TY - JOUR
T1 - The Maturation of the International Health Crisis Response
T2 - The Polish Typhus Epidemic of 1916–1923 Compared to the African Ebola Virus Disease Epidemic of 2013–2016: Part I, the Polish Epidemic
AU - Anstead, Gregory M.
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2024 by the author.
PY - 2024/12
Y1 - 2024/12
N2 - Poland suffered an epidemic of louse-borne typhus from 1916–1923, with 400,000 cases and more than 130,000 deaths. The causative factors were depressed economic conditions and a refugee crisis that engulfed Poland after World War I. The recognition of the epidemic in 1919 stimulated the creation of the League of Red Cross Societies (LRCS). However, the LCRS had limited resources, and the Poles requested help from other governments and the League of Nations (LoN). The United States sent the American–Polish Relief Expedition to conduct delousing. However, the Polish–Soviet War of 1920 disrupted typhus control and exacerbated the refugee situation. The LoN belatedly organized an underfunded Epidemic Commission. The LCRS sent a research team that did groundbreaking work on the pathology of typhus. Into 1921, the epidemic continued, driven by refugees from typhus-stricken Russia. By 1924, typhus cases were finally approaching pre-World War I levels. Multiple factors lead to the amelioration of the epidemic. The repatriation of prisoners of war and displaced civilians had concluded by 1923. Also, there had been a steady influx of sanitary, food, economic, and medical aid from various organizations into Poland since 1919. Administratively, within Poland, the anti-typhus campaign was also conducted more effectively by the Extraordinary Epidemic Commissariat.
AB - Poland suffered an epidemic of louse-borne typhus from 1916–1923, with 400,000 cases and more than 130,000 deaths. The causative factors were depressed economic conditions and a refugee crisis that engulfed Poland after World War I. The recognition of the epidemic in 1919 stimulated the creation of the League of Red Cross Societies (LRCS). However, the LCRS had limited resources, and the Poles requested help from other governments and the League of Nations (LoN). The United States sent the American–Polish Relief Expedition to conduct delousing. However, the Polish–Soviet War of 1920 disrupted typhus control and exacerbated the refugee situation. The LoN belatedly organized an underfunded Epidemic Commission. The LCRS sent a research team that did groundbreaking work on the pathology of typhus. Into 1921, the epidemic continued, driven by refugees from typhus-stricken Russia. By 1924, typhus cases were finally approaching pre-World War I levels. Multiple factors lead to the amelioration of the epidemic. The repatriation of prisoners of war and displaced civilians had concluded by 1923. Also, there had been a steady influx of sanitary, food, economic, and medical aid from various organizations into Poland since 1919. Administratively, within Poland, the anti-typhus campaign was also conducted more effectively by the Extraordinary Epidemic Commissariat.
KW - Ebola virus disease
KW - epidemic typhus
KW - human body louse
KW - international health
KW - Poland
KW - relapsing fever
KW - Rickettsia prowazekii
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85213576141&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=85213576141&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.3390/epidemiologia5040051
DO - 10.3390/epidemiologia5040051
M3 - Review article
C2 - 39727423
AN - SCOPUS:85213576141
SN - 2673-3986
VL - 5
SP - 728
EP - 769
JO - Epidemiologia
JF - Epidemiologia
IS - 4
ER -