Northwest History. Alaska, Health Conditions. United States.

• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Published: 1936
• Subjects: salmon season; Juneau; Alaska; typhoid fever; Bristol bay; Bering sea; the Bureau of Fisheries; Dillingham; Snag Point; Nushagak; R. Swartz; fishing season; Northwest; Pacific > History > 20th century; Bering Sea; Pacific; Snag
• Online Access: http://content.libraries.wsu.edu/cdm/ref/collection/clipping/id/92262

Typhoid Fever Epidemic Sweeps Alaskan Towns: Disease Raging In Fishing Communities, At Height Of Year's Salmon Season. TYPOID FEFER EPIDEMIC SWEEPS ALASKAN TOWNS Disease Raging in Fishing Communities, at Height of Year's Salmon Season. JUNEAU, ALASKA, July 23.—(JP) — A serious outbreak of typhoid fever, described as of near-epidemic proportions, was reported raging today in settlements on the northern shores of Bristol bay, on the Bering sea. Radio requests for help came to the offices of both the Governor and the Bureau of Fisheries here. The disease was reported at Dillingham, Snag Point, Nushagak and other outposts. B. Swartz, representing the fishermen's union at Nushagak, messaged that the small hospital there was crowded with patients and the staff was overworked. Doctors, medicines and equipment were urgently needed, he reported. The hot weather was adding to the distress. The number of cases or whether any fatalities occurred was not reported. The salmon fishing season at Bristol bay, on the Bering sea, is now at its height. The area, one of the richest for red salmon in Alaska waters, was closed to fishing most of last season. The small population of the various settlements is increased largely during the fishing season.