It was an ordinary day. Trying to find someone to give me a COVID vaccine shot. Anyone would do, as long as I would have protection from the virus. Tried my family doctor; didn't have any vaccine. Tried a few hospitals; no one would answer the phone. So...I gave up. I'm hoping that someday soon I will be able to get vaccinated for COVID-19 and all will be well again in my life. As I did research on COVID-19, I came across another medical siege that was of great concern in Philadelphia in the year 1793. The siege was known as The Yellow Fever of 1793.
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| The city of Philadelphia was hit hard with Yellow Fever. |
Philadelphia was stuck with the worst outbreak of Yellow Fever ever recorded in North America. It took a devastating toll on the city as nearly 5,000 individuals died, among them close to 400 African Americans. It struck in the hot, humid summer of '93 and thousands of Philadelphians got horribly sick, suffering from fevers and chills, jaundiced skin, stomach pains and vomit tinged black with blood. By the end of August, as more and more people began dying from the mysterious affliction, wealthier residents of Philadelphia, the nation's capital at the time, began to flee. The city's free black community largely stayed behind and many were enlisted to help care for the sick. Secretary of State Thomas Jefferson wrote in September of 1793, "It is called yellow fever, but is like nothing known or read of by the Physicians." And, no one knew what caused it or how it spread. Some thought it may have arrived by a ship bearing French refugees for a slave rebellion in Santo Domingo. Others, including the city's leading physician, Dr. Benjamin Rush, thought it originated in the poor sanitary conditions and contaminated air of the city itself. |
| Dr. Benjamin Rush, medical hero during the Yellow Fever epidemic. |
Philadelphians began to use social distancing and avoided shaking hands. They covered their faces with handkerchiefs dipped in vinegar or smoked tobacco which they though would prevent them from breathing in contaminated air. But, decomposing bodies began to pile up on the streets of Philadelphia. President George Washington took flight to his beloved Mount Vernon estate, saying exit was due to concerns of his wife, Martha. Alexander Hamilton contracted yellow fever early in the epidemic and left with his family to their summer home a few miles away. His wife, Eliza, also fell ill so they evacuated their children to Eliza's parents in Albany, New York. They both recovered with the help of Dr. Edward Stevens. |
| Hauling dead bodies to be buried during the Yellow Fever of 1793. |
About 20,000 Philadelphians escaped from Philadelphia during the yellow fever epidemic. One who did stay behind was Dr. Rush who was the city's most promenade medical professional and a signer of the Declaration of Independence. He worked tirelessly to treat rich and poor alike. He lost his sister to the disease and fell ill himself, but did recover. So, how did they find a way to recover? Methods of treatment were bloodletting, "Mercurial Sweating Powder," and. forced vomiting. They were all said to work, but did make the patient suffer more. Hamilton said to take cold baths, drink Madeira wine and hot brandy and ingest large amounts of quinine water. By the time it had subsided in November of 1793, 5,000 people, or about 1/10th of Philadelphia's population had died and no one knew quite why. It wasn't until another Yellow Fever outbreak in 1900 among troops fighting the Spanish-American War that Dr. Walter Reed proved that mosquitoes carried the fever. |
| The Yellow Fever mosquito |
Are we not trying to fight the same sort of enemy today as those in Philadelphia did years ago? Are we not wearing masks and staying a safe distance away today? We will find a cure for the COVID-19, but who's to say that our great-grand children and great-great-grand children might not suffer the same malady that we are now suffering. I suspect that sometime in the 2300's the same thing will happen and it will begin once again. Will the population be better prepared? Who knows. My only bet is that someone will write a story and post it on a blog to tell about it. It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.
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