1900–1904 San Francisco plague: Difference between revisions

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The '''San Francisco plague of 1900–1904''' was an epidemic of [[bubonic plague]] centered on [[San Francisco]]'s [[Chinatown, San Francisco|Chinatown]]. It was the first plague epidemic in the continental United States.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Anderson |first=Elizabeth T. |date=May–June 1978 |title=Plague in the Continental United States, 1900–76 |journal=Public Health Reports |volume=93 |issue=3 |pages=297–301 |pmc=1431896 |pmid=349602}}</ref> The epidemic was recognized by medical authorities in March 1900, but its existence was denied for more than two years by California's Governor [[Henry Gage]]. His denial was based on business reasons, to protect the reputations of San Francisco and California and to prevent the loss of revenue due to quarantine. The failure to act quickly may have allowed the disease to establish itself among local animal populations.<ref name=Echenberg237>Echenberg 2007, p. 237</ref> Federal authorities worked to prove that there was a major health problem, and they isolated the affected area; this undermined the credibility of Gage, and he lost the governorship in the 1902 elections. The new Governor [[George Pardee]] implemented a medical solution and the epidemic was stopped in 1904. There were 121 cases identified, including 119 deaths.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Risse|first1=Guenter B.|title=Plague, fear, and politics in San Francisco's Chinatown|date=2012|publisher=The Johns Hopkins University Press|location=Baltimore|isbn=978-1-4214-0510-0|pages=277–298}}</ref><ref name=Echenberg231>Echenberg 2007, p. 231</ref>