Disinfected mail or fumigated mail is mail that has had some form of disinfection or fumigation applied to it by postal authorities, with the intention of preventing the spread of epidemics via letters sent from infected areas.
1916 disinfected PoW cover from interned Russian in Linz handstamped Desinfizirt
The usual practice was to puncture the envelope with small holes, often in a grid pattern, or to snip off one or more corners, in order to let the fumigation gases in. In addition, a special postal marking may note the disinfection process.
The process did not necessarily have a scientific basis; the practice dates from before an understanding of the cause of contagious diseases, and the fumigant was as likely to be based on folklore. For instance, in the Middle Ages Mediterranean ports such as Venice would smoke received covers or douse them with vinegar.
The cholerapandemics of the early 19th century led to widespread treatment of mail, although the concern had died down by the 1840s. Mail from the tropics, particularly Hawaii, was treated against yellow fever. Following the 1898 war in Cuba, the US military government in occupation instigated several policies to reduce the endemic yellow fever problem including disinfection of mail.[1] In the 20th century some mail was heat-treated to prevent the spread of smallpox.
Most countries have instituted mail fumigation at one point or another, and investigation of the specific incidents is an active area for postal history; the Disinfected Mail Study Circle publishes about 100 pages of original research each year in its journal Pratique.
An instance of double disinfection took place in 1900 with the fumigation with sulphur dioxide of mail from the leper settlement of the island of Molokai and the mail was further fumigated with formaldehyde when it was received in Honolulu. However no instance of infection of post office employee was recorded even though they had handled such non-disinfected leper mail for years.[2]
^"Leper Mail Disinfected" (pdf). The New York Times. 1900-11-02. Retrieved 2013-02-08.
^. Archived from the original on 2010-12-14. Retrieved 2013-02-08.
External linksedit
Disinfected Mail - 6-frame exhibit at Exponet
Disinfected Mail Study Circle
November 29, 2023
disinfected, mail, this, article, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, improve, this, article, adding, citations, reliable, sources, unsourced, material, challenged, removed, find, sources, news, newspapers, books, scholar, jstor, septembe. This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Disinfected mail news newspapers books scholar JSTOR September 2014 Learn how and when to remove this template message Disinfected mail or fumigated mail is mail that has had some form of disinfection or fumigation applied to it by postal authorities with the intention of preventing the spread of epidemics via letters sent from infected areas 1916 disinfected PoW cover from interned Russian in Linz handstamped DesinfizirtThe usual practice was to puncture the envelope with small holes often in a grid pattern or to snip off one or more corners in order to let the fumigation gases in In addition a special postal marking may note the disinfection process The process did not necessarily have a scientific basis the practice dates from before an understanding of the cause of contagious diseases and the fumigant was as likely to be based on folklore For instance in the Middle Ages Mediterranean ports such as Venice would smoke received covers or douse them with vinegar The cholera pandemics of the early 19th century led to widespread treatment of mail although the concern had died down by the 1840s Mail from the tropics particularly Hawaii was treated against yellow fever Following the 1898 war in Cuba the US military government in occupation instigated several policies to reduce the endemic yellow fever problem including disinfection of mail 1 In the 20th century some mail was heat treated to prevent the spread of smallpox Most countries have instituted mail fumigation at one point or another and investigation of the specific incidents is an active area for postal history the Disinfected Mail Study Circle publishes about 100 pages of original research each year in its journal Pratique An instance of double disinfection took place in 1900 with the fumigation with sulphur dioxide of mail from the leper settlement of the island of Molokai and the mail was further fumigated with formaldehyde when it was received in Honolulu However no instance of infection of post office employee was recorded even though they had handled such non disinfected leper mail for years 2 Irradiated mail is a form of disinfected mail adopted in the United States in response to the 2001 anthrax attacks 3 References edit Espinosa Mariola 2009 Epidemic Invasions Yellow Fever and the Limits of Cuban Independence 1878 1930 Chicago University of Chicago Press p 31 ISBN 0 226 21811 2 Leper Mail Disinfected pdf The New York Times 1900 11 02 Retrieved 2013 02 08 Mail Delivery to Resume Archived from the original on 2010 12 14 Retrieved 2013 02 08 External links editBibliography of disinfected mail Disinfected Mail 6 frame exhibit at Exponet Disinfected Mail Study Circle Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Disinfected mail amp oldid 928360666, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
