Sickness and Illness Portrayed In Mexico's National Archives

Those suffering from yellow fever would complain of severe headaches, fevers that would cause hallucinations, thirst, cold sweats, stomach pain, nausea and vomiting. The vomit resembled rotten blood, hence the popular epithet for this disease. The causes were unknown and authorities could do little to prevent its spread. These reports showcase the actions taken by the "New Spain authorities to tackle this epidemic.

Every year, the military and San Sebastián hospitals would present weekly reports of the deceased and the cured patients to the governor of Veracruz.

These reports were then sent to the viceroy to decide the best course of action, as shown below.

Viceroy José de Iturrigaray instructed that a project be carried out to establish a "Lazaretto" for the care of the patients and all those infected had to be transferred to this "Lazaretto. "

A military corps was instructed to patrol the roads leading away from the port and to observe travelers who were ill and were trying to flee Veracruz. They were instructed to apprehend and transport them to the Lazaretto. They were also in charge of controlling the entry and exit of the sick in the Lazaretto.

The clothes would be removed from the sick, so that they could be easily recognized and thus avoid any escapes. They envisioned that the military corps had to be be made up of trustworthy and incorruptible people.

One of the guard would take the sick to the Lazaretto, either on foot, on horseback, or in a litter. Once inside, the patient would be checked and then it would be decided if they should be housed and treated there.

In the event that the person was confirmed as infected, they'd be detained and the guards had to surely bear the brunt of the discontent of the patients. In case that the person was not found ill, they'd be allowed to go without delay.

The guards had to personally inspect all muleteers and those traveling on foot, as they were the most likely to be infected.

Soldiers who became infected could not go the site because it would then be saturated, since the troops in San Juan de Ulúa alone had more than 70 patients at the time.

There are no records as to whether this Lazaretto was ever built, what is clear is that there were shortages and lack of resources to treat the infected.

From 1821 to 1824, various parts of Mexico were struck with a typhus epidemic. The main symptoms were strong headaches, yellow corneas, skin eruptions, bilious vomiting, foul-smelling stools, jumping tendons or seizures that caused death on the fourth day.

Doctors at the time called this disease "seasonal or putrid fevers," which caused high mortality rates in the population. In addition, they considered that it affected the indigenous and the poor the most because of their living conditions, since they had little ventilation in their homes, several family members would sleep in the same room, and given their lack of resources they'd wear the clothes of the deceased who had died of the fever.

For this reason, an Epidemic Regulation was published that same year, it established the prohibition of the sales of fruit and vegetables in the case of cholera and the mandatory declaration of cases of smallpox, cholera, typhus, and scarlet fever. It also specified measures regarding the transportation and burial of the deceased, and all of these measures were applied to the cholera epidemic of 1850.

The Supreme Health Council strengthened surveillance both in the capital city, states, and ports, especially regarding the symptoms of typhus, cholera and smallpox. For the latter they ordered timely vaccinations to avoid violent outbreaks.

Inspections were organized in homes, hospices, schools and convents both in Mexico City and in the sates in order to avoid large outbreaks, all of these actions were tied to attempts to improve the health services in the cities.

Here you can see reports of the outbreaks of yellow fever in Coatzacoalcos and Papantla (Veracruz) and hygiene measures that were to applied in Tuxpan to prevent the spread of the epidemic, as well as news of the presence of yellow fever in other countries.

Newspaper clippings about the polar camera.

At the beginning of the 20th century, the resolutions to end yellow fever and malaria led the Higher Health Council to disseminate, through brochures, the medical and treatment measures to be carried out in the regions prone to the epidemic and infected areas.