Influenza
When the Influenza epidemics struck New York and Ricketson’s immediate community, it occurred at a time of the year that was persistent, but very different from the more common febrile epidemics that came into New York such as Yellow Fever, and the Hudson Valley such as Ship Fever (Typhus) and Spotted Fever. The other major epdeimics for this period were those related to Measles and Small Pox, with a number of studies also demonstrating ongoing problems with less easily transmissable diseases like the Mumps, Diphtheria, and Consumption or Phthisis (tuberculosis). Ricketson’s most important epidemiological study of the New York region was of the Influenza epidemics that frequently erupted within the region. This finally, led him to post and distribute the following Circular to the community and his peers throughhout the State. This would be later be followed by a fairly comprehensive multi-regional review of Influenza as a New York climate related public health problem.
Following his responses to the Circular, Ricketson also received responses from physicians located as far away as the Northwestern part of the State near the Canadian border. This led him to study to geography of influenza as a climatological phenonenon and then published his findings both in the form of a pamphlet and as an article in Medical Repository. The front page of the pamphet is provided, followed by the complete article that was published, in text format.
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Medical Repository v. 12 (Second Hexade vol. 6), no. 4, 1809
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Brian Altonen, MPH, MS 