1870 — Diarrhoea, Dysentery, Enteritis, esp. NY/4641, PA/2633, IL/2551, MO/2270–>31,153

—>31,153  Blanchard. (See Census note below on significant undercounts–this is a minimum.)

—  31,153  U.S Census. Ninth Census – Volume II. The Vital Statistics… 1872, p. xviii.

–14,195  Diarrhoea    —  7,912  Dysentery    —  9,046  Enteritis

 

AL          667   U.S. Census. Ninth Census – Volume II. The Vital Statistics… 1872, p. xxiii.

–335  Diarrhoea         –203  Dysentery         –129  Enteritis

AZ            11   U.S. Census. Ninth Census – Volume II. The Vital Statistics… 1872, p. xxiii.

—   5  Diarrhoea          —   5  Dysentery          —   1  Enteritis

AR         306   U.S. Census. Ninth Census – Volume II. The Vital Statistics… 1872, p. xxiii.

–173  Diarrhoea         —  39  Dysentery         —  94  Enteritis

CA         442   U.S. Census. Ninth Census – Volume II. The Vital Statistics… 1872, p. xxiii.

–131  Diarrhoea         —  91  Dysentery         –220  Enteritis

CO           41   U.S. Census. Ninth Census – Volume II. The Vital Statistics… 1872, p. xxiii.

—  8  Diarrhoea           —  7  Dysentery           –26  Enteritis

CT          260   U.S. Census. Ninth Census – Volume II. The Vital Statistics… 1872, p. xxiii.

–72  Diarrhoea           –116  Dysentery         –72  Enteritis

DK (Dakota) 9  U.S. Census. Ninth Census – Volume II. The Vital Statistics… 1872, p. xxiii.

–5  Diarrhoea             —   3  Dysentery          —  1  Enteritis

DE            67   U.S. Census. Ninth Census – Volume II. The Vital Statistics… 1872, p. xxiii.

–31  Diarrhoea           — 20  Dysentery          –16  Enteritis

DC         137   U.S. Census. Ninth Census – Volume II. The Vital Statistics… 1872, p. xxiii.

–80  Diarrhoea           — 31  Dysentery          –26  Enteritis

FL          156   U.S. Census. Ninth Census – Volume II. The Vital Statistics… 1872, p. xxiii.

–64  Diarrhoea           — 40  Dysentery          –52  Enteritis

GA      1,014   U.S. Census. Ninth Census – Volume II. The Vital Statistics… 1872, p. xxiii.

–448  Diarrhoea         –327  Dysentery         –239  Enteritis

ID               2   U.S. Census. Ninth Census – Volume II. The Vital Statistics… 1872, p. xxiii.

–0  Diarrhoea             —   1  Dysentery          —   1  Enteritis

IL        2,551   U.S. Census. Ninth Census – Volume II. The Vital Statistics… 1872, p. xxiii.

–1,284  Diarrhoea      –664  Dysentery         –603  Enteritis

IN        1,241   U.S. Census. Ninth Census – Volume II. The Vital Statistics… 1872, p. xxiii.

–664  Diarrhoea         –191  Dysentery         –386  Enteritis

IA           805   U.S. Census. Ninth Census – Volume II. The Vital Statistics… 1872, p. xxiii.

–339  Diarrhoea         –228  Dysentery         –238  Enteritis

KS          319   U.S. Census. Ninth Census – Volume II. The Vital Statistics… 1872, p. xxiii.

–171  Diarrhoea         –50  Dysentery           –89  Enteritis

KY         860   U.S. Census. Ninth Census – Volume II. The Vital Statistics… 1872, p. xxiii.

–357  Diarrhoea         –211  Dysentery         –292  Enteritis

LA       1,139   U.S. Census. Ninth Census – Volume II. The Vital Statistics… 1872, p. xxiii.

–509  Diarrhoea         –336  Dysentery         –294  Enteritis

ME         269   U.S. Census. Ninth Census – Volume II. The Vital Statistics… 1872, p. xxiii.

–103  Diarrhoea         –50  Dysentery           –116  Enteritis

MD        411   U.S. Census. Ninth Census – Volume II. The Vital Statistics… 1872, p. xxiii.

–157  Diarrhoea         –167  Dysentery         –87  Enteritis

MA     1,114   U.S. Census. Ninth Census – Volume II. The Vital Statistics… 1872, p. xxiii.

–406  Diarrhoea         –427  Dysentery         –284  Enteritis

MI          861   U.S. Census. Ninth Census – Volume II. The Vital Statistics… 1872, p. xxiii.

–363  Diarrhoea         –258  Dysentery         –240 Enteritis

MN        279   U.S. Census. Ninth Census – Volume II. The Vital Statistics… 1872, p. xxiii.

–112  Diarrhoea         —  84  Dysentery         —  83  Enteritis

MS         665   U.S. Census. Ninth Census – Volume II. The Vital Statistics… 1872, p. xxiii.

–325  Diarrhoea         –103  Dysentery         –237  Enteritis

MO     2,270   U.S. Census. Ninth Census – Volume II. The Vital Statistics… 1872, p. xxiii.

–1,300 Diarrhoea       –503  Dysentery         –467  Enteritis

MT           13  U.S. Census. Ninth Census – Volume II. The Vital Statistics… 1872, p. xxiii.

—  9  Diarrhoea           —  1  Dysentery           —  3  Enteritis

NE            63   U.S. Census. Ninth Census – Volume II. The Vital Statistics… 1872, p. xxiii.

–26  Diarrhoea           –12  Dysentery           –25  Enteritis

NV           26   U.S. Census. Ninth Census – Volume II. The Vital Statistics… 1872, p. xxiii.

—  5  Diarrhoea           —  2  Dysentery           –19  Enteritis

NH         177   U.S. Census. Ninth Census – Volume II. The Vital Statistics… 1872, p. xxiii.

–49  Diarrhoea           –71  Dysentery           –57  Enteritis

NJ         552   U.S. Census. Ninth Census – Volume II. The Vital Statistics… 1872, p. xxiii.

–141  Diarrhoea         –179  Dysentery         –232  Enteritis

NM         80    U.S. Census. Ninth Census – Volume II. The Vital Statistics… 1872, p. xxiii.

–21  Diarrhoea           — 29  Dysentery          –30  Enteritis

NY      4,641   U.S. Census. Ninth Census – Volume II. The Vital Statistics… 1872, p. xxiii.

–2,243   Diarrhoea      –1,068  Dysentery      –1,330  Enteritis

NC         728   U.S. Census. Ninth Census – Volume II. The Vital Statistics… 1872, p. xxiii.

–418  Diarrhoea         — 135  Dysentery        —  175  Enteritis

OH      1,884   U.S. Census. Ninth Census – Volume II. The Vital Statistics… 1872, p. xxiii.

–794  Diarrhoea         — 461  Dysentery        –629  Enteritis

OR           21   U.S. Census. Ninth Census – Volume II. The Vital Statistics… 1872, p. xxiii.

—  6  Diarrhoea           —    6  Dysentery         —  9  Enteritis

PA       2,633   U.S. Census. Ninth Census – Volume II. The Vital Statistics… 1872, p. xxiii.

                        –953  Diarrhoea         –684  Dysentery         –996  Enteritis
RI           116   U.S. Census. Ninth Census – Volume II. The Vital Statistics… 1872, p. xxiii.

—  27  Diarrhoea         —  59  Dysentery         —  30  Enteritis

SC          537   U.S. Census. Ninth Census – Volume II. The Vital Statistics… 1872, p. xxiii.

–278  Diarrhoea         –147  Dysentery         –112  Enteritis

TN          750   U.S. Census. Ninth Census – Volume II. The Vital Statistics… 1872, p. xxiii.

–445  Diarrhoea         —  79  Dysentery         –236  Enteritis

TX         631   U.S. Census. Ninth Census – Volume II. The Vital Statistics… 1872, p. xxiii.

–399  Diarrhoea         —  93  Dysentery         –199  Enteritis

UT          102   U.S. Census. Ninth Census – Volume II. The Vital Statistics… 1872, p. xxiii.

–46  Diarrhoea           —   4  Dysentery          –52  Enteritis

VE          197   U.S. Census. Ninth Census – Volume II. The Vital Statistics… 1872, p. xxiii.

–35  Diarrhoea           –103  Dysentery         –59  Enteritis

VA      1,026   U.S. Census. Ninth Census – Volume II. The Vital Statistics… 1872, p. xxiii.

–494  Diarrhoea         –293  Dysentery         –239  Enteritis

WA            6   U.S. Census. Ninth Census – Volume II. The Vital Statistics… 1872, p. xxiii.

—  0  Diarrhoea           —   2  Dysentery          —   4  Enteritis

WV        233   U.S. Census. Ninth Census – Volume II. The Vital Statistics… 1872, p. xxiii.

–128  Diarrhoea         —  55  Dysentery         —  50  Enteritis

WI         841   U.S. Census. Ninth Census – Volume II. The Vital Statistics… 1872, p. xxiii.

–296  Diarrhoea         –265  Dysentery         –280  Enteritis

WY        —     U.S. Census. Ninth Census – Volume II. The Vital Statistics… 1872, p. xxiii.

 

Narrative Information

 

U.S. Census Office on the 1870 Census: “If the value of the Statistics of Mortality in a census of the United States, taken under existing laws, depended upon the return of substantially the whole body of deaths occurring during the year covered by the enumeration, the results would not be worth the space occupied by publication, much less the expense of collection and compilation. At no one of the three censuses taken under the act of May 23, 1850, has the aggregate number of deaths returned by the assistant marshals risen above two-thirds of the number of deaths probably occurring during the year of enumeration, as that number is deduced from the experience of other countries, from the experience of sections of our own country having an established system of registration, and from the ascertained law of the national increase. With such wholesale omissions from the number of deaths, therefore, if the Statistics Mortality depended for their value on any assumed completeness in the returns of assistant marshals, the whole would deserve a contemptuous rejection at the outset, and not an elaborate and expensive compilation and publication; but as matter of fact, the value of the following statistics arises from the consideration that these tables distribute a body of deaths approaching half a million,[1] among the several periods of life, between the two sexes, according to cause of death and month of death, by race, by nationality, and by occupation. Deeply as it is to be regretted that the census of the United States does not afford the material for determining exactly the death-rate of States and sections, and of deducing the effect of the various conditions of life upon the duration of life, from statistics complete and accurate in every particular, the Tables of Mortality in the census have still their value….

 

“It is easy to explain the cause of the wholesale omissions from the return of deaths in the census, which have been referred to. To take the recent census as an example, the census law required the return of all deaths occurring in families, from the 1st of June, 1869, to the 31st of May, 1870; in all, twelve months. The enumeration if the course of which this was to be accomplished began on the 1st of June, 1870, and closed, nominally, on the 1st of October, but really about the 1st of January, 1871. Thus, the officers of the census were called upon to recover all the deaths occurring during the census year, at a distance in time ranging from one day to nineteen months from the dates at which such deaths severally occurred. The antecedent improbability of success in such an attempt would be of the strongest; while the actual experience of three censuses has shown that assistant marshals fall short of the true number of deaths by not far from 40 per cent., as a rule. In some cases assistant marshals fail to put the question; in others, heads of families, or persons answering for them, fail to recall the fact of a death occurring during the year, especially when ten or eleven months have already elapsed since the date of death, and the mind, not unnaturally, refers to the even as having taken place a year or longer before. In still another large number of cases, persons die out of families, which class of cases seems not to have been in contemplation of the census law, which makes the return of mortality a family return. In still other cases, deaths occur in families, but the very death itself breaks up the family and scatters the surviving members, leaving no one to report the death in the census. In still other cases, deaths occur in what are constructively families for the purposes of the census, i.e., boarding-houses, hotels, &c., but the common tie of membership or association is here so casual and so slight that the chances are altogether against the circumstance being retained in memory six or eight months after….” (United States Census Office. “Remarks Upon the Statistics of Mortality.” P. ix.)

 

[Blanchard note: Other Census reports also mention the problem of correctly identifying the cause of death as well as the various competing names in circulation in areas or regions for the country for the same disease.]

 

CDC on modern global diarrhea: “Diarrhea kills 2,195 children every day — more than AIDS, malaria, and measles combine. Diarrheal diseases account for 1 in 9 child deaths worldwide, making diarrhea the second leading cause of death among children under the age of 5. For children with HIV, diarrhea is even more deadly; the death rate for these children is 11 times higher than the rate for children without HIV. Despite these sobering statistics, strides made over the last 20 years have shown that, in addition to rotavirus vaccination and breastfeeding, diarrhea prevention focused on safe water and improved hygiene and sanitation is not only possible, but cost effective….

 

“Diarrhea: What we know

 

  • It causes death by depleting body fluids resulting in profound dehydration.
  • Diarrhea can have a detrimental impact on childhood growth and cognitive development.
  • About 88% of diarrhea-associated deaths are attributable to unsafe water, inadequate sanitation, and insufficient hygiene.
  • Rotavirus is the leading cause of acute diarrhea and causes about 40% of hospitalizations for diarrhea in children under 5.
  • Most diarrheal germs are spread from the stool of one person to the mouth of another. These germs are usually spread through contaminated water, food, or objects.
  • Water, food, and objects become contaminated with stool in many ways:
    • People and animals defecate in or near water sources that people drink.
    • Contaminated water is used to irrigate crops.
    • Food preparers do not wash their hands before cooking.
    • People with contaminated hands touch objects, such as doorknobs, tools, or cooking utensils.”

 

(Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Diarrhea: Common Illness, Global Killer. Pp. 1-2.)

 

Dysentery: “An infectious disease of the colon. Symptoms include bloody, mucus-filled diarrhea; abdominal pain; fever; and loss of fluids from the body.” (U.S. National Library of Medicine. “Dysentery.” PubMed Health.)

 

Enteritis: “Enteritis is inflammation of the small intestine… [It] is most often caused by eating or drinking things that are contaminated with bacteria or viruses. The germs settle in the small intestine and cause inflammation and swelling….

 

“Risk factors include:

  • Recent stomach flu among household members
  • Recent travel
  • Exposure to unclean water….”

 

(U.S. National Library of Medicine. MedlinePlus. “Enteritis.” 7-31-2019 update.)

 

Source

 

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Diarrhea: Common Illness, Global Killer (webpage). Accessed 8-7-2019 at: https://www.cdc.gov/healthywater/pdf/global/programs/Globaldiarrhea508c.pdf

 

United States Census Office, Department of Interior.  Ninth Census – Volume II. The Vital Statistics of the United States, Embracing The Tables of Deaths, Births, Sex, and Age. Washington: GPO, 1872. Google digitized at: http://books.google.com/books?id=GssqAAAAMAAJ&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false

 

U.S. National Library of Medicine. MedlinePlus. “Enteritis.” 7-31-2019 update. Accessed 8-7-2019 at: https://medlineplus.gov/ency/article/001149.htm)

 

U.S. National Library of Medicine. PubMed Health. “Dysentery.” Accessed 6-16-2016 at:

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMHT0025025/

 

 

 

 

[1] Number of deaths noted as 492,263 on page xvii.