Strangers′ Disease: Determinants of Yellow Fever Mortality during the New Orleans Epidemic of 1853

During the summer of 1853, New Orleans experienced one of the worst epidemics in the history of the United States. Immigrants accounted for a vast majority of the deaths. In this paper, we analyze differential mortality risk from yellow fever using microdata form interment records. Using a logit mod...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Explorations in economic history 1995-10, Vol.32 (4), p.517-539
Main Authors: Pritchett, Jonathan B., Tunali, Insan
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Disease
Economic history
Epidemics
Fever
History
Immigrants
Immunization
Louisiana
Mortality
Poverty
U.S.A
Urban areas
Yellow fever
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Summary:During the summer of 1853, New Orleans experienced one of the worst epidemics in the history of the United States. Immigrants accounted for a vast majority of the deaths. In this paper, we analyze differential mortality risk from yellow fever using microdata form interment records. Using a logit model, we sort out the influence of demographic and socioeconomic factors on mortality risk. We establish that the strong relationship between nativity and yellow fever mortality disappears once we control for poverty status and immunization as measured by duration of residence in New Orleans.
ISSN:0014-4983
1090-2457
DOI:10.1006/exeh.1995.1022