[EPIDEMICS / TRADE] Letter by an officer of the Ottoman Sanitary Administration, to "Delegate of Italian Health Council," discussing the disinfection protocols, etc during epidemics such as bubonic plague, Indian cholera, yellow fever from the Antilles...

DR. MORTOLETTI(?).

Manuscript, Constantinople, le 2 Decembre 1879.

COMPLETE TITLE: Chapographed letter with autograph corrections and signature sent by Dr. Mortoletti, an officer of the Ottoman Sanitary Administration, to “Delegate of Italian Health Council,” discussing the disinfection protocols and reducing the costs of quarantine practices during epidemics such as bubonic plague, Indian cholera, and yellow fever from the Antilles.

Blue ink on “Smith & Meynier Fiume” watermarked paper with signature in black ink. “Administration Sanitaire de l’Empire Ottoman” letterhead. (32 x 21,5 cm). In French. 2 p. on bifolium, 41 lines. Signed as “Dr. Mortoletti(?)”. Horizontal and vertical centre-fold lines, sporadic foxing on papers, and slight purple moisture stains, else a very clean document.

An interesting chapographed letter with autograph corrections and signature sent by Dr. Mortoletti, an officer of the Ottoman Sanitary Administration, to "Monsieur Barone, Delegate of Italian Health Council," discussing the exchange of ideas on systematizing disinfection protocols and reducing the costs of quarantine practices during epidemics such as bubonic plague, Indian cholera, and yellow fever from the Antilles, in a manner that would minimally impact international trade.

In translation: “The question of disinfection in general is currently attracting the attention of various governments and health institutions across Europe.

Applied to communicable and contagious diseases of exotic origin, such as bubonic plague, Indian cholera, and yellow fever from the Antilles, disinfection has for a long time been the subject of more or less severe, more or less rational measures, often very costly to commerce, with no useful compensation for prophylaxis.

The undeniable fact being acknowledged, the question arises as to what, based on experience, would be to make disinfection as effective as possible while minimizing the burdens that result for commerce.

It is with the aim of achieving this practical result that, on the advice of the International Health Council, we hasten, Monsieur the Delegate, to transmit to you herewith a few copies of a printed instruction summarizing the disinfection procedures in quarantine establishments of the Ottoman Empire, kindly asking you to have them forwarded, through your government, to the health authorities concerned.

In return for our sending, we would like to know the disinfection system in effect in Italy's health establishments, as well as the opinion of its medical authorities on improvements that could be made to reconcile all interests, and to achieve an ideal unity of the system and the duration, which would be desirable for disinfection in the lazarets.

Please accept, Monsieur the Delegate, the expression of my highest consideration.

The General Inspector of the Health Administration, Dr. Mortoletti."

The document under review:

This 1879 letter by Dr. Mortoletti, a high-ranking officer of the Ottoman Sanitary Administration, offers a rare and vivid insight into late 19th-century international public health diplomacy. It reflects the growing awareness among European and Ottoman authorities of the need to harmonize quarantine and disinfection practices in response to recurring epidemics such as bubonic plague, Indian cholera, and yellow fever, diseases often associated with maritime trade and colonial routes, especially from the Antilles and the East.

At a time when global commerce was accelerating due to steam navigation and rail networks, public health policies had to strike a balance between safeguarding populations and not crippling economic activity. The letter’s proposal to exchange detailed procedural information with Italy, specifically the printed instructions used in Ottoman lazarets (quarantine stations), shows a coordinated effort to standardize medical interventions across borders. This kind of correspondence prefigures the more formal international health cooperation efforts that would take shape later, especially with the growing role of the International Sanitary Conferences, which had been meeting intermittently since 1851 but were gaining renewed relevance during this period. In 1879 specifically, there was increased fear of cholera re-emerging via the pilgrimage routes and through ports in the eastern Mediterranean. This concern pushed empires like the Ottomans to modernize their public health infrastructure and engage in dialogue with European partners. The document, with its emphasis on cost-effective, experience-based sanitary regulation, illustrates a turning point in how states viewed epidemic control, not only as a medical issue but as a matter of international cooperation, commerce, and diplomacy.