Deadly epidemics fill our history
Published Saturday October 4th, 2008
Experts predict a flu pandemic will devastate the world population sometime in the future. They say it is not a question of if, but of when. Anyone who knows anything about history also knows epidemics and pandemics are not new. They have claimed millions of lives over the centuries.
A pandemic occurs when a high percentage of the population of a large geographical area contracts an infectious disease. The area might span countries or may be worldwide. For many of those infected, the disease is fatal. A tragic example is the bubonic plague that killed 1/3 of Europe's population between 1347 and 1350. The plague struck again in England from 1550 and 1566, killing about 6 per cent of the population.
An epidemic is similar, but on a smaller scale. It spreads rapidly and infects many people at the same time. It can be widespread or isolated to a specific geographic region. Significant influenza epidemics struck North American in 1850, 1851 and from 1873 to 1875.
An influenza pandemic occurring near the end of the First World War claimed more lives than the war itself. It is estimated the Spanish Flu killed between 20 and 40 million people between 1918 and 1920. Strangely, this flu was just as fatal for healthy adults between 20 and 39 as it was for the high-risk groups. A mysterious and deadly epidemic, the "English Sweate", struck England in 1485. The sweating sickness was quick, becoming fatal within a few hours of noticeable symptoms. The disease surfaced again in 1507 and more severely in 1517, with some communities suffering a 50% death rate. In 1528, an outbreak began in England and spread into Europe killing thousands.
Typhus, also known as "Camp Fever", "Hospital Fever" and "Ship Fever" often occurred during wars or after a natural disaster. A typhus epidemic can occur any time large numbers of people are confined to one location without proper sanitary conditions and where lice can thrive.
Genealogists are interested in epidemics if several members of an ancestor's family died within a short period of time. Fatal diseases also explain why some communities have sudden population and/or prosperity decreases.
A stroll through a cemetery can often uncover particular years when a community was gripped by disease. Sadly, some families were wiped out or lost several members to measles, yellow fever, diphtheria, consumption, tuberculosis or small pox.
To help determine if an ancestor may have died during an epidemic, review the death records of others in the community who died around the same time. Check newspapers to see if a disease was mentioned in obituaries or if warnings were printed by public health services.
Researcher's File
Seeking information on Margaret Callahan McGonnigle, a widow who arrived at Saint John, N.B. from Ireland about 1855. She was accompanied by several children and gave birth to Mary McGonnigle on Jan. 15, 1856 at Saint John. Contact: Mary W. Pullara, 2014 Sheffield Court, Oldsmar, FL 34677 USA; e-mail: mary.pullara@baycare.org
* Diana Lynn Tibert is a freelance writer living in Milford, NS. Submit a query. It's free!: RR#1 Milford, Hants County, NS, B0N 1Y0; email: tibert@ns.sympatico.ca
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