Title: Chills and fever : health and disease in the early history of Alaska /
Authors: Fortuine, Robert.
Publisher: University of Alaska Press,
Year: 1989
Subjects: Public Health; Communicable Diseases; American Native Continental Ancestry Group; Public Health history; History, 19th Century; History, 18th Century; Communicable Diseases history; American Native Continental Ancestry Group history; Public health Alaska History.; Eskimos Health and hygiene History.; Diseases Alaska History.; Alaska; Alaska History; Alaska
Abstract: Focuses on the role of health and disease in the history of Alaska from earliest times to 1900, with primary emphasis on Alaska native people. Specific objectives: 1) to reconstruct as fully as possible the diseases from which the Alaska natives suffered around the time of first European contact and before western culture had a strong influence on health; 2) to discuss health aspects of the early recorded history of Alaska, including the beginnings of medical care and the impact of disease and death on historical events; and, 3) to trace in chronological fashion the introduction and spread of certain diseases which have had a profound influence on the lives of the peoples of Alaska, both Native and Caucasian.
Contents: Health of the Alaska natives at the time of contact : General health status -- Disorders relating to the environment -- Infections -- Chronic and degenerative diseases -- Health and the early history of Alaska : European contact, exploration, and the early fur trade: 1728-1798 -- The years of the Russian-American company: 1799-1867 -- The health care system of the Russian-American company -- Health care and the United States government -- Whalers, traders, fishermen, and prospectors -- Missions and medicine -- Special health problems in early Alaskan history : Epidemics I: Southern Alaska -- Epidemics II: Western and northern Alaska -- Epidemics III: Smallpox -- Sexually transmitted diseases: the gift of Venus -- Tuberculosis: the scourge of Alaska -- The use of tobacco: smokers, sniffers, adn chewers -- Alcohol: Alaska's curse -- Abuse, hunger, and violence.