Disease in Philadelphia

Disease in Philadelphia

Philadelphia, like all major cities, has had its share of disease and sickness. These outbreaks of deadly epidemics are as much a part of the city’s history as Independence Hall or the Liberty Bell and have played a very unique part in shaping both Philadelphia and its inhabitants. The bodies of water and swamplands surrounding Philadelphia and the city’s history of poor sanitation have caused it to be home to a number of outbreaks of infectious diseases. Like many American cities, Philadelphia was abandoned by a large portion of its population every summer for fear of disease.

The consumption of contaminated and poorly treated river water from the Schuylkill and Delaware rivers caused disease outbreaks in Philadelphia.

Yellow Fever Epidemic and Other Early Diseases

Yellow Fever was one of the most fearsome of diseases that struck the early Americas, and Philadelphia had some of the worst outbreaks. Yellow Fever is transmitted through mosquito bites and takes 3 to 5 days to inoculate before mild symptoms first appear. After just twenty-four hours from the initial symptoms (nausea, headache, fever, and vomiting), more serious ones begin that appear similar to jaundice. Finally, the victim suffers internal hemorrhage and begins to vomit blood before slipping into a coma. Once a victim passes into the heavier symptoms they only have about a 50% chance of survival. Even today there is no cure for this disease, only prevention by vaccination.

Philadelphia has been home to Yellow Fever throughout most of its early history, but the worst and most famous epidemics occurred in 1762 and 1793. Though the episode in 1762 hit hard, it was short-lived, occurring for a period of about 2 months. The 1793 epidemic was more severe, lasted approximately four months, and devastated the city (Archiving Early America). It is estimated that between 2,000 and 4,000 people died out of about 55,000 people who lived in the city (Archiving Early America, Eyewitness to History). Smaller outbreaks of Yellow Fever would plague the city for the next decade. This is significant because Philadelphia at this time was the United States Capitol and seat of government as well as the nation’s largest city. This outbreak not only affected Philadelphia but the entire country in one way or another.

The Pennsylvania Hospital, founded by Benjamin Franklin, was the first hospital in both Philadelphia and the nation itself.

In addition to Yellow Fever, Philadelphia suffered a number of other serious diseases including smallpox, Scarlet Fever, measles and influenza. Smallpox was a common European disease that ravaged the city in 1731, 1736, 1756, 1759, and 1773. Smallpox created symptoms of fever, headache, muscle ache, nausea and vomiting, as well as the characteristic smallpox skin eruptions. Doctors inoculated patients to prevent the disease, and while this was effective for the person inoculated, he or she was still able spread the disease to other people. Philadelphia’s last outbreak of smallpox was in 1777 (Archiving Early America). A major outbreak of measles occurred in both Philadelphia and New York in 1788. Philadelphia was also hit hard by an episode of Typhus in 1837 (Epidemics in the US 1657-1918). In the years following the Civil War, Philadelphia, along with many other major cities, suffered from series of recurring bouts of smallpox, cholera, typhus, typhoid, Scarlet Fever, and Yellow Fever (Epidemics in the US 1657-1918). Finally, in 1918, “Liberty Loan parade in Philadelphia [prompted] a huge outbreak of the flu epidemic in the city. By the time the epidemic ended, an estimated 30 million people were dead worldwide” (History.com). As a direct result of the parade thousands became infected, the city was quarantined, and 12,000 Philadelphians were killed from the flu (History.com).

Recent History

In 1976, an interesting and deadly event occurred in Philadelphia at an American Legion Convention celebrating the Bicentennial of the nation. In the weeks following the meeting, 221 people had contracted a disease and 34 had died from it. Before its identification, the disease was called the “Philly Killer” but it was finally identified about six months later as a newly discovered bacteria Legionella pneumophila. The source of the bacteria was the hotel where all the American Legion members had stayed (Science Clarified). Though not widespread nor an epidemic, this was the first discovery of Legionella pneumophila and an important sickness that has affected Philadelphia in the recent past.
Finally, Philadelphia, as well as the rest of the world, has recently had an H1N1 outbreak. H1N1, or swine flu, has very similar symptoms to most other forms of influenza. The danger with H1N1 is its ease of communicability (H1N1: Swine Flu). It is very quick to infect one person and then turn around and infect someone else. Swine Flu has been and is a serious concern in Philadelphia and around the world. Epidemics have been, and will continue to be, an important aspect of Philadelphia history and has shaped the city and its people from colonial times to present day. Though disease has left no physical monuments behind, it is very much a part of Philadelphia’s history and has heavily influenced the city.

Works Cited

Archiving Early America, “Epidemics in Colonial Philadelphia 1699-1799 and the Risk of Dying”,      http://www.earlyamerica.com/review/2007_winter_spring/epidemics.html. (accessed 3/11/10)

“Epidemics in the US 1657-1918”, http://jefferson.ilgenweb.net/epidemics.html. (accessed 3/14/10)

Eyewitness to History, “Yellow Fever Attacks Philadelphia, 1793”, http://www.eyewitnesstohistory.com/yellowfever.htm. (accessed 3/9/10)

“H1N1: Swine Flu”, http://www.stopgerms.org/documents/h1n1.html?gclid=CLXHlZjeu6ACFRwTswod9nww UQ. (accessed 3/10/10)

History.com, “September 28th, 1918: Flu Epidemic Hits Philadelphia”, http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/flu-epidemic-hits-philadelphia. (accessed 3/12/10)

Science Clarified, “Legionnaires' disease”,
http://www.scienceclarified.com/Io-Ma/Legionnaires-Disease.html. (accessed 3/14/10)