Charles Town established as a colony.

Provincial Legislature requires incoming vessels produce evidence that no persons on board are suffering a contagious disease before they are allowed to dock.

Yellow fever epidemic.

A Pest House was built on Sullivan’s Island for isolation of those with a communicable disease.

Yellow fever and smallpox epidemic.

Yellow fever and smallpox outbreaks.

A Health Department was established in Charleston, due primarily to concerns about the importation of diseases from ships coming into the port city.

Large outbreak of smallpox.

Quarantine measures were established for incoming ships.

Yellow fever outbreak.

Public hospital established for sick sailors and other transient people.

A new Pest House was built on Sullivan’s Island to replace the one destroyed by the “Great Storm” of 1752.

Extensive outbreak of smallpox.

Ordinances passed that banned filth from being thrown into the streets, and stated that goats and swine roaming freely would be slaughtered.

Ordinance passed that any vessel at a wharf found to be foul or offensive could be removed to a farther distance to be cleaned, ventilated and fumigated within 24 hours.

The Medical Society of Charleston was established.

Yellow fever epidemic killed over 2% of the entire population in the city.

Ordinance passed that established a penalty for allowing dogs to roam at large.

Health Department officially established as the City of Charleston Health Dept.

Ordinance passed that established a $5 fine for throwing filth in the streets.

State Board of Health established.

“It smelled bad here and already had for 50 years.” Cases of Typhoid and Cholera reported.

Implemented Smallpox vaccinations. There were 170 recorded deaths from Scarlet Fever.

Began education for midwives. Gave 3,733 vaccinations.

An investigation into privy vaults and cesspools determined they were poisoning drinking and household water. Quarantine laws were passed. The first case of consumption (TB) was reported.

Charleston Earthquake. 96 deaths attributed to earthquake with thousands injured.

Almost 14% of all deaths were due to Tuberculosis (TB).

A pest house was built on Plum Island.

Almost 17% of all deaths attributed to the white plague (TB).

Cases of Typhoid, Diarrhea and Dysentery. 206 deaths from Typhoid.

288 cases of Typhoid fever reported. 58% of all cisterns inspected were condemned due to pollution and sewage infiltration.

Determination made that disease was not caused by odors (miasmus), but often by mosquitoes. 54 cases of smallpox reported.

A safe, central water supply was developed to replace the systems of cisterns. The first public health nurse was hired, who was paid by the Ladies Benevolent Society.

Charleston undertook the first government sponsored malaria control drainage project. State law enacted that required smallpox vaccination to attend school.

A Typhoid fever epidemic was traced to milk containers being washed in polluted water. Ordinances passed to allow inspections of milk and meat. The Health Department startes inspecting food and dairy establishments.

Testing of public water supplies now required by state law.

Another increase in Typhoid fever due to pollution in underground cisterns.

A Smallpox epidemic in a school.

Increased cases of Typhoid reported, attributed to privy vaults. 32 dairies were condemned.

136 deaths from Pellagra. New ordinance passed requiring that any cows kept in the City of Charleston have air space of at least 600 cubic feet and that no more than one cow be kept on any lot.

“The Great Epidemic”: An Influenza epidemic and whiskey was distributed as a form of treatment. An outbreak of Cerebro Spinal Meningitis caused 33 deaths. The first public health nurse hired by the Health Department.

Charleston becomes the first city in the US to require pasteurization on milk. The US Public Health Service asked for the assistance of the City Health Department at the Venereal Disease clinic at Roper Hospital because “the work has grown so heavy and is increasing in such proportions.”

Hogs were allowed to stay at the dump to eat garbage. The Charleston County Health Department was established. There were 266 deaths from Smallpox. The average age at time of death in Charleston was 39 years for a white person and 22 years for a black person. The infant mortality rate was over 195 and the rate of stillbirths was 150. Heart disease was the #1 cause of death, followed closely by pneumonia, with smallpox as the 3rd leading cause. The State Board of Health formalized and standardized the training of midwives.

First public health Nutritionist hired.

Dairies were ordered to close unless they reduced the bacterial count.

The City and County Health Departments jointly moved into a building at Society and Meeting streets.

Typhoid outbreak.

The City and County Health Departments combined into one, the Charleston County Health Department. The Health Department took over the Well Baby clinics which had been established by the Red Cross.

Almost 3,000 cases of Influenza reported. The Health Department had 844 venereal disease visits at its clinic. Mosquito control program began in efforts to reduce the cases of malaria.

Infant mortality rate was 68.5 in Charleston County and 57.7 in the City of Charleston. There were over 8,000 visits to the Health Departments Venereal Disease clinic. A program to destroy rats and to “rat-proof” buildings was started because of the continued high incidence of typhus.

The average age at time of death in Charleston was 57 years for a white person and 36 years for a black person. The infant mortality rate was 64 and the rate of stillbirths was 63.6. Heart disease was the #1 cause of death, followed by Malaria and Tuberculosis.

The number of visits to the Venereal Disease clinics reached 109,058.

Charleston was one of only 200 counties in the US to begin providing the Salk vaccine against Polio.

The first year that there were no cases of polio reported.

Infant mortality in Charleston County was 32.6 per 1,000 live births, approximately 25 for white infants and 44 for black infants.

The Charleston County Health Department moved from its former location, the Old Citadel Building on Marion Square, to the Leon Banov Health Center which was dedicated to Dr. Leon Banov who led the Health Department for 41 years, from 1920-1961.

The Home Health Program began.

44,532 patients were served at a Health Department clinic.

South Carolina has the lowest life expectancy rating in the US at 68 years. County Health Departments throughout the State were grouped into 12 Districts under the South Carolina Department of Health & Environmental Control (DHEC). The Charleston County Health Department fell into the Trident Public Health District along with Berkeley and Dorchester Counties.

Infant mortality rate was 15.3 per 100,000. Charleston had the highest incidence of Tuberculosis and Syphilis in the State; the Charleston rate was 29.5/100,000, while the South Carolina rate was 19.3/100,000, and the United States rate was 11.8/100,000.

Immunization requirements for all school children established.

The Family Planning Program was introduced in the Health Department clinic.

The first satellite Charleston County Health Department clinic was established on James Island. The infant mortality rate was 17.6/100,000.

A second satellite location was established near North Park Village. The average life expectancy for residents of Charleston County reached 73.2 years.

The Women’s, Infants, and Children’s (WIC) Nutritional Supplement program began. It continues to this day with its goal of providing nutritious food and education for pregnant and nursing women, infants and children up to age 5. Heart disease accounted for almost 34% of all deaths in the county, followed by Cancer at 17% and Cirrhosis of the Liver at almost 15%.

Charleston reported its first case of rabies in 26 years. There was an outbreak of food poisoning at a school that affected 200 students and was due to improper handling of turkey. Satellite clinic locations had grown to 6 sites in addition to the services provided from the Banov Building on Calhoun Street.

County Health Department responsibilities transferred to the State Department of Health & Environmental Control (DHEC). The Charleston County Health Department, together with the Berkeley and Dorchester County Health Department now operate under the management of the Trident Public Health District of SC DHEC.

Heart disease and Cancer are the top 2 causes of death in the county.

The Health Department saw its first AIDS patient.

Hurricane Hugo hits Charleston.

Infant mortality rates in Charleston County had decreased from a rate of almost 33% in 1960 to 12% in 1990. The number of food establishments inspected by the Health Department grew from 400 in 1960 to 1800 by 1990.

2 deaths were reported due to the bacteria Vibrio vulnificus in contaminated oysters.

Infant mortality rate was 12.3 per 100,000.

Cases of cyclospora diagnosed among women golfers who attended golf tournament. Found to be from Guatamalan rasberries contaminated with waste water. Leads to nationwide concerns about fruits and vegetables not being washed properly.

Tuberculosis outbreak at a Charleston County high school. The primary case and 5 secondary cases were identified, and all associates of these cases were given preventive treatment. All students at the school were given TB tests and followed for one year.

The Trident Public Health District provided flu and pneumonia shots to senior citizens at the Coastal Carolina Fair.