98 



CHOLERA IN 1892. 



were taken, yet within a few days over 300 cases 

 and 120 deaths were reported. Official admis- 

 sion was made to the American consul of the 

 existence of true cholera in Hamburg, Aug. 23. 

 This was the beginning of one of the most viru- 

 lent epidemics that have attacked any single 

 city in Europe. 



During August much havoc was wrought in 

 Austria by the disease, while in Russian domains 

 51,709 cases and 25,984 deaths were reported. 

 Cases also occurred in Berlin and its surround- 

 ings, but of a mild type. 



On Aug. 26 announcement was made that the 

 disease had entered England. The new cases 

 had arrived at Gravesend, upon a steamer from 

 Hamburg. 



So serious had the situation abroad become 

 that the Government authorities of the United 

 States at last recognized the necessity of strin- 

 gent measures to prevent the introduction of 

 cholera, and a national quarantine was estab- 

 lished. This not being considered adequate, the 

 President, on Sept. 1, instructed the supervising 

 surgeon-general to issue an order declaring a 

 twenty days' quarantine. All foreign immigrant 

 ships were to be refused entry for at least that 

 period. 



The first cases of cholera were brought into 

 New York harbor by the Hamburg- American 

 Company's steamer " Moravia," which arrived on 

 Aug. 31. This ship sailed from Hamburg Aug. 18, 

 with 286 steerage passengers, and on the follow- 

 ing day cholera broke out. the first death occur- 

 ring within twenty-four hours. Children seemed 

 to suffer most, and by Aug. 29 the number of 

 deaths had reached 22. The ship's surgeon had 

 recorded these deaths as due to "cholerine." 

 From all that can be gathered concerning the 

 history of cholera on board this vessel, it seems 

 clear that the disease made its first appearance 

 the day after she sailed from an infected port, 

 and yet she continued on her voyage and brought 

 the germs of the scourge into an uninfected 

 country. The quarantine officers of New York 

 immediately recognized the true character of the 

 illness on board the "Moravia," and detained her 

 at the quarantine station. On Sept. 3 the Ham- 

 burg-American liner " Normannia " entered New 

 York harbor with cholera on board. This vessel 

 sailed from Hamburg Aug. 26; her cabin pas- 

 sengers, officers, and crew numbered 666, and her 

 steerage contained 520 souls. During the voyage 

 5 deaths from cholera occurred, 1 in the second 

 cabin and 4 in the steerage. These deaths were 

 entered upon the log as due to " cholerine." 

 On board were 4 sick. The steamer " Rugia " 

 left Hamburg Aug. 23, and passed into the port 

 of New York Sept. 3. Four deaths occurred 

 from cholera during the voyage, and at the time 

 of her arrival 5 were ill of the same disease. 

 This vessel brought 426 emigrants direct from 

 a district that was afflicted with an epidemic of 

 cholera. Every precaution known to science 

 was said to have been adopted by those in charge 

 of the quarantine at New York to disinfect 

 their baggage. The emigrants coming in both 

 steamers were kept under surveillance for some 

 time, and were then allowed to scatter, going to 

 various points in our country. 



About a week after the arrival of the " Nor- 

 mannia," 8 of her crew were attacked with chol- 



era, and within the same time 2 of the steerage 

 passengers of the "Rugia." By Sept. 7 there 

 were 31 new cases and 8 deaths from the plague 

 in New York harbor. In order to remove the 

 cabin passengers from the infected vessels to a 

 place of safety, where they could be detained 

 until such time as the danger of an outbreak of 

 the pest should be passed, President Harrison, 

 on Sept. 7, gave orders to occupy part of Sandy 

 Hook and to forward a large number of tents to 

 that place for their use. The epidemic in New 

 York harbor was quite severe, and for a time 

 was a great menace to the United States. Those 

 in charge of the quarantine are entitled to com- 

 mendation for so ably handling the epidemic 

 and preventing its spread. Several suspicious 

 deaths were reported in New York city, 1 in 

 Brooklyn, 1 in New Jersey, and 1 in Chicago 

 during September; but, with the exception of 

 2 in New York, these could not have been due 

 to true cholera. The 2 spoken of as having 

 occurred in New York city were no doubt due 

 to Asiatic cholera. 



On Sept. 10 the steamer " Scandia " entered 

 New York Bay. This vessel left Hamburg Aug. 

 27, with 1,086 people on board. A few days after 

 she sailed cholera was raging in her steerage. 

 Forty-seven cases occurred during the voyage, 

 32 terminating fatally. 



Toward the end of September cholera cases in 

 Russia, France, and Hamburg showed a marked 

 decrease. During that month the disease was 

 really much worse in Paris and its suburbs than 

 was supposed. Between false reports and the 

 controversy as to the exact nature of the disease 

 that attacked people so suddenly and ended so 

 fatally the real condition of affairs was not 

 widely known. During the first twenty days of 

 September there were 357 deaths from cholera 

 in Paris, and 342 in the suburbs. From reliable 

 authority it is said that between May 1 and 

 Oct. 1 there was a total of 1.461 deaths from 

 Asiatic cholera in and around that city. 



The disease made no headway in England, the 

 few cases occurring having been imported from 

 the Continent. In Russia, over 12,000 new cases 

 were reported, nearly 40 per cent, of which 

 ended fatally. This high rate of mortality is no 

 doubt due to poverty, filth, and isolation of the 

 people in many localities where the disease pre- 

 vailed. 



Reports from Hamburg show a terrible rate of 

 mortality and a large number of cases during 

 September. But these reports have been so 

 manipulated that no accurate statement can be 

 made as to the exact number. The Elbe had 

 become so contaminated that fresh cases were 

 discovered due to drinking its water upon every 

 side, and it was not until this danger had been 

 emphatically made known and the inhabitants 

 generally used boiled water that the epidemic 

 began to decline. The population of Hamburg 

 and its surburbs, according to the latest figures 

 of the Income Office, is 640.400. The official 

 returns given out by the commissioners of the 

 Cholera Commission of the Senate, to Oct. 1, 

 show 18.757 cases of the disease and 7,839 deaths, 

 a very high mortality. The death ratio in hos- 

 pital practice amounted to 35 per cent., and in 

 private practice to almost 45 per cent. The 

 highest death ratio occurred among the working 



