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summer_in_TX

(4,054 posts)
8. Almost 18 PERCENT of children died during childhood just over a century ago.
Mon Dec 15, 2025, 11:39 PM
Dec 15
https://www.vox.com/health/402687/measles-outbreak-vaccine-kids-children-history

In the 19th century, it was incredibly dangerous to be a child.

As of 1900, about 18 percent, or nearly one in five, American children died before their fifth birthday. The most common causes were infectious diseases — pneumonia, diphtheria, dysentery, measles, and other illnesses ran rampant through households, and children were especially at risk.


Published last March but still relevant.

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