title: [Catarrhal epidemic disease (flu?) prevailed in Poland in 1788 in the light of "announcement" of March 31 of the same year].
abstract: In the second half of the eighteenth century the plague still decimated the population. The poor sanitary condition of towns and villages, insufficient hygiene, poverty, war were favored their spread. In view of the threats more and more were of interest to the government. One of them was catarrhal epidemic disease about the presence in Poland says "Notice" of 31 March 1788. As the result of this document this epidemic prevailed in almost all of Poland from March to April 1788, spreading rapidly and caused concern to the king and the Permanent Council. This resulted in that the royal physicians elaborated the guidance on symptoms and treatment methods and to make them public in press. In the absence of adequate access to medical care, this was a help to the population, which, based on generally available measures to address the disease itself. Given in the "Notice" treatment does not deviate from the commonly used depended on the severity of symptoms and was based on herbs and preparations expectorants, laxatives, emetics, and bloodlettings. The described of symptoms in "Notice" indicate that the disease could be flu for which the epidemic in this time says - not only in Poland but other European countries--the other references works. Under discussion subjected also the relationship between the flu epidemic of 1788 and the pandemic of the disease in the years 1782-1782.
authors.affiliation: Zakład Historii Medycyny i Farmacji Uniwersytetu Medycznego w Łodzi. bogumila.kempinska-miroslawska@umed.lodz.pl
authors.forename: Bogumiła
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Kempińska-Mirosławska
mesh_terms: D058872:Epidemics / Q000266:history*; D049671:History, 18th Century; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D007251:Influenza, Human / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000266:history*; D011044:Poland / Q000453:epidemiology