Thanks to vaccines, we don't worry too much about most diseases once considered quite common--like diphtheria, which killed forty in Oakley in 1894, a year Thorn Springs' residents (near Ferry Butte) and Groveland/Riverside areas were quarantined for the same disease. Diphtheria, which causes breathing and heart problems and even death, regularly erupted from time to time, in 1953 shutting down the Buhl area due to a large number of cases and the death of a young boy. 1960, however, saw the biggest number of Idaho cases in history, with a Pingree family stricken just before New Year's Day.
The twelve year old child was diagnosed then, the disease's incubation period suggesting she may have acquired it during the busy Christmas season. All those who encountered her in the last twenty-four days were at risk, so health officials organized an immediate immunization clinic which administered 700 vaccines to Pingree area residents within the week. By then, three other immediate family members and a cousin of the first victim had also contracted diphtheria. The youngest child, too, was diagnosed soon after by a visiting physician. She was hospitalized. Another Pingree girl, twelve years old, came down with the disease soon after, and more clinics throughout the valley from Pocatello to Idaho Falls to Aberdeen were undertaken.
Diphtheria spreads rapidly, moreso because silent carriers who show no symptoms can pass it to others. In 1953, a prior epidemic in Idaho revealed the movement of diphtheria from a wedding in Wyoming to Buhl and then throughout Idaho. A Twin Falls girl came in contact with a sick flower girl at a wedding in Wyoming. She became sick on her return and passed it on to her roommate--who showed no symptoms but became a carrier. She gave the disease to a friend in Buhl, where the town's schools, businesses and public meetings were eventually closed due to the large number of cases. A Filer boy visited a sick friend in Buhl and took diphtheria home with him. A Utah family also stopped in Buhl and took the disease to Rigby. Hence the concern in nearby communities in 1960--people knew that diphtheria could strike in areas with no prior cases.
Health officials administered 1500 vaccines in the Snake River District and an equal amount in Aberdeen on the eleventh. Shortly after, a State Hospital South worker who lived in Pocatello contracted the disease, putting other communities at risk. The worker went to college in Pocatello, carpooled to Blackfoot, and had attended a funeral in Soda Springs which people from many states had attended. 19,000 innoculations were scheduled in Pocatello on the 17th and the state of Idaho purchased serum to vaccinate 80,000 people.
Case numbers rose. 13 on January 27th. 19 new cases on the 31st, when 4500 were vaccinated in Twin Falls. Doctors provided 2500 shots in Idaho Falls, though no cases were reported there, and just when the PIngree victims had all recovered in early February the 37th case appeared in Blackfoot--a first grader. Diphtheria in Rigby. More cases in Blackfoot. A 53rd case in the panhandle by mid-February. The disease was spreading.
13,000 Bonneville County residents lined up for shots. A resident of distant Wapi--a small community west of American Falls near a lava field--came down with diphtheria, despite his isolated lifestyle. Fort Hall had cases. The number leveled off, and the epidemic was believed over, but four more cases in Blackfoot came in as February neared its end, along with seven more instances in Fort Hall. 72, 74, 78 by the end of March, the numbers rose and the epidemic continued, with the 90th case striking in mid-April.
Finally, however, only one active sufferer remained by mid-May, and a health disaster had been averted by swift actions and community response through vaccinations.
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