Strangers' disease - determinants of yellow-fever mortality during the New Orleans epidemic of 1853

Abstract

During the summer of 1853, New Orleans experienced one of the worst epidemics in the history of the United States. Immigrants accounted for a vast majority of the deaths. In this paper, we analyze differential mortality risk from yellow fever using microdata from interment records. Using a legit model, we sort out the influence of demographic and socioeconomic factors on mortality risk. We establish that the strong relationship between nativity and yellow fever mortality disappears once we control for poverty. status and immunization as measured by duration of residence in New Orleans. (C) 1995 Academic Press, Inc.