Quarantine at McNeil Island Penitentiary
An attending physician clarifies the status of a smallpox outbreak at the McNeil Island federal prison.
There have been in all six cases of smallpox here during the last five weeks; three have been already discharged, one a physician who had been attending here and the others a nurse and a prisoner. Of the three here now (all prisoners) two are convalescent and the third will be removed from his tent to our out-patient department in a day or so. It is hoped and expected that the quarantine can be raised early next week. None of the guards and no Chinamen have suffered from the disease.
“It is hoped and expected that the quarantine can be raised early next week.”
Public health scares in confined populations remain a recurring crisis point. The physician's letter highlights the historical reality of disease management in the pre-antibiotic era, specifically naming the prison's demographics.
From readers
No comments yet. If you know something about this story — a correction, a family memory, a source — it belongs here.