Epidemic diseases in the early Choson period were big problems to the people and society. However, the weapons to the epidemic diseases were very limited at that time. There were few drugs and well-trained practitioners for people. Most people could only depend on religious means and simple folklore medicine including inhalation of specific flavor. People tried to overcome or prevent the epidemics by praying, sorcery, ornaments, runaway and isolation. In most cases, the epidemic diseases came with or broke out from the famine, severe labour (especially in civil engineering) imposed by the ruling class. The epidemics of that time are thought to be typhoid fever, epidemic typhus, or similar febrile diseases.
Communicable Disease Control/*history ; Disease Outbreaks/*history ; English Abstract ; History of Medicine, Medieval ; Human ; Korea

Based on archival materials, the Xiangya's anti-epidemic history in a century from its establishment to 2020 is divided into 4 stages. The first stage (1906-1926), Edward Hicks Hume and YAN Fuqing, the founders of Xiangya, prevented and controlled smallpox and plague. The second stage (1929-1953), during the resumption of Xiangya, students prevented and controlled cholera, plague, dysentery, typhus, and other infectious diseases. In the third stage (1953-1999), in a peacetime, Xiangya actively fought against schistosomiasis, hydatidosis, malaria, leprosy, tuberculosis and other epidemics. The fourth stage (2000-2020), the era of Central South University. Medical staff in Xiangya fight SARS, influenza A (HN) flu, Ebola hemorrhagic fever, coronavirus disease 2019, etc. Over the past hundred years, Xiangya people joined together to spread benevolence and love, apply medical knowledge and skills, combat the epidemic and rescue people in difficulties, which made a great contribution to the motherland and the people.
Betacoronavirus ; China ; Communicable Disease Control ; history ; Communicable Diseases ; history ; Coronavirus Infections ; Epidemics ; history ; History, 20th Century ; History, 21st Century ; Humans ; Incidence ; Pandemics ; Pneumonia, Viral

This paper purports to identify and analyze the medical information of the frontline soldiers in the Northwest borderland provinces of Han Dynasty, especially Juyan and Dunhuang region, through an heuristic reading of the Juyan Bamboo Slips and the Dunhuang Bamboo Slips of the Han Dynasty. My findings are as follows. The most frequent disease found in the bamboo slips was the external injury. The injury of the frontline soldiers mainly occurred from the quarrels among armed soldiers using weapons. The bamboo slips also demonstrate that the quarrels usually arose due to the fierce tension caused by the frontier line service such as heavy guard activity and labour duty. Undernourishment and chronic stress the soldiers suffered might be another reasons. The second most common disease harassing the soldiers was exogenous febrile disease. In most cases reviewed in this paper, the exogenous febrile disease was usually concurrent with complex symptoms such as chills, fever, headache, etc. The bamboo slips show that the exogenous febrile disease was related to the harsh climate of the Northwest provinces, featuring extremely dry weather and the large magnitude of diurnal temperature fluctuations. In addition, the annual temperature range in the Northwest province was huge, fluctuating between very cold and dry winter and very hot and dry summer. The third most common disease this study identified was the disorder of the digestive system and respiratory system. However, these two types of disease were virtually indistinguishable in the bamboo slips, because the ancient Chinese chroniclers did not distinguish them, usually dubbing both diseases simply 'abdominal pain.' It should be mentioned that a few slips mention contagious disease such as dysentery and dermatolosis, and sudden death, as well. Overall, the bamboo slips demonstrate extremely poor status of the soldiers' heath condition and poor medical environment surrounding the soldiers stationing in the Northwest borderland military camps. The records also show that acupuncture, applying a plaster, drugs were the most common medical treatment. Drugs among them was the most frequently used. Whereas Acupuncture, applying a plaster were very rarely used. Medication has been used in three ways: powdered medicine, medicinal decoction and pill. Medicinal decoction was the most commonly used way.
China/epidemiology ; Climate ; Communicable Disease Control/history ; Communicable Diseases/epidemiology/etiology/history ; Digestive System Diseases/epidemiology/etiology/history/prevention & control ; History, Ancient ; Humans ; Military Medicine/*history/statistics & numerical data ; Military Personnel/*history ; Wounds and Injuries/epidemiology/etiology/history/prevention & control

China ; Communicable Disease Control ; History, 20th Century ; Humans ; Plague ; therapy ; Public Health ; history ; Quarantine

There were severe outbreaks of cholera and syphilis in the late Chosen Dynasty. In this article, I examine how these diseases spreaded and which preventive and curative measures were used against them. There were five times of cholera epidemic in Chosen Dynasty. Oriental medicine was initially adopted for the prevention and cure of the disease, but it did not produce remarkable results. Disinfection center and Cholera Clinic, the first special institution for the patients suffering from epidemic diseases, were established in Jeol-yung island, but could not be run properly at first. As preventive measures came to be more westernized, the popular awareness of understanding of the disease was improved. Temporary quarantine stations were established, and Korean government announced several rules against cholera. Contemporary Korean physicians had not known well about syphilis. Syphilis began to spread after the 1905 Protectorate Treaty was contracted and the Japanese migrated to Korea in large numbers. Syphilis had already spreaded widely among the Japanese prostitutes, and special clinic was established from relatively early times. After the 1905 Treaty, Korean women entered into the Japanese prostitutes' house, and syphilis disseminated among the Koreans. Korean government did not establish special clinic as Japanese did, but Kwangjewon made efforts to enlighten the people and carried out veneral disease checks and remedy of the prostitutes. Registration of the prostitutes and collection of taxes from them became two policies to root out the prostitution and syphilis.
Cholera/*history ; Communicable Disease Control/*history ; English Abstract ; History of Medicine, 19th Cent. ; History of Medicine, 20th Cent. ; Human ; Japan ; Korea ; Preventive Medicine/*history ; Syphilis/*history

Department of Medical History, College of Medicine, Yonsei University, Korea.
China ; Communicable Disease Control/*history ; Female ; History, 20th Century ; Humans ; Male ; Pregnancy ; Sexually Transmitted Diseases/*history/prevention & control/therapy ; Social Control, Formal