13. The Canadian typhus epidemic of 1847
In 1847 Ireland struggled with the Great Famine. Thousands of Irish families fled their homeland, with many arriving in British Canada. The British shipped them to North America with little regard of their health, some boarding ships already suffering from typhus. The disease spread to previously healthy passengers during the voyage. On May 17, 1847, the first of the “fever ships” arrived at Grosse Isle in the Saint Lawrence River. The ships were quarantined, healthy passengers removed and placed in isolation wards hastily erected for the purpose. At the end of May, 40 ships moored in line in the Saint Lawrence River, and others were still on their way.
During the epidemic, at least 5,000 passengers died of typhus during their voyage to the New World. Many of them contracted the disease aboard ship, and the weak and infirm succumbed quickly. At the fever sheds erected at Grosse Isle (and other Canadian ports) the death rate was high. Those that died at sea were buried at sea, those who died in the Canadian ports were taken to isolated burial grounds for interment. Well over 20,000 Irish and Canadians died during the epidemic, including at least 40 clergymen who contracted the disease while ministering to the sufferers in the isolation sheds and ships. The epidemic also affected the Irish arriving in New York, where the death rate was much lower.