Jul 212015
 

The Church of our Saviour on the Spilled Blood, St Petersburg is a spectacular building and is a must see for anyone visiting the city. Both the interior and exterior of the church is decorated with incredibly detailed mosaics.

It has an interesting history as it was built by Alexander III to be dedicated as a memorial to his father Alexander II who was mortally wounded by a bomb on the spot where the Church was to be built. Construction was begun in 1883 and not concluded until 1907 and it was funded by the royal family and private donations. It was not used as a public place of worship but more of a place for memorial services.

It is very different to the other architecture seen in the city as it is in an earlier medieval Russian architecture style and was also meant to resemble the famous St Basil’s Cathedral in Moscow.

The church has suffered during the 1917 Revolution when it was looted and damaged. It was closed as a church in early 1930’s and used as a morgue during the Siege of Leningrad and was further damaged. In 1970 restoration began with proceeds from St Isaac’s Cathedral and the restoration was completed in 1997. The church has not been reconsecrated.

We did not get to go inside so no pictures from there. Further information can be found here and you can do a virtual tour of the inside here.

Even the lamp posts have gold on them
The bridge near the church
Marriage locks on the bridge close to the Church

We are still on our way to the Hermitage but that is going to be another post.

Jul 212015
 

Apart from the learning opportunities a major point for this cruise was the fact that the ship would be visiting St Petersburg.

St Petersburg the home of the Russian Royal family, the place of many history books I have read, the Hermitage Museum, Catherine’s Palace, the many other Royal Buildings, the 1917 Revolution, the Siege of Leningrad and the Soviet Era.

Over the years it has taken on an air of mystique. The fact travel in was restricted for so long also added to this. Even today it isn’t that easy to visit and being on a cruise ship was easier as you did not need a visa but you were not allowed to leave the ship unless you were on an escorted tour.

Buses all in a way!

I signed up for the two day St Petersburg tour and a full two days it was with us docking at 7am on day one and leaving 6pm the following day.

So we headed off through the Russian passport control where we were given an entry permit and a passport stamp, not sure why it had to be on the last page of my passport! So far the first seven pages of my passport are clear with intermittent stamps from various countries scattered throughout and most countries there is no evidence you were ever there! When I think of all the colourful stamps in my grandmother’s passport it seems a little unfair.

We assembled at the bus and met our guide Svetlana and we were off. The sound system in use off the bus was very good as each person had a receiver and Svetlana was able to speak normally and we could all hear and if you got more than around 40 metres away it faded out so you could always find her. A bit like the old childrens game of “Hotter, Colder”

Opposite the port were banks of apartment buildings all looking drab, grey and utilitarian.

When I asked about these I was told they were built in the 1970s and were part of the “Soviet Era” and you could hear the capitals.

Apparently some of these were not built with kitchens as you were fed all meals at the factories in which you worked and they were more a place to sleep rather than to live and some even now do not have kitchens.

There were quite the variation in buildings particularly in closer to the centre. Many of the historic buildings showed evidence of need of repair although there were quite a number of buildings encased in a shade-cloth style of material that were undergoing “reconstruction” in Svetlana’s words.  I am sure this is at a great cost but with so many still to do to retain their heritage it must be a concern.

There were quite a few flower boxes and gardens in public spaces which did make it look pretty.

St Petersburg was founded by Tsar Peter the Great 27 May 1703 on the Neva River in the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea. It  was the imperial capital of Russia during this time and is still considered the cultural capital. It was renamed Petrograd in 1918, then Leningrad in 1924 then back to St Petersburg in 1991. Moscow became the capital in 1918.

Many of the original buildings were constructed of timber so very few of these survive today. Many of the buildings were rebuilt in stone and as these were the Royal residences and are the beautiful buildings we admire today. There is a strong European influence and in fact the Royal family did not speak Russian but instead spoke French as a language of culture.

Academy of Fine Arts
Gold Straw Anyone?
Rostral Column

Gold Statue on top of the Academy of Arts
Admiralty and St Isaacs Cathedral

Lots of photos on the way to the Hermitage which was our point of call this morning. The sun hid from us and we had grey skies but no rain at this time.

Even with this limited amount of sun the gold domes are quite visible.

There were so many things to see on every side and so much history.

Eric and Rosemary Kopittke beside the Sphinx

Sphinx on the bank of the Neva

There were two sphinxes facing each other on the bank of the Neva River. The sphinxes were collected by the Royal family.

Taken from the bus, unknown church
Burger King
He looks a fairly hungry lion, seen near the Burger King

We stopped next at the Church of the Spilled Blood but I am going to put that in a new post.

Jul 122015
 

Today I had to say goodbye to my beloved Shannon. I am on the other side of the world when she left me, but thankfully two dear friends were there so she was not alone.

What is this little thing then?

Shannon joined the household in December 2004 as an eight week old puppy. Tami my older German Shepherd was not impressed as can be seen here.

You can see Tami wondering what on earth this little invader was all about.

Shannon settled in, much to Tami’s disgust.

Shannon loved her car rides!
 

After ten and a half years today I said goodbye. As you go over the Rainbow Bridge to a place of no thunder or noisy plover birds and as many Smacko treats and lots of pats, know I will miss you so much.

Jul 112015
 

When requesting any sort of information it is extremely important to write a directed query. You need to provide all relevant information. No, that does not mean reciting your entire family history!

Many archives will do a  very limited search and if you ask for “Everything you have on my Smith family” there is nothing they can do to help you. Don’t laugh I have heard it being asked!

However if you have a specific question you have a much better chance of getting a positive response, particularly in these times of staff cutbacks.

For example, this is a recent query I did to determine if an archive held staff files relating to my father:

Dear Sir


I am interested in determining if you hold the service records for the Brisbane City council tramways and also for the Mt Crosby Water Treatment plant. And if you do if I am able to access the service record/s of my father, David who died in 2003. I am happy to pay any required fee.

David Smith born 16 February 1940 address at time 109 Duke Street Annerley was a conductor, then tram driver then bus driver at Ipswich road depot from around 1966 to 1974.

Previously he had worked on the Mt Crosby water supply from around 1963 to 1966, address at that time Mt Crosby

As can be seen from this the first question was: Did they hold these files? If they did not then there was no need for them to read the detailed information about David.

If they did hold the files my query was could I access them and that I was happy to pay any required fee. If at this point there is a time closure period then again they could stop at that point. Then they needed to know that David was dead and there would be no breach of his privacy.

Then the detailed information can begin as this is when the archivist needs to have this information. I also provided detailed contact information if there was a need to contact me for further information.

I am pleased to say that this enquiry bore positive fruit and I received copies of the two staff cards relating to his service at the Mount Crosby pumping station and his service as a tram conductor then driver then bus driver with the Brisbane City Council.

David Smith driving a tram 13 April 1969, the last day of trams in Brisbane

Jul 112015
 

We are here prior to boarding the Celebrity Eclipse for the 8th Unlock the Past cruise and I had some time to look around Southampton. I like looking at old buildings as I have stonemasons in my family and England is a joy for this!

This building is being converted into a number of one and two bedroom flats. This reuse of buildings is important as you are then able to retain the character of an area.

It is an elegant building with its columns and stonework.

It is when you look closer at it you see the stonemasons’ work with these stone faces, each with its own face and personality.
 


Jul 102015
 


 The below press release is from MyHeritage 

MyHeritage Launches Breakthrough Global Name Translation™ Technology to Power Family History Discoveries
New technology eliminates language barriers to enhance family history research and preservation
TEL AVIV, Israel & LEHI, Utah – July 8, 2015: MyHeritage, the leading destination for discovering, preserving and sharing family history, today announced the launch of Global Name Translation™, a new technology to help families break through language barriers in the quest to uncover their past. The technology automatically translates names found in historical records and family trees from one language into another, in very high accuracy, generating all the plausible translations, to facilitate matches between names in different languages. In addition, a manual search in one language will also provide results in other languages, translated back to the user’s language for convenience. This is a unique innovation not offered elsewhere, useful for anyone interested in discovering their global roots.
There are many immediate benefits for users. For example, people living in the USA with Russian roots previously had to search for their ancestors in Russian to maximize their chances of finding pertinent information. The new technology will now accept searches in English, automatically increase their scope to cover Russian and Ukrainian as well, and conveniently translate all results back to English.
The new technology also enhances the acclaimed MyHeritage matching technologies to bridge across language gaps. For example, If a user from Greece with a family tree in Greek, is related to a user from Israel with a family tree entered in Hebrew, MyHeritage will be able to connect them, automatically matching between names in the ancient languages of Greek and Hebrew, and show the two users how their family trees overlap, leading to exciting family reunions like never before.
“Global Name Translation™ helps overcome the Tower of Babel syndrome”, said Gilad Japhet, Founder and CEO of MyHeritage. “The world is getting smaller and more connected, yet information from other countries is still mostly hidden from those who don’t speak the language. It’s our mission to develop the best technologies for facilitating family history discoveries for everyone, everywhere. Therefore we set an ambitious goal of taking down one of the most formidable walls that hampers research and discovery – the difficulty of translating names from one language to another. We’re proud to have pioneered this solution and thrilled with the value that it will provide to users around the world.”
MyHeritage has developed this technology using original research, advanced algorithms and based on its massive multilingual and international database of 6 billion family tree profiles and historical records. The technology covers first names and last names and is able to tackle not only names encountered in the past but also new names it has never encountered before. The technology is generic but also utilizes extensive dictionaries built by MyHeritage to cover synonyms and nicknames. Therefore a search for Alessandro (Alexander in Italian) will also find “Саша” which is the Russian form of Sasha, a popular nickname of Alexander in Russia.
The first version successfully translates names in between English, German, Dutch, French, Spanish, Catalan, Portuguese, Italian, Norwegian, Swedish, Danish, Greek, Hebrew, Polish, Czech, Russian and Ukrainian. The next version currently in development will add Chinese and Japanese, and additional languages will follow.

To take advantage of Global Name Translation™ technology, create a new family tree for free on MyHeritageand enjoy the automatic matches or use MyHeritage’s SuperSearchsearch engine for historical records.

About MyHeritage
MyHeritage is the leading destination for discovering, preserving and sharing family history. As technology thought leaders, MyHeritage is transforming family history into an activity that’s accessible and instantly rewarding. Its global user community enjoys access to a massive library of historical records, the most internationally diverse collection of family trees and ground-breaking search and matching technologies. Trusted by millions of families, MyHeritage provides an easy way to share family stories, past and present, and treasure them for generations to come. MyHeritage is available in 42 languages. www.myheritage.com
Jul 012015
 

Looking at the cause of death on our older certificates it can be hard to determine what actually caused the death due to the usage of some archaic terms not normally used today.

Sometimes it is a case the cause given is more of a symptom seen, as many of these certificates were issued before knowledge of infectious diseases. So seeing the “Black Pox” the “Blue Pox” etc is not unusual or even ‘Act of God’

Sometimes you might even see Causa Mortis Incognita  which means the cause of death was not known and the doctor wrote it in Latin rather than admit in English they didn’t have a clue!



To celebrate the release of the second edition of my book Death Certificates and Archaic Medical Terms I am going to share some terms here, with another 1500 terms plus available in the book.

The book also examines the history and evolution of death certificates. When did they start? What is on them and why it can be a case of “Buyer Beware”. 
What were the legal requirements? What does it mean when a death is certified? Why weren’t all deaths certified? Where can you further information about death certificate availability in your geographic area and more.

This title is available in book form from several retailers across the world, along with titles from many other excellent genealogy authors. 
The outlets are: 
Gould Genealogy (Australia)
My History (UK)

Global Genealogy (Canada)
Maia’s Books (United States)

It is also available as an ebook from gen-e-books

I also write a blog Historical Medical Miscellany for which I hope to do more frequent posts this year.
 

Abdominal Angina: sharp pain in the abdomen caused by insufficient blood supply often occurs a couple of hours of eating

Abdominal Dropsy: Abnormal accumulation of fluid in abdominal cavity

Abortus: Miscarriage (Latin)

Absinthism: symptoms such as delirium tremens seen in Alcoholism. Absinthe is an aromatic herb was used to flavour alcohol particularly in Europe

Act of God: When death has occurred, often suddenly without a known reason, possibly stroke or aneurysm

Addison’s Disease: A rare, chronic condition brought about by the failure of the adrenal glands to produce cortisol and aldosterone. Thomas Addison first identified the disease in 1855 while working at Guy’s Hospital in London. At that time, the main cause of the disease was as a complication of tuberculosis

Aden Fever: Dengue fever

Albuminuria: excess of albumin in urine often seen in kidney disease

Angina Membranacea: see Diphtheria (Latin)

Anthracnosis: Occupational disease of coal miners due to prolonged exposure to the coal dust results in fibrosis of lungs due to deposition of anthracite coal dust in the lungs

Apoplexia Cordis: Heart Attack (Latin)

Autumnal Catarrh: Hay fever

Bacillary Dysentery: Dysentery caused by bacteria Shigella dysenteriae

Bacteraemia: Presence of bacteria in blood

Bad Blood: see Syphilis, an infectious venereal disease

Baghdad Boil: Cutaneous Leishmaniasis caused by parasitic protozoans of the genus Leishmania. It is transmitted by sand flies 

Bang’s Disease: Brucellosis caused by Brucella bacteria: can be found in contaminated milk, dairy products or with animal exposure particularly pigs, goats and cattle

Barometer Makers Disease: mercury poisoning

Belly Bound: Constipated

Bilious attack: Gastric distress caused by a disorder of the liver or gall bladder

Black Consumption: Occupational disease of coal miners. Due to prolonged exposure to the coal dust results in fibrosis of lungs

Black Mortification: Gangrene

Blackwater Fever: Dark urine associated with high temperature and breakdown of red blood cells, seen in malaria

Bladder in Throat: Diphtheria which causes a pseudo-membrane in the throat

Bleeder’s Disease: Haemophilia

Blue Baby: baby born with blue appearance. Usually due to a heart defect (generally a ventricular defect) which does not allow the blood to become fully oxygenated

Bowel Hives: Enteritis, diarrhoea. Could be caused by a range of diseases

Brassfounder’s Ague: Caused by inhalation of metal fumes when heating metals especially zinc

Bright’s Disease: Inflammatory disease of kidneys may be acute or chronic. Ranked high as a cause of death 18thto early 20th centuries. Can be any of a range of diseases with the symptom of albuminuria (increased albumin (protein) in urine) First described by Dr Richard Bright in 1827

Bronze Diabetes: Caused by problem of iron overload which causes the skin to take on a bronze tint such as with haemochromatosis. Usually a genetic condition although iron overload has occurred in people long term home brewing in cast iron containers. Haemachromatosis

Camp Fever: Typhus. May also be typhoid fever caused by the bacteria Salmonella Typhi or in malaria. Continuing fevers seen in the army, particularly in the US Civil War

Cancrum Oris: Deep ulcer of lip and cheek often seen in young children in poor hygiene conditions

Canine Madness: Rabies, hydrophobia

Carcinoma Prostata: Prostate cancer (Latin)

Causa Mortis Incognita: Cause not known (Latin)

Cerebral Congestion: Bacterial or viral infection of the brain (Meningitis/encephalitis)

Cerebrospinal Fever: meningitis, may be bacterial or viral in origin

Change of Life: Menopause

Costiveness: Constipation, retention of faeces in bowels

Cottonpox: Milder form of smallpox Variola Minor

Cramp Colic: Possibly appendicitis or, food poisoning. As a symptom it is hard to be sure of actual causative medical condition

Dead Palsy: Loss of motion or feeling in a part of the body, probably after effects of a stroke

Death Struck: apoplexy, stroke

Decay of Nature: Old age usually

Decrepita Aetas: Old age

Decrepitude: Feebleness often due to old age

Dentito: Cutting of teeth, often characterised with fevers in children (Latin)

Diphtheria: Contagious acute disease of the upper respiratory tract where a membrane can grow across throat caused by bacterium Corynebacterium diphtheriae. The bacteria produces toxins which can affect most of the organs of body

Dock Fever: Yellow fever

Domestic Illness: Mental breakdown (more usually used for women)

Dropsy: Swelling from accumulation of fluid, often caused by kidney disease or congestive cardiac failure

Egyptian Chlorosis: Hookworm causing anaemia

Empyema: Pus often in chest cavity around the external lining of the lung

Enteric Fever: Typhoid fever caused by a bacteria Salmonella Typhi

Epidemic Fever: Typhus

Epidemic Cholera: Asiatic cholera

Epidemic Parotitis: Mumps

Ergotism: A convulsive disease caused from ingesting the mycotoxins from mould on spoiled grain. The Calviceps purpurea fungus produces alkaloids and ingestion of these cause long term poisoning

Ergotoxicosis: see Ergotism

Erythroblastosis Fetali: Haemolytic disease of the newborn (Latin)

Exhaustion From Cold and Want: Starvation and hypothermia

Falling Sickness: Epilepsy

Famine Fever: Typhus

Febris: Fever (Latin)

Febris Delirio: Fever with delirium (Latin)

Febris Dysenterica: Fever with bloody faeces

Febris Morbillosa: Measles (Latin)

Filth Disease: Typhoid caused by Salmonella Typhi

Fort Bragg Fever: Leptospirosis

Galloping Consumption: Tuberculosis with symptoms showing rapidly even though illness would have been present for a time period

Gaol Fever: Typhus

Gibraltar Fever: Brucellosis caused by Brucella bacteria: can be found in contaminated milk, dairy products or with animal exposure particularly pigs, goats and cattle

Glomerulonephritis: Inflammation of both kidneys See Bright’s Disease

Haemachromatosis: Inherited iron overload disordercauses the body to absorb more iron than usual from food. It results in excess iron being stored throughout the body and can result in skin pigmentation, diabetes and heart failure. Over time, the liver enlarges becomes damaged and can lead to serious diseases such as cirrhosis

Halstern’s Disease: see Syphilis

Hanot’s Disease: Cirrhosis of liver

Hansen’s Disease: see Leprosy

Hatter’s Disease: Mercury poisoning affects central nervous system

Hooping Cough: see Whooping cough

Hookworm: Infection by hookworm Ancylostoma duodenale and Nectator americanus parasitic nematode worms are abundant throughout the world, including in the following areas: southern Europe, North Africa, India, China, south east Asia, some areas in the United States, the Caribbean, and South America. Enters body through soles of feet. This hookworm is well known in mines because of the consistency in temperature and humidity that provide an ideal habitat for egg and juvenile development. Ancylostoma duodenal can be ingested in contaminated food and water but most common route and only route for Nectator americanus is through penetration of the skin. Anaemia major effect due to loss of iron and blood

Horrors: Delirium tremens: Hallucinations due to alcoholism

Imposthume: Abscess, collection of purulent matter

Jail fever: Typhus

King’s Evil: Tuberculosis of neck and lymph glands, scrofula. There was a belief the disease could be cured by the touch of the king


Lepra Syphilitica: Syphilis

Little’s Disease: Cerebral palsy first described by William John Little (1810-1894), British physician

Locked Jaw/Lockjaw: Tonic spasm of the muscles of mastication, causing the jaws to remain rigidly closed. Usually refers to tetanus

Lues Disease: Syphilis

Mad Hatter Syndrome: Mercury poisoning affects central nervous system. Occupational disease of hatmakers who used the mercury to stiffen the felt

Malarial Cachexia: Generalised state of debility that is marked by anaemia, jaundice, splenomegaly, and emaciation. Results from long-continued chronic malarial infection

Malignant Fever: Typhus

Marasmus: Severe malnutrition. Failure to thrive, usually used for young children

Marasmus Senilis: Wasting or decay of body in aged persons

Mariner Disease: Scurvy

Mediterranean Fever: Brucellosis caused by Brucella bacteria: can be found in contaminated milk, dairy products or with animal exposure particularly pigs goats and cattle

Membranous Croup: Diphtheria

Miasma: Before knowledge of infectious diseases the poisonous/bad smelling vapours thought to infect the air and cause disease

Miner’s Anaemia: See Hookworm

Morbid Intemperance: Alcoholism, overuse of alcohol

Morbus: Disease, sickness


Morbus Brightii: Bright’s disease, kidney disease which may be acute or chronic

Morbus Sacer: Epilepsy. It has been believed in the past that epileptics were ‘God-Touched’

Nautical Fever: Typhus on board ship

Necrosis: Death of cells, tissue or bone through injury or disease

Ohara’s Fever: Tularaemia

Overlaid/Overlain: To lie over or upon a child so as to cause the child  to suffocate 

Pea-picker’s Disease: Leptospirosis

Phosphorus Necrosis of the Jaw: Disease caused by contact or use of white phosphorous poisoning, often seen in matchmakers. Disease characterised by deterioration of bone especially lower jaw

Phthisis: Tuberculosis

Plague of Venus: Syphilis

Quick Consumption: Faster onset of tuberculosis symptoms, Galloping Consumption

Quintana Fever: Trench Fever

Rag-Pickers Disease: Malignant pustule and febrile disease probably anthrax, caused by the bacterium Bacillus anthracis
 

Ratcatchers’ Disease: Caused by Leptospirosis a bacterial disease often found in urine of rodents, (also known as Weil’s syndrome, Mud fever, Field fever, Canefield fever, 7 day fever, Black Jaundice) Can also be the Bubonic Plague depending on time period and occurrence of plague among rats in the area

Rising of the Lights: Believed to be pleurisy, croup or some infection of the lungs

Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever: Acute rickettsial disease (Rickettsia rickettsia) transmitted by ticks. Major symptoms similar to epidemic typhus (headache, joint and back pain, prostration high fever which can progress to neurological symptoms and death).The rash covers whole body including palms and soles of feet. The 20-25% fatality rate in untreated patients makes it the most severe rickettsial infection in the Americas. Can also occur in Canada, the USA Mexico, Costa Rica, Colombia, Panama and Brazil. Also known as Black Measles, Blue Disease due to the dark rash

Roseola Infantum: Sudden rash affecting infants and younger children caused by a virus Human Herpes Virus 6B or Human Herpes Virus 7 also known as Sixth Disease

Saint Gothard Anaemia: Hookworm

Scarlet Fever: Fever caused by a bacteria Streptococcus pyogenes generally presents as very sore throat, rash and fever. Before the availability of antibiotics, scarlet fever was a major cause of death. It also sometimes caused late complications, such as glomerulonephritis and endocarditis leading to heart valve disease (Rheumatic Fever), all of which were protracted illnesses and often fatal

Scurvy: Caused by lack of vitamin C which is required for collagen production in humans. Seen most often in sailors, soldiers or in starvation situations e.g. Irish Famine where people are unable to obtain fresh fruit or vegetables. Characterised by softening of the gums, haemorrhages under the skin and general debility can lead to death

Senectus Ultima: Old age

Sore Throat Distemper: Diphtheria or quinsy

Spanish Flu: Influenza pandemic of 1918-1919. So called as Spain at the time had no censorship of its newspapers and the outbreak was heavily reported there before being reported in countries with censorship due to World War One (even though illnesses had already occurred in those places). Exact origin of this strain of the influenza virus not known, postulated it could be the USA or China or indeed Europe

St Erasmus Disease: Colic

St Fiacre’s Disease: Haemorrhoids


St Gervasius Disease: Rheumatism

St Gete’s Disease: Carcinoma

St Gile’s Disease: Leprosy or Carcinoma

St Hubert’s Disease: Hydrophobia, rabies

St Job’s Disease: see Syphilis

St John’s Dance: see St Vitus Dance

St John’s Evil:  Epilepsy

St Main’s Disease: Scabies

St Vitus Dance: Also called Sydenham’s chorea. Characterised by jerky, uncontrollable movements associated with rheumatic fever caused by the bacteria Streptococcus pyogenes

Stonemason’s Lung: Occupational Lung disease suffered by stonemasons due to inhalation of stone dust

Summer Complaint: Diarrhoea usually in infants/young children.. Possibly from spoiled food or milk which is more likely to spoil in summer

Thresher’s Fever: Acute inflammation of the lungs caused by a hypersensitivity reaction of the lung after contact with mould spores from hay, straw and other crops. Occupational disease

Throat Fever: Probably scarlet fever or could be diphtheria

Trench Foot: Condition caused by prolonged exposure to damp, cold, unsanitary conditions. Foot becomes cold, numb, mildly swollen. If untreated can progress to blisters and ulcers, tissue dies resulting in gangrene Particular problem on the western Front in World War One

Tuberculosis: Infectious disease of humans and animals caused by the bacterium Mycobacterium tuberculosis and characterised by the formation of tubercles on the lungs (around 90% of the time) and other tissues of the body, often developing long after the initial infection. The M. tuberculosis complex consists of four other TB-causing mycobacteria: M. bovis, M. africanum, M. canetti, and M. microti. M. bovis was once a very common form of tuberculosis but this has markedly decreased as a public health issue with the advent of pasteurised milk in developed countries. The other three mycobacteria are rarer causes of tuberculosis

Tularaemia: Infectious disease caused by the intracellular bacterium Francisella tularensis. Found in rabbits, hares and pikas in North America. The disease is named after Tulare County, California. (also Pahvant Valley Plague, Rabbit Fever, Deer Fly Fever, or Ohara’s Fever)

Typhoid Fever: An enteric fever caused by the bacteria Salmonella Typhi. This was not known in earlier days so Typhoid and Typhus which had many similar symptoms were often confused. Typhoid was often more common in the summer months and warmer weather

Typhoid Fever of India: Asiastic Cholera

Typhus: caused by the Rickettsia bacterium (Rickettsia prowazeki) transmitted by bites from lice (particularly the human body louse). The epidemic or classic form is louse borne; the endemic or murine is flea borne. It is marked by high continued fever lasting from two to three weeks, stupor alternating with delirium, intense headache and by a copious eruption of dark red spots upon the body. Thirty percent plus of patients die. More commonly seen in winter potentially as spread by bite of insect with the colder weather clothes were not changed as often although can occur all year around

Variola: Smallpox, highly contagious viral disease characterised by fever and weakness and skin eruption with pustules that form scabs that slough off leaving scars in around 65-80% survivors. Has around 30-35% mortality rate. Blindness occurs in around 5% survivors. Last case seen in 1977 and the disease is believed to be eradicated

Variola Major: Most severe and most common form of smallpox, had around 30-35% mortality rate

Variola Minor: A milder form of smallpox causing less mortality (only about 1% of cases are fatal compared to 30-35% in Variola major

Variola Sine Eruptione: Smallpox with rash seen in some vaccinated people

Visitation of God: When death has occurred, often suddenly without a known reason, possibly stroke or aneurysm


War Fever: Epidemic Typhus caused by the Rickettsia bacterium transmitted by bites from human body louse see Typhus

White Plague: Tuberculosis

Yellow Fever: An acute viral haemorrhagic disease transmitted by bite of mosquito A. aegypti infected with a Flavivirus. Found in Africa south of the Sahara and equatorial South America. (Yellow jack, American Plague, Bronze John, Dock Fever)