1912年以前湖南的疫灾流行与防治

Prevention of Epidemic Diseases in Hunan in the Time Before 1912

湖南是一个灾害频发的省份,对人民生产生活和社会发展影响最大的除水旱灾害之外,当数传染病流行造成的疫灾,这是一种直接危害人类健康甚至危及生命,给社会造成巨大损失的灾害。民国以前影响湖南的主要有鼠疫、霍乱、天花、麻诊、伤寒、肝炎、流感、疟疾、血吸虫、痢疾等。疫灾多由水旱虫灾饥馑引发。对于疾疫的救治方式,一为积极的方式,即施药治病;一为消极的方式,即巫术禳灾。近代防疫宣传和措施在城市也许有一定成效,但对广大贫苦人民尤其是农村人口来说,他们处于贫穷和饥饿的境地,首要的问题乃是解决温饱,卫生和防疫不过是一种奢望。他们缺医少药,遇疫仍不免"修斋建醮,乞灵冥漠"。

Hunan is a place that the disasters would take place frequently except the drought and floods. The epidemic diseases always would plague there. This plague would harm the lives of the people there. Before 1912, the main plagues such as plague, cholera, smallpox, measles, typhoid fever, hepatitis, flu, malaria, haematozoon and dysentery etc always harmed people there. Some plagues were caused by the drought or flood and hungery directly. The ways and means of curing these diseases can be concluded as the two, one is to control the diseases by medicine the other is to ask the witchcrafts. The modem prevention ways to cure the above diseases achieved a great deal. However, the then broad masses laked of the knowledge due to their sufferings from hungry. The hygiene prevention was an extravagant hope then, because they were short of medicine and hygiene service. When they suffered diseases they had to ＂pray the God and their ancestors＂.