Typhus (original) (raw)
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Typhus arrived in Europe in 1489 with soldiers who had been fighting in Cyprus. The disease is transmitted to humans by mites, lice and fleas. Symptoms include fever and red spots over arms, back and chest. An outbreak in 1557-59 killed about 10% of the English population. Typhus mainly killed poor people living in places where sanitary conditions were very bad. It was also a common disease in prisons and for this reason typhus was also known as gaol fever. The typhoid bacillus was first identified in 1880 and can now be successfully treated with antibiotics.
Primary Sources
(1) Edwin Chadwick, The Sanitary Conditions of the Labouring Population (1842)
Number of Deaths in 1838 and 1839 Disease 1838 1839 Typhus 24,577 25,991 Smallpox 16,268 9,131 Measles 6,514 10,937 Whooping Cough 9,107 8,165 Consumption 59,025 59,559 Pneumonia 17,999 18,151