The last epidemic of Asiatic cholera in Warsaw in the 19th century – prevention, treatment and course in the light of sources from the years 1892–1894

At the beginning of the 19th century, cholera, which was endemic in India, began its journey around the world. As a result of population migration and the development of means of transport, the cholera pandemic claimed its toll five times throughout the world during that century. At first, it was perceived as an unknown “act of God”, later – mainly empirically – methods of preventing and treating cholera were discovered. In 1883, Robert Koch discovered and proved that the comma bacillus was responsible for the spread of the disease. Understanding the etiology of cholera allowed us to make some preparations for the appearance of the disease in Warsaw, which occurred in September 1892. The following year, it was mild, and it did not attack violently until 1894. It spread mainly among the poorest social classes, where 1,514 people were infected during that year, more than 1/3 of whom died. Compared to 1852, when 11,042 Warsaw residents fell ill with cholera (4,747 died), the last nineteenth-century epidemic had a mild course, but mortality was still high (39.9%). The reasons for this state of affairs were seen in the lack of access to clean, filtered water in the largest epidemic centers in Szmulowizna, Mokotów and Ochota, in poor sanitary conditions and an inappropriate diet. An additional difficulty was the late arrival of cholera patients to hospitals, who often arrived there in a dying state. This was the result of a rumor spreading around Warsaw that doctors in hospitals were poisoning patients to end the epidemic. It died out in Warsaw in the autumn of 1894, and the global pandemic two years later.