subject: Smallpox in Kentucky [print this page] Smallpox in Kentucky Smallpox in Kentucky
The whole state of Kentucky is at the mercy of smallpox. With the disease prevalent in thirty-five countries of the state, the State Board of Health finds itself without money to fight the epidemic.
Secretary J.N.McCormack has received the resignations of the Country Boards of Health in about a dozen countries in which disease is the most serious, the last being that of Caldwell Country, where nearly 50 percent of the people were suffering from the disease.
The cause of these resignations is the lack of money with which to combat the disease. Daily requests for inspectors come from other countries where smallpox undoubtedly exists, but the State Board has no money with which to send the inspectors, so the country authorities refuse to take any action.
The disease is becoming more virulent, and fatalities are being reported in considerable numbers. Paducah, next to Princeton, shows the largest percentage of afflicted and the whites are becoming victims. Dr. McCorMack has advanced the State Board $1,500 out of his own pocket, but refuses to do anything further.
Smallpox is an infectious disease unique to humans, caused by either of two virus variants, Variola major and Variola minor.[1] The disease is also known by the Latin names Variola or Variola vera, which is a derivative of the Latin varius, meaning "spotted", or varus, meaning "pimple". The term "smallpox" was first used in Europe in the 15th century to distinguish variola from the "great pox".The Disease Ranges in Thirty-five Countries and There Is No Money to Fight It.
