Smallpox Scare Hits Victoria
Conflicting reports over an outbreak in British Columbia lead to heightened health screenings at the border and anxiety in Puget Sound towns.
The story, cleaned up
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Conflicting reports have emerged regarding a smallpox outbreak in Victoria, British Columbia. While one local man claims there are over 100 cases, health officials have officially stated there are closer to thirty, with a strict quarantine now in effect. One death was reported on Sunday at the quarantine station. In response, health authorities in Port Townsend and other Sound cities are enforcing strict inspections of arriving vessels, mandating vaccination for all passengers coming from Victoria to prevent the disease from crossing into Washington territory.
“Every case that occurs should be made public at once, as concealment invariably creates the impression outside that there is more smallpox than probably exists.”
Public health panics and the tension between economic movement and quarantine measures were as common in the 1890s as in the recent pandemic. The historical focus on 'respectable' neighborhoods vs. those under quarantine mirrors earlier, localized approaches to containment.
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