MikeDunnAuthor on Nostr: Today in Labor History July 12, 1878: A yellow fever epidemic began in New Orleans, ...

Today in Labor History July 12, 1878: A yellow fever epidemic began in New Orleans, leading to the deaths of 5,000 people. 40,000 people fled the city (20% of the population), spreading the disease throughout the Mississippi Valley. 5,000 more people died in Memphis. Trade was completely halted, resulting in mass starvation and riots. Thousands more died in the state of Mississippi. Private business interests prevented reporting on the epidemic, contributing to its spread and mortality throughout the lower Mississippi basin. Citywide quarantines were implemented in many affected cities, including New Orleans and Memphis. The plague finally ended in October, when lower temperatures drove off the mosquitoes that carried the disease. The outbreak was likely exacerbated by the Super El Nino that had begun the previous year, as there had been extreme weather anomalies across the eastern U.S. Globally, over 50 million people died in that Super El Nino, mostly from famine, due to failing monsoons and tropical storms, or from massive flooding.

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