au dévouement de médecins et pharmaciens - Ílle de Gorée, Senegal
Posted by: 
Ariberna
N 14° 40.101 W 017° 23.963
28P E 241589 N 1623015
Tribute death people by yellow fever.
Waymark Code: WM18MTW
Location: Senegal
Date Posted: 08/26/2023
Views: 1
"In the main square of the island, in front of the town hall and the fire station, there is a monument that immediately catches the attention of the visiting pharmacist. It is a stele about four meters high, placed in the middle of a ground of about ten meters on each side. It represents a woman leaning on a column and bears 21 names. At the base of the monument we can read the following inscription "To the deceased doctors and pharmacists, victims of their devotion during the epidemic of 1878". Unlike what we usually see on village war memorials in France, this list of the missing is not arranged alphabetically. Three questions arise quite naturally: What is the epidemic? Who are the doctors and pharmacists who died fighting the disease? Finally, why is the word "pharmacists" written in a font twice as large as the word "méde: Monument "to the physicians and pharmacists who died, victims of their devotion during the epidemic of 1878."
The epidemic in question is a yellow fever epidemic that struck during the winter (rainy season) starting in July 1878. It started in Gorée and spread to Dakar quickly enough to affect Saint-Louis du Senegal (Ndar in Wolof), located more than 250 km north of Dakar. The first patient, diagnosed on July 11, died on July 13. The epidemic quickly reached its peak. Between August 8 and 16, 6 to 10 deaths per day were observed. On September 4, 1878, 148 deaths were already counted for a staff of 472 soldiers and employees. On September 26, the number of deaths reached 220. Documents of the time do not report the mortality among the Indians, but it is possible to think that it was not less. This epidemic was one of the five that struck the island of Gorée in the 19th century. These epidemics had high fatality rates between 30 and 60% depending on the source. Throughout Senegal, 1,474 cases resulting in 749 deaths were recorded during the 1878 epidemic. The physicians and pharmacists mentioned on the stele are soldiers of the Army Health Corps,"
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The statue is located in this corner, very close to the bust of Blaise Diagne.
It is impressive how big it is.
Nearby there are also plaques of all the personalities who visited the island.
The pedestal has letters that are sometimes difficult to read.