1913 — Measles Epidemic, US “registration area” (65.1%) Census code 6               –8,108

Compiled by Wayne Blanchard January 15, 2024 for upload to: http://www.usdeadlyevents.com/

–8,108  Bureau of the Census. Mortality Statistics 1913. Table 3, p. 318.

California                    (155)    Bureau of the Census. Mortality Statistics 1913. Table 3, p. 318.

Colorado                     (  35)    Bureau of the Census. Mortality Statistics 1913. Table 3, p. 318.

Connecticut                 (100)    Bureau of the Census. Mortality Statistics 1913. Table 3, p. 318.

District of Columbia   (  27)    Bureau of the Census. Mortality Statistics 1913. Table 3, p. 319.

Indiana                                    (444)    Bureau of the Census. Mortality Statistics 1913. Table 3, p. 319.

Kentucky                    (396)    Bureau of the Census. Mortality Statistics 1913. Table 3, p. 319.

Maine                          (  62)    Bureau of the Census. Mortality Statistics 1913. Table 3, p. 319.

Maryland                     (201)    Bureau of the Census. Mortality Statistics 1913. Table 3, p. 319.

Massachusetts             (499)    Bureau of the Census. Mortality Statistics 1913. Table 3, p. 326.

Michigan                     (253)    Bureau of the Census. Mortality Statistics 1913. Table 3, p. 326.

Minnesota                   (207)    Bureau of the Census. Mortality Statistics 1913. Table 3, p. 326.

Missouri                      (440)    Bureau of the Census. Mortality Statistics 1913. Table 3, p. 326.

Montana                      (  54)    Bureau of the Census. Mortality Statistics 1913. Table 3, p. 326.

New Jersey                  (214)    Bureau of the Census. Mortality Statistics 1913. Table 3, p. 327.

New York                (1,120)    Bureau of the Census. Mortality Statistics 1913. Table 3, p. 327.    

North Carolina            (107)    Bureau of the Census. Mortality Statistics 1913. Table 3, p. 327.

Ohio                            (679)    Bureau of the Census. Mortality Statistics 1913. Table 3, p. 327.

Pennsylvania            (1,578)    Bureau of the Census. Mortality Statistics 1913. Table 3, p. 327.

Rhode Island               (  71)    Bureau of the Census. Mortality Statistics 1913. Table 3, p. 327.

Utah                            (128)    Bureau of the Census. Mortality Statistics 1913. Table 3, p. 327.

Vermont                      (  73)    Bureau of the Census. Mortality Statistics 1913. Table 3, p. 334.

Virginia                       (363)    Bureau of the Census. Mortality Statistics 1913. Table 3, p. 334.

Washington                 (108)    Bureau of the Census. Mortality Statistics 1913. Table 3, p. 334.

Wisconsin                    (185)    Bureau of the Census. Mortality Statistics 1913. Table 3, p. 334.

 Narrative Information

Bureau of the Census: “Measles caused 8,108 deaths in the registration area in 1913, corresponding to a death rate of 12.8; in 1912 4,240 deaths were charged to this disease and the death rate was 7 per 100,000 population. It will be noted that the rate for 1913 was nearly double that for 1912. As a matter of fact the mortality form this disease was higher for 1913 than for any other year since 1900. A comparison of the rates for 1913 and 1912 shows that the increase was general throughout the main sib-divisions of the registration area.

On Measles

CDC: “Measles is a highly contagious virus that lives in the nose and throat mucus of an infected person. It can spread to others through coughing and sneezing. Also, measles virus can live for up to two hours in an airspace where the infected person coughed or sneezed. If other people breathe the contaminated air or touch the infected surface, then touch their eyes, noses, or mouths, they can become infected. Measles is so contagious that if one person has it, up to 90% of the people close to that person who are not immune will also become infected. Infected people can spread measles to others from four days before through four days after the rash appears. Measles is a disease of humans; measles virus is not spread by any other animal species.” (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Transmission of Measles. 2-5-2018 last review.)

Rosaler: “The measles virus can live in the air for two hours after an infected persons leaves the room. People can also get measles if they have direct contact with fluid from the nose or mouth of an infected person. Once introduced into a person’s respiratory system, the measles virus proceeds to attach itself to the lining of the airways. Drawing energy from this new host, the virus begins to multiply and spread throughout the body.” (Rosaler, Maxine. Epidemics: Deadly Diseases… “Measles.” NY: Rosen Publishing Group, Inc., 2005, pp. 7-8.)

Sources

Bureau of the Census, U.S. Dept. of Commerce. Mortality Statistics 1913. Washington, DC: Government Printing Office, 1915. Accessed 11-15-2024 at: https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/vsushistorical/mortstatsh_1913.pdf

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Transmission of Measles. 2-5-2018 last review. Accessed 4-12-2019 at: https://www.cdc.gov/measles/about/transmission.html

Rosaler, Maxine. Epidemics: Deadly Diseases Throughout History – Measles. NY Rosen Publishing Group, 2005. Preview Google digitized at: http://books.google.com/books?id=4hQwgOcKEBUC&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false