Colonial Times
| Colonial Times
1670-1782 |
|
| The history of
public health in South Carolina begins with the earliest permanent European
settlement. Charleston, founded in 1670, was the largest population center of
the English settlements in South Carolina. The historical records from
Charleston give us a picture of death and misery from episodes of widespread
contagious and vector-spread diseases, including smallpox, diphtheria,
malaria, and yellow fever. These
recurrent epidemics of deadly diseases swept through the settlements
and the native American tribes and killed many people, with terrible
suffering. |
|
| The causes of the
diseases were not known - their association with climate, with the seasons of
the year, with swamps or with the
arrival of ships was noted. |
|
| Preventive measures
of quarantine and improved sanitation were implemented erratically and
medicine had few effective treatments. |
|