Epidemics and the Fight Against Them in Ukraine (End of the Eighteenth – Early Twentieth Century)

Abstract

The purpose of the article: to cover the spread of epidemics in the Ukrainian provinces from the end of 18 to the beginning of 20 century and to consider the measures of the authorities (including self-governing institutions) to overcome them, as well as to show the practical use of scientific achievements and sanitary and hygienic knowledge to prevent epidemics.

The research methodology is based on the general principles of scientificity and historicism using problemchronological, comparative-historical, prosopographic and statistical methods.

Scientific novelty. Based on the analysis of historical sources and scientific literature, there were clarified the types, time limits and localization of epidemics, as well as their social and demographic consequences. It was noted that for a long time in the fight against epidemics the state preferred quarantine methods and paid much less attention to the development of microbiology and epidemiology. Doctors-researchers, without sufficient government support, resorted to self-infection to monitor the disease clinic. Medical scientific knowledge was slowly becoming a part of the practice of preventing epidemics. Zemstwo and city medical institutions did not receive adequate legislative support for their activities. Their work was not coordinated, in particular, in providing patients with medicines, carrying out preventive work among the population etc. Failure of the general population of peasants and burghers to comply with sanitary and hygienic norms complicated the fight against epidemics.

Conclusions. Infectious diseases that led to mass disease came to Ukraine mainly from the East. Their spread was facilitated by the following factors: an increase in the number of urban residents, the movement of significant military formations in the western direction, water pollution by household and industrial waste, the absence of almost until the end of the XIX century. Social and personal hygiene skills. In addition to quarantine, the fight against epidemics included the deployment of temporary infectious barracks, the involvement of additional medical personnel, the isolation and treatment of patients, the disinfection of infected areas and housing, the establishment of sanitary posts on transport, the provision of disinfectants etc. In the fight against epidemics, the state faced the problem of effective organization of management and control over the actions of quarantine and medical services in both individual provinces and the state as a whole. There was no single central government coordinating body with special competences to prevent epidemics, which complicated the work in this area. Doctors, researchers and practitioners, medicalized epidemics, pointed to their dependence on social and economic factors. The prevailing opinion was that infectious diseases are caused by pathogens that provoke the disease in favorable conditions. Discussions about the ways of infection (physical contact, the presence of miasms in the air, microbial theory) influenced the use of methods to prevent epidemics. State policy in the field of medical care did not stimulate the activity of self-government bodies. However, despite the reduction of powers and financial resources, zemstvos and city councils in general were able to organize effective assistance to cities and villages in overcoming mass diseases. They were actively supported by the intelligentsia, promoting hygiene rules, sanitary norms and preventive work by distributing books of popular content.