Uwarunkowania i przebieg epidemii cholery w guberni mohylewskiej w 1848 roku

Abstract

In 1848 the world was ravaged by one of the deadliest cholera outbreaks of the 19th century. From among the Northwestern Russian governorates, it was Mogilev which suffered most and where, over a sixmonth period, over 48,000 people fell sick, of whom 31.4% eventually died of the plague. When taking the incidence rate into consideration, the districts of Orsza and Sienno were hardest hit as, due to both the geophysical conditions (large numbers of bogs, swamps, periodic river floods, high soil moisture etc.) and the prevailing social and civilizational determinants (poor sanitary conditions in the towns and villages, the lack of water supply lines or sewage systems, low pure water accessibility, very limited medical care etc.) the Vibrio cholerae had particularly favorable conditions for development. The article presents the conditions for the development of the outbreak, its course, and the methods of treatment for a disease which was poorly understood at that time.

Keywords

• epidemic
• cholera
• Mogilev
• mortality
• infections