The Toll of the Pest House
Health Officer Limerick tallies the human cost of the smallpox epidemic in Snohomish.
Health Officer Limerick has gathered statistics concerning the smallpox epidemic in Snohomish. Since the first case on June 4, 1892, there have been thirty-three total cases and eleven deaths. The city has ordered the construction of a new frame building for the reception of smallpox suspects, which is located a short distance from the city pest house. While the discovery of new cases has become less frequent than a month ago, the threat has not yet ceased.
“Forty-eight per cent is the average death rate among unvaccinated patients throughout the state.”
This report serves as a grim reminder of pre-vaccination public health, where the 'pest house' was a common feature of the urban landscape. It mirrors the anxieties of infectious outbreaks that have shaped the region's medical infrastructure for over a century.
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