1994 plague epidemic in Surat
| Date | 1994 |
|---|---|
| Location | Surat, Gujarat, India |
| Cause | possibly Yersinia pestis endemic |
| Outcome | 1.5 million people migrated |
| Deaths | 52 |
In 1994, a pneumonic plague epidemic broke out in India. 'Surat', Gujarat, was particularly affected. 52 people lost their lives and close to a quarter of the city's citizens fled the area for fear of being quarantined. Although the plague only lasted a little over two weeks, it caused widespread panic. Tourism was negatively affected, flights to India were cancelled, and some planes from India were fumigated at airports. [1][2]
Large scale flooding occurred due to the heavy rain and clogged sewers. This caused dead animals to remain out in the open, which added to the already unhygienic conditions.[3] Many people were afraid that the refugees would disperse the plague and potentially spread it around the world, but this never happened probably because of the efficient response by the Indian health authorities.[4]
Much like the Black Death that spread through medieval Europe, some questions still remain unanswered about the 1994 epidemic in Surat.[5]
Initial questions about whether it was an epidemic of plague arose because the Indian health authorities were unable to culture Yersinia pestis, but this could have been due to lack of sophisticated laboratory equipment.[5] Yet there are several lines of evidence strongly suggesting that it was a plague epidemic: blood tests for Yersinia were positive, a number of individuals showed antibodies against Yersinia and the clinical symptoms displayed by the affected were all consistent with the disease being plague.[6]
References
- ↑ Dutt, Ashok (July 2006). "Surat Plague of 1994 Re-Examined" (PDF). Review 37 (4): 755–760. Retrieved 31 October 2015.
- ↑ Byrne, Joseph Patrick (2008). Encyclopedia of Pestilence, Pandemics, and Plagues: A-M. ABC-CLIO. pp. 542–543. ISBN 978-0-313-34102-1. Retrieved 25 November 2011. (limited preview)
- ↑ "Surat: A Victim of Its Open Sewers". New York Times. September 25, 1994. Retrieved 2008-04-26.
- ↑ Burns, John F. (September 29, 1994). "With Old Skills and New, India Battles the Plague". New York Times. Retrieved 2008-04-26.
- 1 2 Hazarika, Sanjoy (March 14, 1995). "Plague's Origins A Mystery". New York Times. Retrieved 2008-04-26.
- ↑ "The Surat Plague and its Aftermath". Godshen Robert Pallipparambil. Retrieved 2008-04-26.
External links
- Jayaraman, K.S. (25 May 2000). "Was it really the plague in Surat?". Tribune India, Chandigarh. Retrieved 25 November 2011.
- Dutt, Ashok K.; Akhtar, Rais; McVeigh, Melinda (2006). "Surat plague of 1994 Re-examined". Southeast Asian journal of tropical medicine and public health 37 (4): 755–760. Retrieved 25 November 2011.
- "Articles on 'Plague in Surat'". The New York Times. Retrieved 25 November 2011.