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1878 Yellow Fever epidemic... Mississippi Valley...
1878 Yellow Fever epidemic... Mississippi Valley...
Item # 718332
August 15, 1978
THE NEW YORK TIMES, Aug. 15, 1878
* Yellow fever - jack epidemic
* Lower Mississippi Valley - Grenada MS
* Memphis, Tennessee hardest hit
* Early sanitation & quarantine measures
The top the first column of the front page has a heading: "HORRORS OF YELLOW FEVER" with subheads. (see images) Text takes up just over a full column.
Complete with 8 pages, good condition.
AI notes: The yellow fever epidemic of 1878 was one of the most devastating public health crises in U.S. history, primarily affecting the Mississippi River Valley during the summer and fall. The outbreak began in July in New Orleans and quickly spread north along river trade routes, severely impacting cities such as Memphis, Tennessee; Vicksburg and Greenville, Mississippi; and smaller towns throughout the region. By October, cooler temperatures helped slow the spread, but not before the disease had taken a staggering toll.
Memphis was among the hardest-hit cities, with over 25,000 residents fleeing and thousands of deaths recorded. In total, the epidemic infected more than 120,000 people and killed over 20,000. The disease, now known to be spread by Aedes aegypti mosquitoes, was not fully understood at the time. Travel, commerce, and public life were halted as cities imposed quarantines and panicked residents fled, sometimes carrying the disease with them.
Category: Post-Civil War
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