Paediatrics in Theresienstadt ghetto
Language English Country Czech Republic Media print
Document type Journal Article
PubMed
32592562
DOI
10.21101/cejph.a5557
Knihovny.cz E-resources
- Keywords
- Theresienstadt, anti-epidemic measures, children, infectious diseases,
- MeSH
- Poverty Areas * MeSH
- Child MeSH
- Adult MeSH
- Communicable Diseases epidemiology MeSH
- Communicable Disease Control MeSH
- Humans MeSH
- Pediatrics methods MeSH
- Aged MeSH
- Jews MeSH
- Check Tag
- Child MeSH
- Adult MeSH
- Humans MeSH
- Aged MeSH
- Publication type
- Journal Article MeSH
- Geographicals
- Poland epidemiology MeSH
The main objective of this study is to describe the most common childhood diseases occurring in the Theresienstadt ghetto during the Second World War as well as applied anti-epidemic measures. A partial objective is to describe medical and nursing care of sick child prisoners. The data was obtained by the method of synthesis of primary and secondary data with the highest importance after adequate external source criticism using selected monographs, memoirs, survivor diaries, Orders of the day by the Council of the Elders and Reports of the Jewish self-government of the Theresienstadt ghetto from 1941 to 1945, the Archives of the Jewish Museum in Prague, the Ghetto Museum, the Museum of the History of Polish Jews in Warsaw, Post Bellum online electronic collection of oral historical interviews, and witness accounts. The validity of the presented conclusions is ensured by comparing data from several sources. The most common infections in Theresienstadt children were enteritis, scarlet fever, infectious jaundice, measles, mumps, rubella, varicella, black cough, pneumonia, otitis media, and typhoid fever. Most of these infections had entirely atypical symptomatology or complications. Children were hospitalized in children's hospitals, in children's rooms of hospitals for adults and infirmaries in children's homes. Albeit diagnostic methods had a high standard, options of treatment were very limited. The most common treatments included bed rest, diet and cold compress. Occasionally, chemotherapeutic agents (e.g. a sulphonamide drug Prontosil) and Aspirin were available. The anti-epidemic measures in the ghetto focused on hygiene, enhancing children's immunity, vaccination and pest control.
Faculty of Education Comenius University Bratislava Slovak Republic
Faculty of Health Studies University of Pardubice Pardubice Czech Republic
Faculty of Military Health Sciences University of Defence Hradec Kralove Czech Republic
St Elizabeth University of Health and Social Work Bratislava Slovak Republic
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