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Archiver > KYBRECKI > 2003-03 > 1048451245


From: Steven Miller <>
Subject: Re: Disease outbreaks in the 1800's
Date: Sun, 23 Mar 2003 12:27:25 -0800
In-Reply-To: <40.2d34424a.2baebbae@aol.com>


Dana,

Through out the US and the world there have been periodic outbreaks most
notable in family history the 1917 Influenza which counts its victims in
the millions worldwide.

Typhoid is primarily a disease of poor sanitary measures affecting the
water supply. This usually exposed an entire local population using the
same tainted water supply before the symptoms erupt into a local epidemic.

Tuberculosis also know in family history as consumption has been in the
Americas since the time of Columbus. It usually settles in the lungs,
though it can appear in other forms. It is present in both humans and
livestock animals that have been exposed to the bacillus through contact
with sputum of mouth or nasal mucous spray. The poor or those living in
crude circumstances exposed to cold and dust were believed most
susceptible. In many cases a member of the family would contract the
disease and then bring it home exposing other family members in close
contact, especially children.

Worldwide, a study in Marlburg, Germany in 1905 cited 34.5% of cases
occurred in 2.6% of the poorest households.

From The Elyria Republican ( Elyria, Ohio) July 5, 1900

........"fully 700,000 of those (TB victims) now living in Ohio must
inevitably die of consumption or some other form of tuberculosis".......

Consumption (TB) was just an always present disease, that through lack of
proper procedures
was a very common cause of death in the US until the mid 1900s. Through
preventive medicine TB had become effectively unknown to Americans until
recent years when it started appearing in immigrant populations.

Good Luck
Steve




At 02:26 AM 3/23/03 -0500, you wrote:
>Hi all,
>
>Am hoping someone can help me out with a situation. I'm working on a
>project, and can't find the information that I am searching for. In talking
>with my cousin, he's mentioned in past, about various outbreaks of diseases
>in Breck. Co. that may or may not have coincided with regional/national
>outbreaks of disease (ie. Influenza, typhoid fever, TB). While I paid
>attention, I should have had a paper and pen to write things down as my
>memory isn't all that great in some cases.
>
>I am wondering if anyone knows of a time, or time frame, of a TB outbreak in
>Breck. Co. In my ALLGOOD line, my gg-grandparents had 13 kids. The mother,
>and seven of the kids (also three dau-in-laws and one grandchild) died from
>TB, spanning a time frame of roughly 1890-1914. I didn't know if this
>coincided with an outbreak or just what.
>
>Would appreciate any help in sorting this out.
>
>Dana Brown
>ALLGOOD, BRUNER, KNOTT, LYNCH, HARDIN, HAYNES, PRATHER, VANMETER, HALL,
>KASEY, DOWELL, MEADOR, ROBBINS and other surnames
>
>
>==============================
>To join Ancestry.com and access our 1.2 billion online genealogy records,
>go to:
>http://www.ancestry.com/rd/redir.asp?targetid=571&sourceid=1237


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