Sytuacja epidemiczna i działalność portowych oddziałów kwarantanny na terenach obecnej południowej Ukrainy od XVIII do początku XX w.

Abstract

The article aims to draw attention to the epidemic situation in the southern Ukrainian lands from the 18th to the beginning of the 20th century and to analyze the activities of port quarantine departments of the Black and Azov Seas during this period. The research employs problem-chronological, comparative-historical, statistical and biographical methods. The analysis is based on the sources from the Regional Archives of the Mykolaiv Region and relevant scientific literature. The study reveals the condition of the epidemic-driven country in the period in question, the activities of quarantine departments at the ports of the Russian Empire, as well as how the state and local authorities fought the infections. Reading from archival sources, the author discusses the level of hygiene on military ships, the methods of fighting epidemics, and people’s reactions to quarantine, especially in the Mykolaiv region at the beginning of the 20th century. The epidemic situation in the southern Ukrainian lands from the 18th to the beginning of the 20th century resulted from an imperfect policy of the Russian Empire - poorly-developed medical, social, and cultural spheres. It should be noted that during this period, infectious diseases often came to Ukrainian lands from the east. Their spread was facilitated by increased urban population, the movement of military contingents, water contamination by municipal and industrial waste, and insufficient knowledge of social and personal hygiene almost until the end of the 19th century. The main method of preventing epidemics was the introduction of quarantine. It meant full isolation of potentially dangerous ships arriving in port, inspecting them and supplying passengers and crew with quarantine measures.