In Celebration of Nurses and Black History Month:

In 1793, a yellow fever epidemic gripped Philadelphia, PA (at that time, the temporary capital of the newly established US). The cause of yellow fever was unknown and it was laughable at the time that something as small as a mosquito could kill a human. Many thought it was contagious and they isolated the infected. The citizens left Philadelphia in droves, which left many desperately ill with no one to care for them or increasingly when they died, no one to bury them or care for their orphaned children.

Yellow fever patients in advanced stages would bleed from their nose and gums and because their intestines would also bleed, the patients would vomit noxious black bile. This presentation made it difficult to care for the sick.

“The vomit that yellow fever patients spewed forth, as well as the blood and offensive odors, were particular horrors to most people, even those medically trained. Young Dr. Isaac Cathrall found these bodily discharges disgusting: ‘The matter ejected [from the stomach] was of a dark color, resembling coffee grounds, sometimes mixed with blood; great flatulency; hemorrhages from different parts of the body; tongue frequently covered over with blood... urine very offensive.’” [An American Plague: The True and Terrifying Story of the Yellow Fever Epidemic of 1793, by Murphy, Jim. Scholastic, Inc. 2003, p. 53.]

Although subjected to slavery and discrimination by those now needing help, the members of the Free African Society stepped forward and cared for the people of Philadelphia. During the yellow fever outbreak, the black nurses, male and female, out numbered the white nurses. “Since the people they helped were usually poor, the black nurses often stayed and helped a person for no money at all.” [An American Plague: The True and Terrifying Story of the Yellow Fever Epidemic of 1793, by Murphy, Jim. Scholastic, Inc. 2003, p. 51.]

“Dr. Cathrall flatly refused to touch the vomit of a patient for any reason, as did most other people; the black nurses, however, had o choice. Their job, after all, was to care for and clean up the patients.” [An American Plague: The True and Terrifying Story of the Yellow Fever Epidemic of 1793, by Murphy, Jim. Scholastic, Inc. 2003, p. 54.]

I read about the yellow fever epidemic of 1793 in a intriguing book An American Plague: The True and Terrifying Story of the Yellow Fever Epidemic of 1793, by Jim Murphy. This book describes the progression of the epidemic and the huge impact it had on the entire town and even those towns surrounding Philadelphia. Within the book are descriptions of selfless individuals that stepped forward to help when it was unknown whether their kindness would be rewarded with their own development of yellow fever. With all the current discussions about potential pandemics, I found this book very interesting.