New Deal sanitary privies helped reduce disease

Above: Some of the many thousands of sanitary privies installed in San Antonio, Texas, by New Deal work-relief programs, between 1933 and 1943. Photo courtesy of the National Archives.

Above: A WPA poster promoting the use of well-built sanitary privies. Photo courtesy of the Library of Congress.

Above: A WPA sanitary privy manufacturing site in Chestertown, Maryland, 1936. Photo courtesy of the University of Maryland College Park Archives.

Above: Men installing the base of a sanitary privy in Missouri, 1938. Farm Security Administration photo, courtesy of the Library of Congress.

New Deal reductions in typhoid fever, hookworm, and dysentery

Between 1933 and 1943, Americans in New Deal work-relief programs, installed nearly 3 million sanitary privies (a more sophisticated term for outhouses). The WPA installed over 2 million of them.

These New Deal sanitary privies helped reduce disease, and the U.S. Surgeon General's annual report for fiscal year 1939 reported reductions in typhoid fever, hookworm, and dysentery. For example:

"In Mississippi, where 120,000 sanitary privies have been constructed, 161 deaths from typhoid fever and 917 cases of the disease were reported in 1932; in 1937, only 77 deaths and 349 cases were  reported. In Tennessee, 308 deaths and 1,898 cases were reported in 1932, and in 1937, only 145 deaths and 763 cases occurred. More than 175,000 sanitary privies have been installed in this State. In West Virginia, where more than 245,000 sanitary privies have been installed, a very substantial reduction in the prevalence of typhoid fever has been noted; 1,265 cases and 218 deaths occurred in 1932, as compared to 350 cases and 78 deaths in 1937" (p. 42).

According to the Mayo Clinic, "Typhoid fever is caused by Salmonella typhi bacteria. Typhoid fever is rare in industrialized countries. However, it remains a serious health threat in the developing world, especially for children. Typhoid fever spreads through contaminated food and water or through close contact with someone who's infected. Signs and symptoms usually include a high fever, headache, abdominal pain, and either constipation or diarrhea. Most people with typhoid fever feel better within a few days of starting antibiotic treatment, although a small number of them may die of complications. Vaccines against typhoid fever are available, but they're only partially effective."

The WPA, tuberculosis, and social distancing

Above: The caption for this 1937 photograph reads, "Movable tuberculosis units built by WPA to be placed in patient's own backyard to isolate patient from rest of family." Photo courtesy of the National Archives.

Above: A WPA-built tuberculosis hut in Georgia, ca. 1935-1943. Photo courtesy of the National Archives.

Social distancing, New Deal-style

The Mayo Clinic describes tuberculosis as "a potentially serious infectious disease that mainly affects your lungs. The bacteria that cause tuberculosis are spread from one person to another through tiny droplets released into the air via coughs and sneezes." (Sound familiar?)

During the 1930s, tuberculosis was a serious problem in the U.S., and the New Deal built many tuberculosis hospitals. However, the available beds were not always sufficient to meet demand. So, in some areas, portable tuberculosis huts were made. For example, a 1942 newspaper article reported:

"Quite often a [hospital bed] waiting list is necessary, and it is during this waiting period that the portable tuberculosis hut is used. The family is taught the care of a person with a contagious disease, and the patient is visited and made comfortable by the county tuberculosis nurse... The County Supervisor moves this hut on one of the county trucks wherever it is needed. This small hut has done much to prevent the spread of tuberculosis among the people of Greenwood county" ("Portable Hut for Care of TB Patients in Greenwood County," The Index-Journal (Greenwood, South Carolina), August 8, 1942, p. 5).

Portable tuberculosis huts seemed to have been utilized quite a bit during the 1930s and 40s, and were built by the WPA and other organizations. The huts helped maintain social distancing, while still keeping families together, and probably also helped reserve hospital beds for the most serious of cases.

The WPA also engaged in many other tuberculosis efforts. For example, a 1940 newspaper article in New Jersey noted: 

"The WPA Tuberculosis Project, operating in nine counties, resulted in the discovery of 28 cases of that dread disease during June... [the WPA] made 1,596 home visits, took 210 X-rays, and gave 192 tuberculin tests. Twenty-three clinics were held, with an attendance of 642 persons" ("WPA Finds 28 Cases of Tuberculosis in Nine Counties," The Daily Journal (Vineland, New Jersey), July 23, 1940, p. 2). 

Above: A WPA poster, promoting tuberculosis testing. Photo courtesy of the Library of Congress.