1854 — Smallpox, esp. Charleston SC/59, Chicago/12, Jacksonville FL/~15, NYC/624, Philly/40–750
–750 Blanchard tally from breakouts of five localities noted below.
Charleston, SC ( 59)
–59 Jones. Contagious and Infectious Diseases. 1884, p. 203.
Chicago, IL ( 12)
–12 US National Board of Health. Annual Report of…1883. 1884, p. 134.
Jacksonville, FL (<15) --<15 esp. late March-early April. Merritt. A Century of Medicine in Jacksonville…. 1949, p.32. New York City, NY (624) --624 Condran. “Changing Patterns of Epidemic Disease in New York City.” 1991, p. 31. Philadelphia, PA ( 40) --40 City of Philadelphia. First Annual Message…Mayor…Philadelphia. 1908, p. 99. Narrative Information Florida Merritt: “About the time that scarlet fever began to spread [late March] an epidemic of smallpox developed. While these two epidemics were in progress, a huge fire broke out of April 5, which destroyed much of the town, including both newspaper buildings. The Florida Republican got out a special edition the following day and then did not publish again until June 15, while the Florida News did not appear until July 8. Consequently, there was little local news coverage during that important period. “On April 23 a sensational letter, written in Jacksonville and later published in a Tallahassee newspaper, stated that scarlet fever was ‘still rife and doing its work of death’; that 49 cases of smallpox and varioloid had been reported to the mayor by physicians on that day; that the disease was scattered in every direction; and that sanitary measures which were being advised were too late. “Several weeks later, in mid-May, Mr. Columbus Drew and Dr. Baldwin made statements which were published in the same Tallahassee newspaper which carried the sensational story. Mr. Drew, after admitting that ‘several papers of the country’ had mentioned [end of p. 31] the remarkable fatality in one family due to scarlet fever, asserted that the disease had ‘visited’ only a few families and had not spread to an alarming extent. Dr. Baldwin asserted at that time, May 15, that there was no severe case of smallpox in town; that there were perhaps ten or twelve cases of varioloid; and that the sensational letter, in citing a specific number of persons involved, probably was less than 10 per cent accurate. “On June 15 the editor of the Florida Republican, in the first paper issued following the fire, quoted ‘reports of physicians,’ to show that there had not been…more than fifteen deaths from smallpox. It was stated that the diseases had assumed a prevailing form prior to April 10, than on June 15 there was no scarlet fever and only one case of smallpox, and that the patient with smallpox was confined to a hospital in the outskirts of the town.” [pp. 31-32] Sources City of Philadelphia. First Annual Message of John E. Reyburn, Mayor of the City of Philadelphia with the Annual Reports of the Departments of Public Health and Charities, Supplies, Public Education, Law, City Controller, City Treasurer, Commissioners of the Sinking Funds, Receiver of Taxes, and Board of Revision of Taxes for the Year Ending December 31, 1907 (Vol. III). Philadelphia: Dunlap Printing Co., 1908. Google digitized. Assessed 12-5-2012: http://books.google.com/books?id=0ihNAAAAMAAJ&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false Condran, Gretchen A. “Changing Patterns of Epidemic Disease in New York City.” Pp. 27-41 in Rosner, David (Ed.). Hives of Sickness: Public Health and Epidemics in New York City. Rutgers University Press, 1991, 236 pages. Partially digitized by Google. Accessed 3-29-2018 at: http://books.google.com/books?id=o34QxI6lHwAC&pg=PA70&dq=1916+Polio+Epidemic&ei=Cy5DSZWvMIXAMpqalOYN#PPP7,M1 Jones, Joseph, M.D., President of the Board of Health of the State of Louisiana. Contagious and Infectious Diseases, Measures for Their Prevention and Arrest. Small Pox (Variola); Modified Small Pos (Varioloid); Chicken Pox (Varicella); Cow Pox (Variola Vaccinal): Vaccination, Spurious Vaccination Illustrated by Eight Colored Plates (Circular No. 2, Prepared for the Guidance of the Quarantine Officers and Sanitary Inspectors of the Board of Health of the State of Louisiana.). Baton Rouge: Leon Jastremski, State Printer, 1884. Accessed 2-12-2015 at: https://books.google.com/books?id=3VTboPycbBgC&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false Merritt, Webster. A Century of Medicine in Jacksonville and Duval County. “Scarlet Fever and Smallpox.” Gainesville, FL: University of Florida Press, 1949. Accessed 4-25-2018 at: http://ufdc.ufl.edu/UF00103093/00001/51x United States National Board of Health. Annual Report of the National Board of Health, 1883. Washington, DC: GPO, 1884. Digitized by Google at: http://books.google.com/books?id=MtuxEGC1Vp4C&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_v2_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q&f=true