The Health Board Fights Smallpox Scare
City officials seek to prevent Vancouver, B.C., from enacting a quarantine against Seattle by providing a status report on local smallpox cases.
The story, cleaned up
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The board of health yesterday requested Mayor J.T. Ronald to telegraph the mayor of Vancouver, B.C., exact and complete information as to the health of this city. This is done in order to induce the Vancouver authorities not to quarantine against Seattle, as it is understood they contemplate doing on false reports. There are seventeen cases of smallpox, one having died on Sunday and one newly admitted yesterday. There is also one case at the county farm. The board also empowered Health Officer E.J. McInerney to employ two more deputies, making twelve in all. The board also decided to continue with the vaccination of pupils.
“This is done in order to induce the Vancouver authorities not to quarantine against Seattle.”
Public health panics and cross-border travel restrictions were as contentious in the 1890s as they are today. The 1895 response to smallpox—vaccination and diplomatic assurance—parallels modern efforts to manage public health outbreaks while keeping commerce moving.
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