Germs, Epidemics, and the CTDA
While not wanting to minimize the current situation, this is not the first widespread health threat that Connecticut citizens have faced. During our history there have been many threats, responses, and ultimately, progress. In each case some responses are reasoned and measured, and some are well meaning but misguided. And although each crisis is “unique in its own way” as they say, understanding how we responded in the past can help us guide us in the present. From the resources in the CTDA, here are just a few glimpses into our history of responses to heath threats.
The Dreaded “Pox”
Although a vaccine was available as early as 1796, smallpox was a major health threat even in Connecticut as late as the 1850s as this broadside from the Connecticut Historical Society shows. Well into the 20th century the State Board of Health regularly reported on Smallpox cases in its annual reports. Prior to the vaccine becoming available, various practitioners would advertise Smallpox cures in the newspapers. It was only in the 1960s, when mass immunization programs we undertaken was the disease essentially wiped out.
Polio Sows Fear
Many Connecticut residents of a certain age remember the recurring fear each summer of the return of polio. While polio in the US is almost non-existent today, as late as 2012 Governor Dannel P. Molloy engaged Connecticut residents in World Polio Day. Closer to home, the Deep River Financial report from 1957 reports that “Polio immunizations were completed on all pupils who had parental consent” at a time when the push for mass polio immunization was a top story in every news outlet. Here too, there were suggested cures and preventions that were put forward. Vivien Kellems, Connecticut industrialist and political figure from mid-20th century firmly believed that “..if people would just eat correctly, there would be no polio.”
Influenza Update
Note: The original version of this post left out the influenza epidemic of 1918–19. Thanks to Mike Kemezis for researching the influenza resources in the CTDA.
The “Spanish Flu” epidemic that followed the First World War in 1919 had possibly greater impact on the United States than the war itself. The Connecticut State Department of Health and the State Council of Defense (did you know Connecticut had a Council of Defense?) published a pamphlet called “ Halt Influenza” in 1919 distributing the latest medical information about how to halt the spread of and recover from influenza. The Connecticut Radio Information System later created what we would call a Public Service Announcement, essentially reading, in an authoritative voice, the entire pamphlet. Finally, the State Department of Health issued a 43 page addendum to their annual report on the Influenza Epidemic of 1918–1919.
Originally published at https://ctdigitalarchive.org.
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