Cholera Epidemic

Objective of this thesis is find out how much of Roman Catholics in selected parishes of Kosice bishopric died of cholera in 1831 in terms of Church registers. Secondary objecitve this thesis was bring cholera  medically, what its history and causes of this infectious deseases. Next we will try to describe its course in Hungary in 1831, treat it then and now and care of patients who survive this disease or died from its effects. Magister thesis is technically divided to three chapters. In the first chapter we describe cholera of contemporary, as well as the current literature from the perspective of medicine, its history and a method of treating then and now. Second and third chapter focuses to information about victims of cholera epidemics in selected parishes by church registers which are available on the internet at www.familysearch.org  and scheme of Kosice bishopric in 1831. The importance of the thesis is to conduct a comprehensive view cholera epidemic in selected parishes Kosice bishopric in 1831st.

Orlin Sabev, The Dance of Cholera, Sofia: Avangard Prima, 2021, 380 pages, 27 coloured illustrations, ISBN 978-619-239-574-2 (in Bulgarian)


The book deals with the outbreak of the great cholera epidemic in Constantinople in 1865 and its impact on the Bulgarians living in the city. Bulgarian newspapers, official reports, researches conducted immediately upon the epidemic, memoirs and Ottoman archival sources are extensively used for the analysis of the dramatic situation.
The author traces down the coming of the malady from the province of Egypt to the Ottoman capital in the early summer of 1865 and its spread in the city, in the Balkans, in the Middle East and Europe. Attention is paid to the delayed but decisive government measures to combat the disease; to the main factors that facilitated its rapid spread and caused significant death tolls; to the understanding of the malady and the concepts for prevention and treatment.
The 1865 cholera epidemic is considered in a broader context including all the cholera pandemics that took place throughout the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. As the statistics show the 1865 epidemic turned out to be probably the deadliest one in Constantinople because of the coincidence of factors such as the bigger crowd of pilgrims who attended the Eid al-Adha feast in Mecca, the development of global sea transportation, and the lack of significant progress in scientific understanding of and medical treatment for the disease. The multireligious and multiethnic composition of Constantinople’s population made it difficult to combat the malady more promptly and efficiently.
The author pays special attention to the different attitudes towards epidemic diseases among the various subjects of the Ottoman Empire in accordance with their religious affiliation, folk beliefs, traditions and practices. Some Bulgarian poems dedicated to the 1848 and 1865 cholera epidemics, as well as new trends in Orthodox iconography influenced by the western tradition of dance macabre (the Dance of Death) are analysed in detail.

Орлин Събев, Танцът на холерата, София: Авангард Прима, 2021, 380 стр., 27 цветни илюстрации, ISBN 978-619-239-574-2

Книгата разглежда избухването на голямата холерна епидемия в Цариград през 1865 г. и нейното въздействие върху българите, живеещи в града. В анализа на драматичната ситуация са използвани български вестници, официални доклади, изследвания, проведени непосредствено след епидемията, мемоари и османски архивни източници.
Авторът проследява пренасянето на болестта от Египет в османската столица в началото на лятото на 1865 г. и нейното разпространение в града, на Балканите, в Близкия изток и в Европа. Обръща се внимание на забавените, но решителни правителствени мерки за борба с болестта; основните фактори, които са улеснили бързото ѝ разпространение и са причинили значителни жертви; разбирането за болестта и концепциите за превенция и лечение.
Холерната епидемия от 1865 г. е разгледана в по-широкия контекст на холерните пандемии през деветнадесети и двадесети век. Както показва статистиката, епидемията от 1865 г. се оказва може би най-смъртоносната в Цариград поради съвпадението на фактори като по-голямата тълпа от поклонници, присъствали на празника Курбан байрам в Мека, развитието на глобалния морски транспорт и липсата на значителен напредък в научното разбиране и лечение на болестта. Разнообразният религиозен и етнически състав на населението на Цариград затруднява борбата с болестта.
Авторът обръща специално внимание на различното отношение към епидемичните заболявания сред различните поданици на Османската империя в съответствие с тяхната религиозна принадлежност, народни вярвания, традиции и практики. Подробно се анализират някои български стихотворения, посветени на холерната епидемия, както и новите тенденции в православната иконография, повлияни от западната традиция (танцът на смъртта).

ABSTRACT
    Thanks to a pluridisciplinary approach, this paper explores the origins of the Kura-Araxes Culture through the prism of Medicine. It demonstrates that if Plague (Yersinia Pestis) was expanding between the Caucasus and the Pontic steppe during the 6th millennium BC , the flood of the Ishkhanasar (mid 5th millennium BC)  provoked a Cholera outbreak in the Syunik and the Ararat areas. If there is no direct archaeological evidence of an epidemic, this paper proposes several indirect evidences which lead to the conclusion that the group afflicted by Cholera used a treatment based on the distillation of acetic acid. The success of the treatment was a crucial advantage which allowed the expansion of it associated elite during Late Chalcolithic. 

RESUME
Grâce à une approche pluridisciplinaire, cet article explore les origines de la culture Kura-Araxes à travers le prisme de la médecine. Il démontre que si la Peste (Yersinia Pestis) s'est étendue entre le Caucase et la steppe pontique au cours du 6e millénaire avant JC, l'effondrement des cônes volcaniques de l'Ishkhanasar et l'inondation qui s’en suivit (milieu du 5e millénaire) provoqua une épidémie de Choléra dans les régions de Syunik et de l'Ararat (Arménie). Si l’épidémie n’est pas encore démontrée par l’archéologie, cet article propose un ensemble de preuves indirectes qui mènent à la conclusion selon laquelle le groupe touché par le Choléra utilisa un traitement à base d’acide acétique. La réussite de ce traitement semble avoir été un élément décisif qui permit l’expansion de l’Elite associée durant la fin du Chalcolithic.

This article explores the forms of housing and living of the subalternclasses in the French urban context of the early 19th century affected by the social consequences of the Industrial Revolution. It focuses on the social representations and discourses developed by the liberal elites in order to retrace the genesis of the concepts of “domestic comfort” and “public hygiene”.  The cholera  epidemic of  1832  and the  growth of the hygienist movement are identified as crucial driving forces for the emergence of plans of urban and housing reform for the working class aimed at protecting the social order and public health.  KEYWORDS: Housing; Industrial Revolution; Pandemic; Public Hygiene; Urban and Industrial Pauperism.

Na začiatku 30. rokov 19. storočia zasiahla Uhorsko epidémia cholery. Pôvodnou oblasťou jej výskytu bola India, kde v pravidelných cykloch hubila miestne obyvateľstvo. V roku 1824 vôbec prvýkrát prenikla do Ruska. Trvalo niekoľko rokov, kým sa nákaza dostala do Európy. Napriek ochranným opatreniam prenikla v roku 1831 cez Halič a Karpaty do Uhorska-tým sa v uhorských dejinách začala prvá epidémia cholery. Samozrejme, neobišla ani územie dnešného Slovenska. Jeho západnú časť zasiahla už v lete 1831 a výrazne ovplyvnila život miestneho obyvateľstva. Platilo to i o obyvateľstve Červenokamenského panstva.

The paper provides a chronological timeline of the cholera epidemics in Bulgaria and the Balkans from the 1820s through the 1920s. In the course of a century these territories were eight times heavily struck by the so-called “blue death” – the cholera. This acute infectious disease was usually imported through the dislocation of military units, as well as maritime and rail transport. It penetrated first the seaports and then the inland settlements. Both the official statistics and the unofficial judgements reveal relatively great fatality numbers which dropped drastically only in the early twentieth century due to mass vaccination among the military and the civil population. The author reminds Gabriel Garcia Márquez’s worldwide famous novels “Chronicle of a Death Foretold” and “Love in the Time of Cholera”, and concludes that the mankind should learn better the lessons of history in order to be able to save its honour in the face of new pandemics, the COVID-19 pandemic including.   
Key words: cholera epidemics, Bulgaria, the Balkans, COVID-19 pandemic, Gabriel Garcia Márquez.

19. yüzyıla kadar kitlesel ölümlere sebep olan salgın hastalıkların başında, veba ve kolera gelmekteydi. Tüm dünyada olduğu gibi Osmanlı Devleti de bu hastalıklardan çeşitli dönemlerde büyük ölçüde etkilenmiştir. Osmanlı’da karantina uygulaması ve genel temizlik kurallarına uyulmasıyla hastalıkların üstesinden gelinmiş, Avrupa’daki ilaç ve tedavi çalışmaları yakından takip edilmiştir. Hem halkın hem de idarecilerin bilgilendirilmesi için son derece önem arz eden Osmanlı basını, salgın hastalıklara geniş yer vermiştir. Hastalığın kontrolü her ne kadar karantina ile sağlanmaya çalışılmışsa da karantina sürecine hadislerden hareketle dini bir meşruiyet atfedilerek sürecin daha sağlıklı bir şekilde yürütülmesi amaçlanmıştır. Dolayısıyla modern tıbbın önerileri dini kaidelerle güçlendirilmiş ve hastalıklarla maddi ve manevi unsurlarla topyekûn mücadele edilmiştir. Osmanlı’nın son dönemlerinde basında hastalık larla mücadelenin inanç kültürü kısmını oluşturan dini referans noktası hadis, dua ve rivayetlerden oluşmaktaydı. Bu çalışmamın çerçevesini dini konularla siyasi meselelerin bir arada işlendiği İslamcı süreli yayınların hastalıklarla ilgili kaleme alınan yazıları oluşturmuştur.//Plague and cholera were the primary epidemics causing huge numbers of deaths until the 19th cen-tury. Similar to the rest of the world, Ottoman Empire was also affected by these two diseases periodi- cally. Ottoman Empire could deal with them through quarantine regulations and by applying certain rules of hygiene, while also pursuing the developments of treatments and medication in Europe, at the same time. Epidemic diseases took place in Ottoman media widely, which was very important to inform the society and the governors. Even if there were attempts to control diseases through quarantine regula- tions, hadiths were also used as a religious base to support these regulations. As a result, the suggestions of modern medicine were supported by religious bases, and there were struggles against diseases finan- cially and emotionally. In the final period of Ottoman Empire, the religious bases for struggling against diseases were hadiths, praying, and narratives. This study involves the pieces of writings related to dis- eases in Islamic periodicals which covered both religious and political issues.

A Habsburg Birodalom határán jelentkező kór és a magyarországi intézkedések szinte azonos időben megkezdődtek. 1830 novemberétől 1831 júniusáig Magyarország részéről elsősorban preventív intézkedésekről beszélhetünk, még akkor is, ha az utasításokban és rendeletekben rendre megfigyelhető a betegség megjelenése esetén szükséges cselekvési terv is. A Galícia felőli határ lezárása 1830 végén, az első járványügyi intézkedések, az első királyi biztosok galíciai határvidékére történő kiküldése jóval megelőzte a közvetlen fenyegetettség idejét. A betegség 1830 végétől 1831 júniusáig Magyarország területén gyakorlatilag nem jelentkezett. A világméretű járványok esetében rendre megfigyelhető, hogy a betegséggel szembeni védekezés sikeresebb, ha azt minél tovább az ország határain kívül tudják tartani. A védekezés kezdeti szakasza emiatt rendkívül eredményesnek minősíthető. Jogtalan az a kritika, amely a járvánnyal szembeni kései intézkedéseket rója fel az udvarnak, illetve a magyar kormányzatnak. A járvány azonban 1831 júniusában időben és területileg is nagyon gyors ütemben és távolságokban ütötte fel a fejét. A kór rohamosan terjedt, Szatmárban és Szabolcsban június 23-án, aztán Borsodban június 24-én, Zemplénben június 26-án, Sárosban június 28-án, Beregben július 1-jén, Ungban július 3-án regisztrálták az első hivatalos megbetegedést. Máramarosban, amelyet a járvány gócpontjának tekintettek Ugocsához képest csak négy héttel később, július 6-án jelentettek először koleragyanús esetet. A betegség első jelentkezési esetei, a járvány gyors ütemben történő terjedése nagy területi különbségekkel arra enged következtetni, hogy az 1831 júniusában kezdődött megbetegedési hullám idején az már az ország jelentős részén jelen lehetett. A határzár teljes feloldása és királyi biztosok visszahívása súlyos következményekkel járt. A Galíciában hirtelen újra felerősödő betegségi hullámra reagáló intézkedések nem hozták meg a korábban tapasztalt eredményességet a járvány Magyarországra történő bejutásának elkerülésében. Mindaddig, amíg a külső határvonalak működtek, nem történtek megbetegedések, viszont az ország belső területére bejutva már nem váltak be a fizikai kordonok és a betegek izolálása sem. Hiába zárták le azokat a területeket, ahol a betegség jelentkezett, újabb és újabb esetek bukkantak fel az ország szinte minden szegletén. Míg a védekezés első szakasza 1830 végétől 1831 májusáig az ország határain kívül tartotta a járványt, és nem
történtek megbetegedések, addig 1831 júniusától jelentkező megbetegedések és a rohamos terjedés szinte teljes összeomláshoz vezetettek.

En esta breve reseña se presentan datos novedosos que permiten una visión del efecto de la epidemia del cólera en la población matancera dieciochesca. Para ello, se extrajeron datos de la historiografía nacional e internacional, nutridos por documentos inéditos del Archivo Histórico Nacional de España (AHN), Archivo General de Indias (AGI), Archivo Nacional de Cuba (ANC) y el Archivo Histórico Provincial de la ciudad de Matanzas (AHPM). Además, se aportan datos suplementarios sobre aflicciones similares en la ciudad de La Habana durante el mismo período. This brief article provides new insight into the cholera epidemic in Cuba, particularly in the city of Matanzas, during the 19th century. An account of the epidemic's effect on the general and slave populations are provided through the analysis of unedited primary documents from Cuban archives.

In the second half of the 19th century various quarters of Poznań differed in terms of infrastructure, including access to clean water. This paper aims to analyse whether these spatial and social inequalities related to the quarter of residence in the city, and thereby whether access to sanitary infrastructure and clean water intake, and in general, differences in living conditions, influenced the probability of death from cholera. Data from four cholera epidemics: 1852, 1855, 1866, and 1873 were used for this purpose. 16,285 individual data entries from death registers of Catholic and Protestant parishes were used regarding such information as: the date of death, sex, age at death, cause of death, profession, religion, and exact address of residence. There was a significant relationship between SES factors (quarter of residence, denomination, professions) and biological factors (sex and age at death), and the distributions of deaths due to cholera and other causes. GLMs revealed that living in the Old Market Square did not decrease the chance of death from cholera, and on the other hand, living on the right bank of the Warta River  did not increase the chance of death from cholera. In other words, better quarter of residence did not guarantee lower morbidity and did not protect from cholera and vice versa. This work also proves a significant interaction between the quarter of residence and such variables as denomination and occupation on probability of death from specific cause. Virtually until the end of the 19th century the sanitary conditions in Poznań were so poor that they were conducive to epidemics of infectious diseases.

Die Frage, ob bzw. inwiefern das Aufkommen von Eisenbahnen die wirtschaftliche Entwicklung einer Region prägte, wurde bereits im 19. Jahrhundert gestellt und erfährt bis dato wissenschaftliche Bearbeitungen, wobei meist ein „Boom“ gesucht und „gefunden“ wurde. Diese Arbeit untersucht daher die wirtschaftlichen Auswirkungen der Südbahn auf das Herzogtum Steiermark, da das Steirische Eisen bereits seit dem 17. Jahrhundert international begehrt und i.a. auf der Amsterdamer Börse gehandelt wurde. Allerdings zeigt diese Untersuchung, dass dieses berühmte Steirische Eisen für eine Bahn aus Eisen (bis min. 1869) nicht gut genug war. Für den Zusammenhang zwischen der Südbahn und der steirischen Wirtschaftsentwicklung wird sowohl der Zeitraum „vor und während des Baus der Südbahn, 1830-1857“ als auch jener „nach der Fertigstellung der Südbahn, 1857-1870“ näher betrachtet. Insbesondere wird die demographische Entwicklung exemplarisch ausgewählter, steirischer Städte mit Südbahnanschluss untersucht und einer Kontrollgruppe (steirische Städte ohne Südbahnanschluss) gegenübergestellt. Die dafür nötigen Daten wurden aus den „Tafeln zur Statistik der oesterreichischen Monarchie“ der Jahre 1830-1840 bzw. (unter minimal abweichenden Namen) bis 1865 sowie aus den „Statistischen Jahrbüchern“ der Jahre 1863-1871 entnommen. Die Auswertung der „Räume“ und „Menschen“ sowie deren Parallelisierung ergeben schließlich, dass die steirische Wirtschaftsentwicklung zwischen 1830 und 1870 neben der Südbahn auch von anderen Faktoren mitgestaltet wurde; wie hoch ihr jeweiliger Anteil war, variierte. Was indes eindeutig hervorgeht, ist, dass das Verhältnis zwischen Eisenbahn und Wirtschaftsentwicklung viel komplexer war bzw. ist als bisher angenommen.
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The question as to whether or to what extent the advent of railways shaped the economic development of a region, was asked as early as the 19th century and has been the subject of scientific research to date, with a “boom” usually being sought and “found”. Therefore, this thesis examines the economic impact of the Southern Railway (“Südbahn”) on the Duchy of Styria, because the Styrian iron has been in international demand since the 17th century and i.a. traded on the Amsterdam Stock Exchange. However, this investigation shows that this famous Styrian iron was not good enough for an iron railway (until at least 1869). Exploring the interconnection between the Southern Railway and Styrian economic development, both the period “before and during the construction of the Southern Railway, 1830-1857” and “after the completion of the Southern Railway, 1857-1870” are considered in more detail. In particular, the demographic development of exemplarily selected Styrian cities with a Southern Railway connection is examined and compared to a control group (Styrian cities without a Southern Railway connection). The data required for this was taken from the “Tafeln zur Statistik der oesterreichischen Monarchie” for the years 1830-1840 or (under slightly different names) up to 1865 and from the “Statistischen Jahrbüchern” for the years 1863-1871. The evaluation of “spaces” and “population” as well as their parallelization finally shows that the Styrian economic development between 1830 and 1870 was shaped not only by the Southern Railway but, to varying degrees, by other factors as well. What is clear, however, is that the relationship between railways and economic development was and is much more complex than previously assumed.

The cholera epidemic, which entered the Ottoman geography with Russian pilgrims, was seen in July 1910 in Erzurum, and then spread to the surrounding cities, especially to harbor cities. Despite the inadequate health infrastructure, local Ottoman administrators tried to prevent the spread of the epidemic by resorting to quarantine measures. The local people, who considered the measures taken insufficient, strongly opposed the docking of a ship which was thought to carry infectious disease and to drop passengers. The administrators sometimes tried to hide the facts about the epidemic from the public in order to prevent the financial losses to be caused by the disruption of maritime trade and postal traffic, but also to prevent the local people to panic and prevent a chaos.
In this article, the panic atmosphere created by the cholera epidemic in Ottoman port cities such as Haifa, Beirut, Jaffa, Chania, Samsun, Trabzon, Izmir, Çanakkale, Thessaloniki and the cities such as Adana, Osmaniye, Aleppo, Tiberia and Damascus, and the events which followed the epidemic will be approached as reflected in the German consular reports of 1911-1914. Local incidents encountered during an epidemic may provide important clues in understanding and evaluating the overall picture.


ÖZET

Osmanlı coğrafyasına Rus hacılarla giriş yapan kolera salgını Temmuz 1910’da Erzurum’da görüldükten sonra, başta liman kentleri olmak üzere civar kentlere kısa sürede yayılmıştır. Yerel Osmanlı yöneticileri, yetersiz sağlık altyapısına rağmen, karantina tedbirlerine başvurarak salgının yayılmasını engellemeye çalışmışlardır. Bazı yerlerde alınan tedbirleri yetersiz gören yerel halk, inisiyatifi eline alarak bulaşıcı hastalık taşıdığı düşünülen bir geminin kentlerine yanaşmasına ve yolcu indirmesine şiddetle karşı çıkmıştır. Yöneticilerin, kimi zaman yerel halkın paniğe kapılarak kaotik bir ortamın doğmasını önlemek amacıyla, kimi zaman da deniz ticaret ve posta trafiğinin aksamasından kaynaklı maddi kayıpların önüne geçmek amacıyla salgın haberleri ile ilgili gerçekleri halktan gizlemeye çalıştıkları olmuştur.
Bu makalede kolera salgınının Hayfa, Beyrut, Yafa, Hanya, Samsun, Trabzon, İzmir, Çanakkale, Selanik gibi Osmanlı liman kentleri ile Adana, Osmaniye, Halep, Tiberya, Şam gibi civar kentlerde yarattığı panik atmosfer ve sonrasında yaşananlar 1911-1914 arasında kaleme alınmış Alman konsolosluk raporlarına yansıdığı kadarıyla konu edilmiştir. Kolera karşısında lokal düzeyde yaşanan olaylar genel tablo hakkında fikir vermesi açısından önemlidir.

Recent research has explored the distributive consequences of major historical epidemics, and the current crisis triggered by Covid-19 prompts us to look at the past for insights about how pandemics can affect inequalities in income, wealth, and health. The fourteenth-century Black Death, which is usually believed to have led to a significant reduction in economic inequality, has attracted the greatest attention. However, the picture becomes much more complex if other epidemics are considered. This article covers the worst epidemics of preindustrial times, from Justinian’s Plague of 540-41 to the last great European plagues of the seventeenth century, as well as the cholera waves of the nineteenth. It shows how the distributive outcomes of lethal epidemics
do not only depend upon mortality rates, but are mediated by a range of factors, chief among them the institutional framework in place at the onset of each crisis. It then explores how past epidemics affected poverty, arguing that highly lethal epidemics could reduce its prevalence through two deeply different mechanisms: redistribution towards the poor, or extermination of the poor. It concludes by recalling the historical connection between the progressive weakening and spacing in time of lethal epidemics and improvements in life expectancy, and by discussing how epidemics affected inequality in health and living standards.

Az első kolerajárvány elleni védekezés szervezeti hátterét központilag a
Magyar Királyi Helytartótanács adta, a gyakorlati megvalósítás azonban
leginkább a vármegyei tevékenységen alapult. Ez azonban közel sem kiforrott, jól működő rendszerben zajlott, és szinte minden esetben a helyi és a központi rendelkezések összehangoltságán, illetve azokon is túlmutató, embert próbáló kivitelezésén múlott. A rendelkezések és a helybeli védekezés harmonizálására a királyi biztosok lettek kijelölve. A kezdeti időszakban csak két biztos személyében, majd számukat növelték, végül az egész országot húsz körzetre osztva mindegyik élére kijelöltek királyi biztosokat. Tevékenységüket közel sem lehet egyöntetűen megítélni, míg a kezdeti védekezési időszak sikeres volt, az 1831 júniusától jelentkező megbetegedési hullám a teljes összeomláshoz vezetett. Némely királyi biztos minden intézkedést szigorúan megkövetelt és ellenőrzött, míg mások nem is tartózkodtak a rájuk bízott régióban. Több esetben a felbőszült lakossággal szemben fegyveres intervenció alkalmazására is sor került. A közegészségügyi helyzet az orvosi és az intézményes ellátás tekintetében sem állt jól a járvány ideje alatt, de helyzetet nagymértékben meghatározta, hogy egy kórtani szempontból nem ismert betegséggel kellett szembenézniük. A betegség leküzdésében az orvosoknak, betegápolóknak volt a legfontosabb szerepe, azonban a legtöbb esetben tevékenységük kimerülta bet egek tüneteinek enyhítésében. A járvány elleni küzdelem közvetett problémái is súlyos mértékben okoztak nehézséget gazdasági, kereskedelmi szempontból. A Felvidék lakosságának egy jelentős része elesett megélhetési jövedelmi forrásaitól, amiért az urakat, az azokkal összejátszó orvosokat okolta, s elégtételt is követelt, a felkelést azonban vérbe fojtották.
A közösségek vezetőinek, így az egyházak vezetőinek, a lelkipásztoroknak rendkívül fontos szerep jutott. Kormányzati szempontból tőlük a társadalmi feszültség csillapítását, az utasítások betartásának támogatását, míg a népesség szempontjából elsősorban a szociális kérdések iránti érzékenységet, a helyzetük romlásának meggátolását követelték meg. 1831–1832 folyamán több mint félmillió kolerás megbetegedés történt, illetve közel negyedmillióan haltak bele a betegségbe Az első kolerajárvány elleni védekezés során jelentős fejetlenséget lehetett tapasztalni, már a korabeli vezető személyiségek is számos kritikát megfogalmaztak. Nehezen lehetett értelmezni, pontosan ki, milyen szerepkörben és milyen felhatalmazással intézkedik a kór terjedésének megakadályozásában. A járvány elleni védekezésben azonban minden személynek, aki akár hivatalból, akár egyéni megbízásból vagy önkéntesen vett részt, jelentős szerepe volt, hogy gátat szabjon a járvány terjedésének és annak leküzdésében, és rendkívül sokan hősies munkát végeztek.

A cólera transmite-se pela água e alimentos contaminados. Provoca diarreia, desidratação, febres altas, vómitos, dores abdominais, seguidos de queda de temperatura corporal e morte. A sua origem encontra-se na Índia, de onde se propagou para a Rússia e depois para a Europa e América pelas rotas comerciais. Em 1832 só em França morreram mais de 100.000 pessoas. Esta primeira vaga da epidemia chegou a Portugal em 1833, durante o Cerco do Porto, espalhando-se pelo país e causando cerca de 40.000 mortos, mais que a própria Guerra Civil.