1850 — Typhoid Fever, 31 States, Washington, DC, four Territories –13,099

–13,099  US Census. Mortality Statistics of the Seventh Census of the [US], 1850. 1855, p. 19.[1]

–13,099  U.S. Census Office.  Ninth Census – Volume II. The Vital Statistics… 1872. p. xvii.

 

Alabama                     328      US Census. Mortality Statistics…Seventh Census…1850. p. 51.

Arkansas                       39      US Census. Mortality Statistics…Seventh Census…1850. p. 55.

California                       0      US Census. Mortality Statistics…Seventh Census…1850. p. 56.

Connecticut                151      US Census. Mortality Statistics…Seventh Census…1850. p. 61.

Delaware                         0      US Census. Mortality Statistics…Seventh Census…1850. p. 62.

District of Columbia       0      US Census. Mortality Statistics…Seventh Census…1850. p. 58.

Florida                            0      US Census. Mortality Statistics…Seventh Census…1850. p. 64.

Georgia                           0      US Census. Mortality Statistics…Seventh Census…1850. p. 76.

Illinois                            0      US Census. Mortality Statistics…Seventh Census…1850. p. 88.

Indiana                                        0      US Census. Mortality Statistics…Seventh Census…1850. p. 90.

Iowa                                0      US Census. Mortality Statistics…Seventh Census…1850. p. 94.

Kentucky                        0      US Census. Mortality Statistics…Seventh Census…1850. p. 96

Louisiana                        0      US Census. Mortality Statistics…Seventh Census…1850. p. 108.

Maine                              0      US Census. Mortality Statistics…Seventh Census…1850. p. 116,

Maryland                        0      US Census. Mortality Statistics…Seventh Census…1850. p. 120.

Massachusetts                0      US Census. Mortality Statistics…Seventh Census…1850. p. 134.

Michigan                        0      US Census. Mortality Statistics…Seventh Census…1850. p. 136.

Minnesota Territory       0      US Census. Mortality Statistics…Seventh Census…1850. p. 297.

Mississippi                     0      US Census. Mortality Statistics…Seventh Census…1850. p. 152.

Missouri                         0      US Census. Mortality Statistics…Seventh Census…1850. p. 156.

New Hampshire              0      US Census. Mortality Statistics…Seventh Census…1850. p. 158.

New Jersey                     0      US Census. Mortality Statistics…Seventh Census…1850. p. 166.

New Mexico Territory   0       US Census. Mortality Statistics…Seventh Census…1850. p. 299.

New York                       0      US Census. Mortality Statistics…Seventh Census…1850. p. 184.

North Carolina                0      US Census. Mortality Statistics…Seventh Census…1850. p. 198.

Ohio                                0      US Census. Mortality Statistics…Seventh Census…1850. p. 220.

Oregon Territory            0      US Census. Mortality Statistics…Seventh Census…1850. p. 300.

Pennsylvania                  0      US Census. Mortality Statistics…Seventh Census…1850. p. 236.

Rhode Island                   0      US Census. Mortality Statistics…Seventh Census…1850. p. 238.

South Carolina            410      US Census. Mortality Statistics…Seventh Census…1850. p. 253.

Tennessee                       0      US Census. Mortality Statistics…Seventh Census…1850. p. 265.

Texas                              0      US Census. Mortality Statistics…Seventh Census…1850. p. 274.

Utah Territory                0      US Census. Mortality Statistics…Seventh Census…1850. p. 300.

Vermont                          0      US Census. Mortality Statistics…Seventh Census…1850. p. 277.

Virginia                          0      US Census. Mortality Statistics…Seventh Census…1850. p. 292.

Wisconsin                       0      US Census. Mortality Statistics…Seventh Census…1850. p. 294.

 

 

Narrative Information

 

Cole: “When the Massachusetts Sanitary Commission investigated Lawrence in 1850, it warned that the poor housing, particularly the ‘habitations, habits, and peculiar modes of living of the Irish laborers,’ menaced the health of all. The commission also feared the ‘unwholesome exhalations’ and exposure that threatened those digging the canal. Whatever the reason, it was a fortunate Irish immigrant who did not fall prey to disease. Lawrence suffered the most serious typhoid fever epidemic in the state’s history in the winter of 1850 and almost half of the deaths in the town before 1850 were from either typhoid fever or consumption. It was no better in the next decade and a half as Lawrence ranked fourth in the state in death rate and averaged over twenty-nine deaths annually per thousand population. Water and food were partly to blame. The Merrimack was full of sewage brought down from Lowell, and the outhouses polluted the wells….” (Cole, Donald B. Immigrant City: Lawrence, Massachusetts 1845-1921. University of North Carolina Press, 1963, p. 29.)

 

NY State Dept. of Health: “Typhoid fever is a bacterial infection of the intestinal tract (bowels/gut) and occasionally the bloodstream caused by the Salmonella Typhi bacteria. This strain of bacteria lives only in humans….People with typhoid fever carry the bacteria in their bloodstream and intestinal tract (bowels/gut). In addition, a small number of people, called carriers, recover from typhoid fever but continue to carry the bacteria. Both ill persons and carriers shed Salmonella Typhi in their feces (poop). You can get typhoid fever if you eat food or drink beverages that have been handled by a person who is shedding Salmonella Typhi or if sewage contaminated with Salmonella Typhi bacteria gets into the water you use for drinking or washing food. Therefore, typhoid fever is more common in areas of the world where hand-washing is less frequent and water is more likely to be contaminated with sewage….

 

“Symptoms may be mild or severe and may include fever, headache, constipation or diarrhea (loose stool/poop), rose-colored spots on the trunk of the body, and an enlarged spleen and liver. It is common for symptoms to go away and then appear again. Death occurs in less than 1 percent of those who get antibiotic treatment. Symptoms generally appear one to two weeks after exposure to the bacteria….

 

“Typhoid fever is treated with antibiotics. Resistance to multiple antibiotics is increasing among the Salmonella bacteria that cause typhoid fever, complicating treatment of infections. People who do not get treatment may continue to have fever for weeks or months, and as many as 20% may die from complications of the infection.

 

“Most infected people may return to work or school when they have recovered, if they carefully wash hands after using the toilet. Children in daycare and health care workers must obtain the approval of the local or state health department before returning to their routine activities. Food handlers may not return to work until three consecutive negative stool cultures are confirmed….

 

“People can be reinfected if they come into contact with the bacteria again….

 

“A vaccine is available for people traveling to developing countries where significant exposure may occur. For more information about vaccination, speak to your health care provider. It is equally important to pay strict attention to food and water precautions while traveling to countries where typhoid is common. When drinking water in a developing country, you should buy it in a sealed bottle, boil it, or chemically treat it. When eating foods, avoid raw fruits and vegetables that cannot be peeled and washed, undercooked foods, and foods from street vendors. Additionally, food handlers may not work while sick with typhoid.” (New York State Department of Health. “Typhoid Fever,” Sep 2017 last review.)

 

 

Sources

 

Cole, Donald B. Immigrant City: Lawrence, Massachusetts 1845-1921. University of North Carolina Press, 1963. Google digitized. Accessed 1-7-2015 at: https://books.google.com/books?id=hOcE7PiaBjEC&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false

 

New York State Department of Health. “Typhoid Fever,” Sep 2017 last review. Accessed 6-26-2018 at: https://www.health.ny.gov/diseases/communicable/typhoid_fever/fact_sheet.htm

 

United States Census Office, Department of the Interior. Mortality Statistics of the Seventh Census of the United States, 1850. By J. D. B. De Bow, Superintendent United States Census. Washington: A. O. P. Nicholson, Printer, 1855. Accessed 2-23-2015 at: https://books.google.com/books?id=Aopc-5aHBjkC&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false

 

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: Government Printing Office, 1872. Google digitized at: http://books.google.com/books?id=GssqAAAAMAAJ&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false

 

 

 

 

 

 

[1] The number of 13,099 typhoid fever deaths is reported more than once. However, in the State, DC, and Territorial tables that follow, typhoid deaths are designated in only four states, and these total only 928. We cannot account for the difference in the Census total for the 31 States, 4 Territories, and the District of Columbia.