Armies -- Medical and sanitary affairs; Epidemics -- History; Medicine, Military -- History; Military hygiene
‘To follow the progress of the disease according to political
districts,’ says Daimer, ‘is instructive for the reason that, as was
clearly shown at that time, it always spread slowly—a fact which was
also repeatedly observed in the case of other epidemics; thus, there was
always time enough to adopt appropriate measures aiming to check its
progress.’ There is a very marked difference between the epidemic of
small-pox in East Austria and the one in Germany; the latter attacked
all Germany within a short time, since the war had developed there a
very extensive intercourse. And even in Germany it was observed that the
disease was a long time in reaching those regions that were less
affected by this intercourse.
Vienna was attacked with great severity by small-pox; so also was
Prague, though to a lesser extent. The following table indicates the
number of deaths caused by the disease per 10,000 inhabitants:
_Vienna._ _Prague._
1869 5·4 1·9
1870 4·8 2·6
1871 7·6 1·5
1872 52·7 39·7
1873 22·0 28·2
1874 14·3 3·0
1875 18·0 1·1
But in these cities the epidemic did not come to an end; epidemic
outbreaks of small-pox continued to occur in Vienna until 1885, in
Prague until 1893, and in a number of years (for example, 1877, 1880,
1883, 1884, and 1888) the disease underwent some very important
exacerbations.
_(e) Italy_
Small-pox is supposed to have been conveyed into Italy by the volunteers
who had fought under Garibaldi; they became infected with the disease in
the Department of Côte d’Or, where it had raged extensively, and then
brought it back with them when they returned home. In Milan 200–300
cases per annum were usually reported prior to the year 1870. In the
summer of that year the number of cases greatly increased, terminating
in the following year in a severe epidemic which reached its climax in
September and October. According to Felice del Agua,[299] there were
1,287 cases and 152 deaths in the year 1870, and 4,467 cases and 866
deaths in the year 1871. In Rome small-pox made its appearance in
October 1871, causing 335 deaths between October 10 and December 31,
1871, and 727 deaths in the entire year of 1872. In the case of a large
number of individual places we have reports regarding epidemics of
small-pox, but I was unable to find a comprehensive account of the
epidemic that raged at that time in Italy.
_(f) Great Britain and Ireland_
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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