Yellow Fever, Shotgun Quarantine, 1888

Yellow fever, shotgun quarantine. Turning back yellow fever fugitives. A man holding a rifle next to a tent and a camp fire. He holds up one hand to an approaching group of people, one of whom, a man, holds two bags in either hand. Yellow fever is an acute viral hemorrhagic disease (viral infection) spread by mosquitoes. The Yellow Fever epidemic in 1888 began during the summer in the southern part of Florida and rapidly spread northward. Residents of Jacksonville compared it to the plague pestilence of the middle ages as stores were boarded up; hotels and schools closed; and the cities became ghost towns. Concern for personal safety outweighed virtually everything else. People often resorted to violence to keep possibly infected people away. Illustration from Frank Leslie's illustrated newspaper

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Acute Epidemic Fever Fugitives Hemorrhagic Infection Mosquitoes Outbreak Quarantine Spread Viral

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