1914 – Measles; US state and local “registration area” (66.8% of pop.), esp. DE, AL –4,461
Compiled by Wayne Blanchard Jan 27, 2024 for upload to: http://www.usdeadlyevents.com/
–4,461 Bureau of the Census, Dept. of Commerce. Mortality Statistics 1914. 1916, p. 24.
State Deaths Death rate per 100K pop. (registration area=6.8. (p. 66-90, 304-328)
Alabama 36 13.7 (Avg. 3 reporting cities; Birmingham, Mobile, Montgomery.)
California 168 6.1
Colorado 85 9.1
Connecticut 144 12.0
Delaware 15 16.2 (Wilmington only)
District of Col. 1 0.3
Florida 2 1.7 (Avg. of Jacksonville, Key West, Pensacola.)
Georgia 32 10.8 (Avg. of Atlanta (13.9), Augusta (12.1), and Savannah (1.5)
Illinois 77 2.9 (Avg. of 8 cities.)
Indiana 150 5.4
Kansas 76 4.3
Kentucky 271 11.5
Louisiana 8 2.2 New Orleans.
Maine 43 5.6
Maryland 24 1.8
Massachusetts 199 5.5
Michigan 177 5.9
Minnesota 79 2.2 (8 cities; highest were Mankato (9.7) and St. Cloud (8.8).)
Missouri 413 11.0 (10 cities; Joplin (76.1), Moberly (32.9), Springfield (75.5).)
Montana 27 6.2
Nebraska 2 1.2 (2 cities, Lincoln and Omaha.)
New Hampshire 37 8.4
New Jersey 229 8.1
New York 852 8.6 Binghampton/30.7, Dunkirk/20.4, Kingston/26.4, NYC/10.8
— 367 NYC. NYT. “Noted Scientists Organize to Curb Infant Paralysis…, 7-13-1916, 1.[1]
North Carolina 51 10.8
Ohio 239 4.8
Oregon 32 8.1 Portland only.
Pennsylvania 549 6.7 Allentown/31.5, Altoona/35.4, Dunmore/30.4, Pittston/67.2
Rhode Island 57 9.6
South Carolina 4 6.7 Charleston
Tennessee 40 10.8 5 cities; Chattanooga/26.3, Jackson/39.9.
Texas 20 9.8 3 cities; El Paso/20.2, Galveston/5.0, San Antonio/7.0.
Utah 12 2.9
Vermont 4 1.1
Virginia 116 5.4
Washington 51 3.6
West Virginia 4 9.3 Just Wheeling
Wisconsin 146 6.0
Narrative Information
Bureau of the Census: “There were 4,461 deaths from measles in the registration area in 1914. The death rate, 6.8 per 100,000 population, was only a little more than half as great for the preceding year (12.8). Although the 1913 rate for this disease was the highest shown for any year since and including 1900 – the year to which the first of the series of annual mortality reports related – the rate for 1914 was the lowest. The 1912 rate, 7, was, however, only a little higher than that for 1914.
“Comparison of the mortality in the main subdivisions of the area and in the registration states brings out the fact that this decrease was almost universal. Each main subdivision showed a much lower death rate for 1914 than for the preceding year, and in only two states was there a pronounced increase in the rate for the later as compared with the earlier year (Colorado, 2ith 9.3 as against 4, and Connecticut, with a rate of 12 as compared with 8.5). Small increases appear for California and New Jersey.
“Among the registration states the highest mortality from this disease in 1914 was in Missouri, for which the rate was 12.2 per 100,000 population. For Connecticut it was 12; for Kentucky, 11.5; for North Carolina (for which the figures relate only to municipalities having 1,000 or more inhabitants in 1910), 10.8; and for Rhode Island, 9.6. Vermont showed the lowest death rate from measles (1.1), and was followed by Maryland (1.8), Utah (2.9), Minnesota and Washington (each 3.6), and Kansas (4.3).
“Among the cities having 100,000 or more inhabitants in 1910, Bridgeport had the highest death rate from measles in 1914 (28.6 per 100,000 of population). Other notably high rates were those for New Haven (21.5), Newark, N.J. (18.2), Oakland (15.3), and Providence (15.1). Very low rates prevailed for Washington, D.C., and Seattle (each 0.3), Richmond (0.7), Baltimore (1), Kansas City, Mo. (1.1), and St. Paul (1.3). There were notable increases in the mortality from this disease in Oakland (from which no deaths were reported in 1913, whereas the rate was 15.3 per 100,000 population in 1914), San Francisco, Bridgeport, New Haven, Atlanta, Newark, N.J., Paterson, Columbus, Portland, Oreg., Scranton, and Spokane. Marked decreases were shown for Los Angeles, Washington, D.C. Chicago, New Orleans, Baltimore, Fall River (from 58.9 to 2.4), Lowell, Detroit, Grand Rapids, Minneapolis, St. Paul, Kansas City, Mo., St. Louis, Jersey City, Buffalo, Syracuse, Cincinnati (from 18.1 to 0), no deaths being reported in 1914), Cleveland, Toledo, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Memphis, Nashville, Richmond, and Seattle.
“As noted in the section, ‘Accuracy of Statistics of Causes of Death’ (p. 33), measles is one of those diseases from which the number of deaths is always subject to understatement, by reason of the fact that when death is caused by some terminal condition of which measles is the primary cause, the physician sometimes fails to write ‘measles” on the death certificate
“The effort which the bureau has been making to impress upon physicians the importance of statements of all causes involved in any death has undoubtedly brought about great improvement along these lines, and statistics of measles, like those of all causes subject to understatement on this account, will doubtless improve from year to year until the margin of error becomes practically negligible.” (pp. 24-25)
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, Department of Commerce. Mortality Statistics 1914. Washington, DC: Government Printing Office, 1916. Accessed 1-27-2024 at: https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/vsushistorical/mortstatsh_1914.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
New York Times. “Noted Scientists Organize to Curb Infant Paralysis…, 7-13-1916, p. 1. At: http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9A06E3DE1E3FE233A25750C1A9619C946796D6CF
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
[1] Out of 12,787 cases. (NYT. “Noted Scientists Organize to Curb Infant…, July 13, 1916, p. 1.)