Epizootic Diseases in Eighteenth-Century Transylvania

Abstract

The article, based on archival sources from Romania, Austria, Switzerland and Hungary, describes several cases of epizooties in eighteenth-century Transylvania. It focuses on the measures taken by the Austrian administration on the one hand, and on the population’s magical and religious practices on the other.
In the case of both epizooties and epidemics among humans, authorities adopted similar measures to combat them. Anti-epidemic regulations included, among others, the establishment of quarantine facilities, special burial methods, sanitary cordons and movement restrictions. Given Transylvania’s location on the eastern border of the Hapsburg Empire, it was more exposed to the risk of epidemics.
Cooperation between the affected farmers and state authorities was decisive in the effective combating of animal diseases. Infected animals had to be separated from the healthy ones, and farms and villages had to be isolated from the rest. Strict isolation rules prevented the inhabitants of affected villages from carrying out their daily work and severely restricted transport services between communities. In addition, the authorities imposed restrictions on the import of animals and animal products. The state budget lost significant revenues because of both these restrictions and then the tax breaks for the affected farmers. However, the examined sources reveal that the state did not yet have a clear image of the evolution, forms and impact of epizooties.
Another aspect approached in the article is the persistence of magical and religious practices related to epidemics in Transylvania until the second half of the twentieth century.
The article also discusses the unusual epizooty that heavily affected the border-guard township of Dittersdorf (Ditrău in Romanian, Ditró in Hungarian) from 12 September until 14 December 1786. Its cause has not yet been identified.