1946::Post-War Smallpox Resurgence in the Pacific Northwest

Fifteen weeks to control a deadly smallpox outbreak.

"1946::Smallpox Arrives on the Pacific Coast Aboard the USS Hermitage" Photo Clip: Public Domain

On February 5, 1946, two American Navy ships, the USS Hermitage and USS Haskell, arrived in Seattle, Washington. They had sailed across the Pacific from Japan with thousands of veteran troops aboard, all anxious to return home from war. As they waited to disembark, however, the routine inspection of the port authorities revealed three very sick soldiers on board. The ships were immediately quarantined, and the health authorities were called for advice. Upon examination, two of the three soldiers thought to have typhus had merely a bad fever, but for the third soldier, the threat of smallpox was very real. He had fallen ill near the beginning of the voyage, and the ship's medics had suspected the worst. To protect the other soldiers, the ship's captain sailed hundreds of miles off course to Pearl Harbour, where he was given enough supplies to vaccinate his 6,800 passengers and crew before continuing to Seattle. His quick decision to vaccinate all on board satisfied the health authorities, and after 20 hours of quarantine, the troops were free to disembark. It was a decision they would soon regret.

"1946::The Smallpox Outbreak Begins" Clip: The Seattle Star (1946) Seattle, Washington

The infected soldier was taken to the military hospital at Fort Lawton, where the patients and staff had rushed to vaccinate before his arrival. By sheer bad luck, however, a female patient transferring out to a civilian hospital unknowingly crossed paths with the infected soldier as she was leaving. She died of smallpox just a few weeks later and left a trail of contamination behind. The deadly disease quickly took hold of the civilian hospital, forcing it to quarantine. Measures were taken to control the outbreak, but it was too late. Multiple cases of smallpox began to appear in clusters all over Seattle.

"1946::Seattlers Line Up to be Vaccinated"

Clip: Spokane Chronicle (1946)

Spokane, Washington

By the end of March, the outbreak had reached epidemic proportions, and a State of Emergency was declared. Thousands lined up at Seattle's health clinics to be vaccinated, but the supply was quickly exhausted, and dozens were turned away. Struggling to curb the outbreak, the State of Washington reached out for any available supply of vaccines.

"1946::State of Emergency Declared"

Clip: The Bellingham Herald (1946) Bellingham, Washington

The State of Oregon responded to Seattle's cry for help by sending its own emergency supply of vaccines. But when smallpox cases began to appear in Portland and its neighbouring towns and cities, they realized it was time to start their own vaccination process. Within weeks, the State of Emergency had expanded to include the entire length of the Pacific Coast, stretching between Mexico and Alaska.

"1946::Victorians Line Up at Pandora Avenue Health Centre to Get Vaccinated"

Photo Clip: Times Colonist (1946) Victoria, British Columbia

As the smallpox outbreak escalated just south of the border, British Columbia's provincial health authorities learned that incoming and outgoing passenger ferries and commercial shipments at their international ports had been carrying on with business as usual, blindly putting their citizens at risk of contamination. The province immediately issued a quarantine order on all vessels arriving by air or sea, and urged British Columbians to get vaccinated. They also worked with the State of Washington to close their border to the unvaccinated and anyone without proof of vaccination. But that idea soon backfired when it was discovered that only 250,000 vaccines had been ordered for distribution in the province, which was not enough to vaccinate everyone. The lineup at the Pandora Avenue Health Clinic in Victoria and other health clinics around the province exceeded the supply. Thousands of British Columbians were turned away unvaccinated.

"1946::Fifteen Weeks Later"

Photo Clip: Times Colonist (1946) Victoria, British Columbia

By June, after fifteen weeks of madness, the smallpox epidemic of 1946 had ended. In the final review of the outbreak, it was estimated that nearly a million citizens along the Pacific coast had rushed to protect themselves with a shield of vaccination, warding off any chance the smallpox virus had to propagate. A total of 68 smallpox cases had been recorded, with 20 deaths and 41 survivors showing scars resulting from a severe attack.

"1946::Vaccination Opposers"

Clip: Victoria Daily Times (1946)

Victoria, British Columbia

Amid the outbreak, the Anti-Vivisection Society had tried to convince the masses that vaccination was no longer necessary in their modern society. Their research revealed that smallpox had already been eradicated in Britain for nearly a decade due to the government's successful vaccination program. However, the same vaccination program was now threatening injuries rather than protection. After more than a hundred years of compulsory vaccinations, Britain's program came under review and was eventually discontinued in 1971. Several years later, in 1980, the World Health Organization announced the eradication of smallpox from the earth, marking the end of the deadly disease known for thousands of years. Smallpox eradication is still regarded as one of the most significant achievements in international public health.

"1879::The Anti-Vivisectionists"

Clip: The Hamilton Spectator (1879)

Hamilton, Ontario

The anti-vivisectionist cause has existed for centuries, even if under different names. In 1921, the Anti-Vivisection Society was formed in Victoria, British Columbia, in response to post-World War I reports of experimental and torturous cruelty imposed on humans and animals in the name of science. However, even in their effort to reveal truths, the atrocities continued throughout the Second World War by warring countries, including, among others, the United States, Soviet Russia, the Imperial Japanese Army (Unit 731) and Nazi Germany. The anti-vivisectionists were credited for bringing many stories to light that would have otherwise been buried and forgotten.