Public Health History Nasty, brutish and short. That's how life
was before the development of public health. Poor sanitation,
unregulated food processing, lack of control of mosquitoes,
inadequate prenatal care, and other poor health conditions led
to unnecessary illnesses and deaths. In the year before
Florida's state health department was created in 1889, about 40
percent of the population fled Jacksonville due to a yellow
fever epidemic which sickened a third of those who stayed and
killed over 400. Similar epidemics of cholera and yellow fever
struck the state almost annually, one of which almost wiped out
the population of St. Joseph in 1841. In most cases, limited
medical care was available for the sick and weaker people died,
but not before infecting many others. Many survivors were
carriers, continuing to pass the diseases to others as a result
of poor sanitary practices. Control of infectious diseases was
the major reason for establishment of public health services and
remains a major focus today. Th