This timeline details the second epidemic of Asiatic cholera in Belfast. Despite intensified preparations, this outbreak resulted in considerably higher case and death rates than had been experienced in 1832. However, Belfast's rates were once again significantly lower in comparison to many similar sized Irish and British towns and cities.
| Category | Details |
|---|---|
| Official Chronology | 2 March 1848 – November 1849 (with residual cases extending into 1850) |
| Initial Local Outbreak Site | Belfast Lunatic Asylum (Grosvenor Road), 1 November 1848. Rea's Court, Millfield, 27 November 1848, John Keenan (unconfirmed case). First Official Case: Thomas Tiernan, Belfast Workhouse, 1-4 December 1848 |
| Potential Transmission Vector & Environmental Risks | Likely to have been transported by Thomas Tiernan who had been removed from an area of Edinburgh where cholera had been present. Local transmission was likely accelerated by environmental conditions including poor sanitation and overcrowding. |
| Institutional Response |
• Municipal Boundaries extended • Introduction of Belfast Local Improvement Legislation • Union Fever Hospital opens in 1847 • Introduction of Belfast Sanitary Committee • Increased public health regulation and inspection • Increase of preventative sanitary measures |
| Statistics | Peak Period Spring–Autumn 1849 – Approximately 3,538 cases – 1,163 deaths. Mortality 33% |
| Notable Deaths |
14 July 1849: Rev. Matthew Langtree, an eminent Wesleyan minister, died at his residence in Cromac Street. 16 July 1849: Mrs Catherine Langtree, wife of Rev. Langtree. 14 August 1849: George Suffern, former Mayor of Belfast. 15/16 August 1849: Mary Suffern (sister of George who had nursed him). |
| Key Events |
• July 1838 – Irish Poor Law introduced – establishes workhouse system overseen by boards of guardians • 1839 Construction of workhouses begins • May 1841 Belfast Workhouse opens with 10 beds set aside for the sick • 1845 Irish Famine begins • 1847 Acute Fever (Typhus) epidemic in Belfast • March 1848 – Belfast Sanitary Committee Established • 1 November – first case of cholera reported in the Belfast Lunatic Asylum • 27 November suspected case, John Keenan • 1-4 December first official case and death – Thomas Tiernan in Belfast Workhouse • December 1848, 8 cases in workhouse – all fatal – including 6 children and one death within 10 hours of first symptoms. By the end of December cholera also taking hold within the town. • Early Feb 1849 – 33 cases and 8 deaths at Ewart's Mill (Crumlin Road) • 1 March 1849 Dr Samuel Browne appointed to post of Inspecting Officer for the Belfast Corporation – Immediately begins acting against sanitary issues including lodging houses. • May 1849 Epidemic escalates • 13 & 16 July Epidemic peaks. 152 cases and 54 deaths recorded between July. Increasingly affecting the affluent as well as the poor • August – epidemic declines rapidly • Mid-October – Epidemic virtually over |
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