox in the New World. 1728-32 Charleston SC was hit by yellow fever twice in a four year period. The cause (mosquitoes) was not understood, and treatment wasn't very effective. 1729 Boston: Measles 1732-33 Worldwide: Influenza 1735-40 Epidemics of diphtheria and scarlet fever spread through various parts of New England. Both diseases were referred to as "throat distemper" and weren't distinguished. Hundreds of people died, most of them children. 1738 South Carolina: Smallpox 1739-40 Boston: Measles 1743-45 Yellow fever struck New York again. A correlation with the dockyard areas was noticed, but mosquitoes were still not recognized as the vector. 1747 Connecticut, New York, Pennsylvania & South Carolina: Measles 1759 North America (areas inhabited by white people): Measles 1761-71 North America & West Indies: Influenza 1763-64 Smallpox hit Boston once again, with about 170 deaths. This epidemic was less serious than previous ones, probably because of inoculation. 1772 North America: Measles 1775 North America (especially hard in New England). 1775-76 Worldwide: Influenza 1781-82 Worldwide: Influenza (one of worst flu epidemics) 1783 Delaware (Dover): "extremely fatal" bilious disorder 1788 Philadelphia & New York: Measles 1789 A widespread epidemic of influenza hit New England, New York and Nova Scotia in fall 1789. Most deaths appear to have been from secondary pneumonia. 1792-99 Yellow fever ravaged cities all along the east coast, including Charleston, Philadelphia, New Haven, New York, and Baltimore. The outbreak in Philadelphia in the summer of 1793 was the most severe, and most memorable. The disease was probably introduced from ships carrying French refugees who were fleeing turmoil in Santo Domingo, and then spread by mosquitoes that bred in stagnant water that in years with more rain had been waterways and canals. Ten percent of the population in that city died, about 5,000 people altogether. The new city of Washington DC was under construction at the time, and Philadelphia was the interim capital. Most of the government officials fled the city, including George Washington and the members of his cabinet. Various treatments were tried, none of them very effective, and controversy raged over the best way to prevent and treat the disease. Cold weather finally brought an end to the outbreak, in late October. 1793 Philadelphia: more than 4,000 residents died from yellow fever. 1793 Vermont: Influenza and a "putrid fever" Virginia: Influenza (kills 500 people in 5 counties in 4 weeks) 1794 Philadelphia: Yellow fever 1796-97 Philadelphia: Yellow Fever 1798 Philadelphia: Yellow Fever (one of worst) 1802 Smallpox killed about two thirds of the Omaha Indians in what is now northeast Nebraska. 1803 New York: Yellow Fever 1820-23 Nationwide: "fever" (starts on Schuylkill River, PA & spreads 1826-28 Dengue fever spread from Savannah, Georgia, to other cities along the southeastern coast, and through the Caribbean. 1832 July-Aug., New York City: over 3,000 people killed in a cholera epidemic. Oct., New Orleans: cholera took the lives of 4,340 people. 1833 Columbus, Ohio, cholera 1834 New York City, cholera 1837 Philadelphia: Typhus 1837 Smallpox started with a Sioux tribe in Missouri in June 1837, then spread to Blackfoot and other tribes in Montana and Saskatchewan. The last previous outbreak among the Blackfoot had been in 1781, so by 1837 most of the population was susceptible. 1841 Nationwide: Yellow Fever (especially severe in South) 1847 New Orleans: Yellow Fever 1847-48 Worldwide: Influenza 1848 New York City: more than 5,000 deaths caused by cholera. 1848-49 North America: Cholera 1850 Nationwide: Yellow Fever 1850-51 North America: Influenza 1850-51 An extensive epidemic of dengue fever began in Charleston SC, then spread to Savannah, Augusta, New Orleans, Mobile, Galveston, and other southern coastal cities. 1851 Coles Co., Illinois, The Great Plains, Missouri - cholera 1852 Nationwide: Yellow Fever (New Orleans: 8,000 die in summer) 1853 New Orleans: yellow fever killed 7,790. 1855 Nationwide (many parts): Yellow Fever 1857-59 Worldwide: Influenza (one of disease's greatest epidemics) 1860-61 Pennsylvania: Smallpox 1861-65 The U.S. Civil War brought epidemics of dysentery, typhoid fever, hepatitis, malaria, smallpox, measles, and venereal diseases. More than three times as many soldiers died of infectious disease than died of battle wounds. 1863-66 The fourth cholera pandemic of the 19th century began in India in 1863, spread first to the middle east, and then into the Mediterranean. It arrived in New York on a ship coming from France in October 1865, and spread rapidly. Public health reform kept the death toll lower than in previous epidemics, but there were tens of thousands of deaths nonetheless. Another wave swept through the south and midwest in 1873, hitting particularly hard in the Mississippi and Ohio valleys. 1865-73 Philadelphia, New York, Boston, New Orleans, Baltimore, Memphis, & Washington D.C.: a series of recurring epidemics of Smallpox, Cholera, Typhus, Typhoid, Scarlet Fever & Yellow Fever 1867 New Orleans: 3,093 perished from yellow fever. 1868-75 Smallpox outbreaks hit New York, Philadelphia and other cities, and it was discovered that many children had not been vaccinated. The New York City Board of Health recommended that all residents be vaccinated in 1870, but there was widespread public resistance, since the vaccine itself was not without risk, and people perceived the campaign as creating a panic situation and allowing doctors to profit from it. 1878-79 Southern States: over 13,000 people died from yellow fever in lower Mississippi Valley. 1885 Plymouth, PA: Typhoid 1886: Jacksonville, Fl: Yellow Fever 1893-94 The first large recorded outbreak of polio in the U.S. began in Boston, and spread into New England, particularly Vermont. Of 132 cases documented in Vermont, there were 18 deaths and 30 victims left with permanent paralysis. 1901-03 Smallpox had its last major outbreak in the urban northeast U.S., beginning in New York and spreading through other major cities. 1907-1916 Polio turned into a major problem in the U.S., with about a thousand cases in New York in 1907, and another outbreak in 1911. The disease was recognized as contagious, but there was no understanding yet of exactly how it was spread. The first widespread outbreak, seriously affecting 26 states, occurred in 1916. About 7,000 deaths were recorded. 1916 Nationwide: over 7,000 deaths occurred and 27,363 cases were reported of polio (infantile paralysis) in America's worst polio epidemic. 1917-18 March-Nov., Nationwide: outbreak of Spanish influenza killed over 500,000 people in the worst single U.S. epidemic. 1931 Another outbreak of polio swept the U.S. during the summer of 1931, killing more than 4,000 people, about 12 percent of the reported cases. 1942-53 Polio continued to ravage the U.S., peaking in 1952 with about 60,000 cases. Introduction of the Salk vaccine in 1955 brought an end to the epidemic. 1949 Nationwide: 2,720 deaths occurred from polio, and 42,173 cases were reported. 1952 Nationwide: polio killed 3,300; 57,628 cases reported; worst epidemic since 1916. This list was compiled largely from Encyclopedia of Plague and Pestilence, edited by George C. Kohn, and published by Facts On File, Inc., 1995. Sources: Epidemics in U.S. - 1657 - 1918, South Bend, IN Area Genealogical Society, April 1996. Originally from Sue in Arizona. Epidemics in the U.S. 1657-1918, http://people.delphi.com/pamyates/epidemic.htm U.S. Epidemics - http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0001460.html Plagues & Epidemics (from Plumber.com) - http://www.theplumber.com/plague.html Some Historically Significant Epidemics http://www.botany.duke.edu/microbe/chrono.htm Epidemics and Military Battles http://everest.ento.vt.edu/IHS/militaryEpidemics.html The American Experience: Influenza 1918 http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/influenza/ Plague and Epidemic in Renaissance Europe - http://jefferson.village.virginia.edu/osheim/ And special thanks to Jean Dalyrumple for her assistance in putting these sites together! (c) Copyright, 24 Feb 2000, Sandra K. 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