They "don't believe it is catching" -- how the 1880 Diphtheria outbreak in Shawano County, WI devastated the Miatke family

In April 1864, Martin and Anna Miatke left their home in the small village of Schmogrow-Fehrow (population about 1,100), near the city of Cottbus, in the northeast German State of Brandenburg. After spending several years living in Ontario, Canada, the family settled in the Town of Richmond, near Shawano, Wisconsin.

Here is a graphic that shows how my dad, Ronald Duwe, is descended from the Miatkes:

By June 26th, 1880, when they provided information to U.S. Census enumerator Joseph M. Rogers, their household consisted of Martin, Anna, and seven of their eight children. Here is the census record for the family at the time:

The children present in the home at the end of June were: Johanna (17), Augusta (15), Paul (13), Otto (11), Herman (9), Ernest (7), and Amelia (5). Oldest son, Martin (19), was not living with the family.

As Shawano doctor J.D.W. Heath reported to the Wisconsin State Board of Health at the end of the year, a deadly outbreak of diphtheria raged through the area during the second half of 1880: 

Since my appointment as health officer of this city (Shawano), I have taken active measures for preventing the spread of Diphtheria, which has lately made its appearance among us, by placing Shawano in the best possible sanitary condition. The disease, however, prevails to a considerable extent; in several cases all the children in a family, nursing babies included, have died; it is almost needless to say that these little victims had been living under the most unsanitary conditions.

Many here and many in the town of Richmond, where the mortality has been very great...shut their eyes to the facts and proclaim that they “don't believe that it is catching.” Another thing worthy of attention in considering the spread of the disease is, that in many instances where it breaks out in log-cabins or other one or two roomed structures, sick and well live and sleep in the same apartment, sometimes even in the same bed. In many of those dwellings it has proved extremely fatal, and what wonder?

The Miatke family was devastated. Records from their family burial plot indicate that Martin and Anna lost sons Paul, Otto, Herman, Ernest, and daughter Amelia to the disease. Half of their family was gone in the space of a few weeks. During that time, Anna was carrying Valeria, who was born on November 22, 1880.

Diphtheria is caused by the bacterium Corynebacterium diphtheriae. The name of the disease is derived from the Greek diphthera. It means "leather hide," in reference to a thick gray substance, called a pseudomembrane, that may spread over nasal tissues, tonsils, larynx, and/or pharynx. 

The disease and its effects were described by ancient Greek and Roman writers. The bacterium was first observed in diphtheritic membranes by Klebs in 1883 and cultivated by Löffler in 1884. Antitoxin was invented in the late 19th century, and toxoid was developed in the 1920s.

According to a web resource published by the College of Physicians of Philadelphia:

The United States recorded a high of 206,000 cases of diphtheria in 1921, resulting in 15,520 deaths....Diphtheria is extremely rare in the United States today; between 2004 and 2011, no cases of diphtheria were reported to public health officials. One case was provisionally reported in 2012.

Why is diphtheria extremely rare in the United States today? Because a very high percentage of the U.S. population is vaccinated, causing what is known as "herd immunity." Those who choose not to be vaccinated are counting on herd immunity to protect them even as they risk weakening its protection for those who cannot be vaccinated.

Resources consulted:


Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Epidemiology and Prevention of Vaccine-Preventable Diseases: Diphtheria. Atkinson, W., Wolfe, S., Hamborsky, J., McIntyre, L., eds. 13th ed. Washington DC: Public Health Foundation, 2015. https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/Pubs/pinkbook/downloads/dip.pdf. Accessed 16 November 2019.

College of Physicians of Philadelphia. "Diphtheria," in The History of Vaccines: an education resource of The College of Physicians of Philadelphia. https://www.historyofvaccines.org/content/articles/diphtheria. Last update 17 January 2018; Accessed 16 November 2019.

Sadarangan, Manish. Herd immunity: how does it work? University of Oxford, Department of Paediatrics, Oxford Vaccine Group. https://www.ovg.ox.ac.uk/news/herd-immunity-how-does-it-work. 26 April 2016; Accessed 16 November 2019. 

Wisconsin. State Board of Health. Annual report of the State Board of Health for the State of Wisconsin for the year ending 1880. Madison, Wis.: Wisconsin State Board of Health, 1881, Extracts from Special Correspondents, pages 128-130. [Full text accessible here: https://catalog.hathitrust.org/Record/005719980; Accessed on 15 November 2019.

Zereis, Cathe. Shawano County Genealogy. Cemeteries. Meatke-Miatke Family Plot. http://sites.rootsweb.com/~wishawa4/Cemeteries/39mietkerichmond/39meatke.htm. Last updated 2008; Accessed 16 November 2019.