1911 — Smallpox, 29 reporting States and DC, esp. TX/51, KS/26, and CA/10 — 134

— 134 US PHS. “Smallpox in the United States.” Public Health Reports, V27, 9-20-1912, 1557.
— 130 Bureau of the Census. Mortality Statistics 1911 (Bulletin 112). “Causes of Death.” P. 27.

California (10)
–10 US PHS. “Smallpox in the United States.” Public Health Reports, V27, 9-20-1912, 1558.
— 6 Los Angeles, Nov-Dec. US PHS. “Smallpox…” Public Health Rpts., V27, 9-20-1912, 1559.

Colorado ( 1) “Table No. 1.” US PHS. Public Health Reports, V27, 9-20-1912, p. 1560.
Florida ( 6) “Table No. 1.” US PHS. Public Health Reports, V27, 9-20-1912, p. 1560.
Illinois ( 4) “Table No. 1.” US PHS. Public Health Reports, V27, 9-20-1912, p. 1560.
Indiana ( 3) “Table No. 1.” US PHS. Public Health Reports, V27, 9-20-1912, p. 1560.
Iowa ( 4) “Table No. 1.” US PHS. Public Health Reports, V27, 9-20-1912, p. 1560.

Kansas (26)
–26 US PHS. “Smallpox in the United States.” Public Health Reports, V27, 9-20-1912, 1558.
— 3 Osage County. US PHS. “Smallpox…[US].” Public Health Reports, V27, 9-20-1912, 1558.
–23 Topeka, May-Oct. US PHS. “Smallpox…[US].” Public Health Rpts., V27, 9-20-1912, 1558.

Massachusetts ( 2) US PHS. “Smallpox…[US].” Public Health Reports, V27, 9-20-1912, 1558.
Michigan ( 2) “Table No. 1.” US PHS. Public Health Reports, V27, 9-20-1912, p. 1560.
Minnesota ( 3) “Table No. 1.” US PHS. Public Health Reports, V27, 9-20-1912, p. 1560.
Montana ( 2) “Table No. 1.” US PHS. Public Health Reports, V27, 9-20-1912, p. 1560.
New Jersey ( 1) “Table No. 1.” US PHS. Public Health Reports, V27, 9-20-1912, p. 1560.
New York ( 3) “Table No. 1.” US PHS. Public Health Reports, V27, 9-20-1912, p. 1560.
Ohio ( 1) “Table No. 1.” US PHS. Public Health Reports, V27, 9-20-1912, p. 1560.
Oklahoma ( 1) “Table No. 1.” US PHS. Public Health Reports, V27, 9-20-1912, p. 1560.
Oregon ( 1) “Table No. 1.” US PHS. Public Health Reports, V27, 9-20-1912, p. 1560.
Pennsylvania ( 2) “Table No. 1.” US PHS. Public Health Reports, V27, 9-20-1912, p. 1560.
South Dakota ( 1) “Table No. 1.” US PHS. Public Health Reports, V27, 9-20-1912, p. 1560.

Texas (51)
–51 US PHS. “Smallpox in the United States.” Public Health Reports, V27, 9-20-1912, 1558.
–25 El Paso Co. US PHS. “Smallpox in…[US].” Public Health Reports, V27, 9-20-1912, 1558.
— 2 Guadalupe Co. US PHS. “Smallpox…[US].” Public Health Rpts., V27, 9-20-1912, 1558.

Utah ( 8) US PHS. “Smallpox…[US].” Public Health Reports, V27, 9-20-1912, 1558.
Washington ( 2) “Table No. 1.” US PHS. Public Health Reports, V27, 9-20-1912, p. 1560.

Narrative Information

US PHS: “During the calendar year 1911 reports were received by the Surgeon General of the United States Public Health Service from the health authorities of 29 States and the District of Columbia, giving the occurrence of smallpox as notified in their respective jurisdictions. In these States there was a total of 21,768 cases and 134 deaths reported….

“From such information as was obtainable the disease during 1911 appears to have been equally prevalent, if not more so, in the States from which no reports were received. The fac that certain States did not report on the prevalence of the disease was not due to an absence of cases of smallpox within their territory, but to an absence of laws requiring the notification of cases, or in the presence of such laws, to a failure to enforce them.

“It must not…be understood that the States enumerated in the tables…had more smallpox than the States that do not appear. In fact, many of the States that are not mentioned because of a lack of the necessary reports are known to have been heavily infected with the disease. The States included in the tables are those having the better laws and more effective health departments They are the States having health departments that keep informed with some degree of accuracy regarding the prevalence of disease within their respective jurisdictions.

Prevalence.

“Cases of smallpox occurred at some time during the year in all of the States reporting. The greatest numbers of cases were notified in North Carolina, Florida, Kansas, Utah, and Colorado, with 2,484, 2,195, 2,043, 1,660 and 1,381 cases, respectively, in the order named. Although the number of cases reported in North Carolina was greater than that in any other State, there was a marked decrease from the preceding year when 4,281 cases were reported. In Florida only 3 cases were reported in 1909. In 1910 the number was 1,286, and in 1911, 2,195 cases. In Kansas the annual number of cases was practically the same during the three years 1909, 1910, and 1911. The 1,660 cases reported in Utah was an increase over the 966 cases reported in 1910, and a decrease from the 1,854 cases for 1909. A decrease in the prevalence of eh disease is noted in Michigan, there having been in 1911 only 691 reported cases, whereas in 1910 there were 2,585. Oklahoma also showed a decrease, there being only 1,080 cases in 1911, against 2,342 during the preceding year. In Texas the number decreased from 2,925 reported cases in 1910 to 687 in 1911. The States with the smallest number of cases were Connecticut, Massachusetts, District of Columbia, Maryland (exclusive of Baltimore), New Jersey and Maine, with 2, 11, 28, 31, 40, and 68 cases, respectively.

Case Rate.

“The case rate, based upon the population, gives a much better idea of the relative prevalence of the disease. Using the estimated mid-year populations, the highest case rates were in Utah, Florida, Colorado, Kansas, and North Carolina, these States in the order named having the following case rates per thousand inhabitants: 4.31, 2.81, 1.66, 1.19, and 1.10. The lowest case rates per thousand population were those of Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and New York, with rates of .002, .003, .015, .02, and .036, respectively. Utah also had the highest case rates in 1909 and 1910, with rates of 5.07 in the former year and 2.57 in the latter.
Case Fatality.

“On the whole, the case fatality rate was very low. Among the 21,767 cases only 134 deaths were reported. This makes the exceedingly low aggregate fatality rate of 0.61 for each 100 cases. The greatest number of deaths occurred in Texas, Kansas, California, Utah, and Florida, with 51, 26, 10, 8, and 6 deaths, respectively, in the order named. No deaths wre reported in Connecticut, District of Columbia, Maine, Maryland (exclusive of Baltimore), North Carolina, North Dakota, Vermont, Virginia, and Wisconsin. The 11 cases with 2 deaths in Massachusetts gave a fatality rate per hundred cases of 18.18. This was higher than that of any other State. Texas with 687 cases and 51 deaths had a fatality rate of 7.42 per hundred cases; California had a rate of 5.4; New Jersey of 2.5; Kansas and Pennsylvania each a rate of 1.27.

Virulent Outbreaks.

“During the year the disease appeared in virulent form in El Paso and Guadalupe Counties, Tex. In El Paso County there were 25 deaths among 97 cases. Many of the cases were confluent and some hemorrhagic. In Guadalupe County there were 2 deaths in 5 cases.

“In Kansas a severe outbreak occurred in Topeka. This outbreak began in May and continued into October. There were in all 143 cases with 23 deaths. Many of the cases were hemorrhagic. In Osage County, Kans., 3 deaths from smallpox also occurred.

“The malignant type of the disease appeared in Los Angeles, Cal., in November, 1911. The first case was in a district occupied by Mexicans. The mild form of the disease had been present in the city from March to the end of October. The cases were few, however, and during these months there were in all only 26 reported. These were all of the benign type of the disease so prevalent throughout the United States, and among them there was no fatality. During the last two months of the year, however, the disease appeared in virulent form, and out of 25 cases reported during these months 6 ended fatally.

“The virulent outbreaks during the year 1911 were less numerous than those of the preceding year. The only two outbreaks of any extent were those in Topeka, Kans., and El Paso, Tex. These are comparable with the outbreaks which occurred during the preceding year in Bay City, Saginaw, and Lapeer, Mich. The fact that there were 2 deaths among the 11 cases in Massachusetts would indicate that at least some of the cases occurring in that State were of the virulent type. The infection, however, appears to have been kept under control, and not to have spread.” (pp. 1557-1559)

Source

Bureau of the Census, Department of Commerce. Mortality Statistics 1911 (Bulletin 112). “Causes of Death.” Washington: Government Printing Office, 1913. Accessed 1-21-2020 at: https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/vsushistorical/mortstatbl_1911.pdf

United States Public Health Service. Public Health Reports, Vol. 27, Part II, Numbers 27-52, July-December, 1912. Google digitized. Accessed 1-28-2015 at: https://books.google.com/books?id=eUsyAQAAMAAJ&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false