Abstract:The 1878 Mississippi Valley yellow fever outbreak was one of the worst disasters in US history. During the epidemic, quarantines attempted to thwart the spread of the disease. Quarantines, however, not only limited the movement of people and goods but also threatened the flow of information. This article explores the epidemic's impact on postal communication. A close examination of the outbreak highlights the ongoing importance of postal communication in the United States during the late nineteenth century, and it foregrounds the importance of a set of overlooked informational practices—"postal disinfection"—that were essential to maintaining complex communication networks during periods of epidemics.

中文翻译：

---

邮件消毒：19 世纪美国的疾病、恐慌和邮局部门

摘要：1878 年密西西比河谷黄热病爆发是美国历史上最严重的灾难之一。在流行期间，隔离试图阻止疾病的传播。然而，隔离不仅限制了人员和货物的流动，而且威胁到了信息的流动。本文探讨了疫情对邮政通信的影响。对此次疫情的仔细研究突显了 19 世纪后期美国邮政通信的持续重要性，并突出了一系列被忽视的信息实践——“邮政消毒”——的重要性，这些实践对于维持复杂的通信网络至关重要流行病时期。