Smallpox

SMALLPOX is an acute infectious disease, potentially fatal, characterized by fever, aches and a pustular rash that may leave scars. The disease runs its course in a month and those who recover have lifelong immunity. It was introduced into BC with the arrival of Europeans and was the disease most responsible for the catastrophic decline in FIRST NATIONS population (see ABORIGINAL DEMOGRAPHY). Epidemics occurred periodically from the 1780s to the 1860s. The first occurrence was probably introduced from the south in 1782. It was followed by a virulent epidemic in 1836–38 that is believed to have claimed about a third of the coastal aboriginal population, and another in 1862–63 that accounted for more than 19,000 deaths. This latter outbreak began in VICTORIA, where different First Nations gathered each summer to trade and socialize. A sailor from San Francisco brought the disease ashore and it spread rapidly through the aboriginal camps. Local authorities drove the aboriginal people away; as they travelled up the coast, they carried the disease with them and it spread across the Interior as well.

Smallpox also infected the non-aboriginal population, though less dramatically. After Edward Jenner proved the efficacy of vaccination in the 1790s, it was introduced into America in the early decades of the 19th century. However, there was a strong anti-vaccination movement and resistance to public health efforts was widespread, so isolated outbreaks continued into the 20th century. One of the most celebrated BC incidents occurred in 1892, when smallpox arrived in Victoria from China aboard the ship Empress of Japan. The city of VANCOUVER responded by refusing entrance to anyone arriving from Victoria. When a steamer attempted to dock at the harbour, fire hoses were used to keep everyone aboard. An island judge overruled the ban imposed by Vancouver, but the city ignored his decision and continued to put everyone arriving from Victoria into forcible quarantine. Vancouver's mayor, city solicitor and health officer were all arrested for violating the judge's ruling before tempers cooled and the epidemic passed. The last serious outbreak of the disease occurred in Vancouver in 1932: about 100 people became infected and many of them died.