From Plague to Cholera:
The Prevention and Treatments of Cholera in Thailand, 1820–1959
Keywords:
history of cholera, epidemic disease, cholera prevention, cholera patient treatment, medical historyAbstract
This article aims to explore the history of cholera in Thailand from 1820 to 1959, focusing on disease prevention and the evolving treatment methods for cholera patients across different historical periods. The article argues that knowledge about pathogens and the discovery of Vibrio cholerae as the cause of cholera did not lead to significant changes in cholera prevention and treatment methods before the mid-20th century. Methods like maintaining hygiene, implementing quarantine, and treating the disease with Western medicine and intravenous saline infusions were already known and utilized before the acceptance of germ theory and before the discovery of bacteria as the cause of cholera. These practices continued to be developed and applied, except in the case of vaccine production resulting directly from the discovery of Vibrio cholerae. However, despite the widespread adoption and administration of vaccines for prevention, their efficacy remained questionable. Furthermore, this article suggests that cholera prevention and treatment in Thailand was closely linked to advancements in medical knowledge in the Western and colonial world. This connection meant that Thailand both received knowledge about cholera and its prevention and treatment methods from the West, and served as a crucial site for generating significant knowledge about cholera, including new patient treatment methods, with the active participation of Thai doctors and researchers, which also contributed to the international medical circle.
References
ภาษาไทย
Bradley, D. B. แบรดเลย์, ดี. บี. (1971). Nangsue ak khara phi than sap หนังสืออักขราภิธานศรับท์ [Dictionary of the Siamese Language]. Teachers’ Council.
Bradley, D. B. แบรดเลย์, ดี.บี. (1993). Nangsue chotmaihet the Bangkok Recorder หนังสือจดหมายเหตุ The Bangkok Recorder [The Bangkok Recorder]. Amarin.
Bradley, W. L. บรัดเลย์, ดับบลิว. แอล. (2024). Sayam tae pang kon: 35 pi nai Bangkok khong mor Bratle สยามแต่ปางก่อน: 35 ปีในบางกอกของหมอบรัดเลย์ [Siam then: 35 Years in Bangkok of Dr. Bradley] (Srithep Kusuma Na Ayutthaya, & Srilak Sangamuang, Trans.). Matichon.
Chatchai Muksong ชาติชาย มุกสง. (2020). Chak pisat su chuearok: prawattisat kan phaet kap rok rabat nai songkhom Thai จากปีศาจสู่เชื้อโรค: ประวัติศาสตร์การแพทย์กับโรคระบาดในสังคมไทย [From demons to germs: a medical history and epidemics in Thai society]. Matichon.
Chetwaithayakan, Luang, เชฎฐ์ไวทยาการ, หลวง. (1926). Kan pongkan ahi wa taka rok การป้องกันอหิวาตกะโรค [The prevention of cholera]. Chotmaihet thang phaet khong phaetthaya samakhom haeng Sayam จดหมายเหตุทางแพทย์ของแพทยสมาคมแห่งกรุงสยาม [The Journal of the Medical Association of Siam], 9(2), 52-62.
Chulachomklao Chaoyuhua, Phrabatsomdetphra จุลจอมเกล้าเจ้าอยู่หัว, พระบาทสมเด็จพระ. (1920). Rueang phraratchaphithi sip song duean เรื่องพระราชพิธีสิบสองเดือน [Royal ceremonies of the twelve months]. Phim Thai.
Damrong Rajanubhab, Somdet kromphraya ดำรงราชานุภาพ, สมเด็จฯ กรมพระยา. (1962). Khwam song cham ความทรงจำ [Recollection]. Social Science Association in Thailand.
Davisakd Puaksom ทวีศักดิ์ เผือกสม. (2007). Chuearok, rangkai lae rat vetchakam: Prawatsat kanphaet samaimai nai sangkhom Thai เชื้อโรค ร่างกาย และรัฐเวชกรรม: ประวัติศาสตร์การแพทย์สมัยใหม่ในสังคมไทย [Germs, the body and medical state: history of modern medicine in Thai society]. CU University Press.
Fine Arts Department กรมศิลปากร. (2019). Kalarok samai ratchakan thi 5 กาฬโรคสมัยรัชกาลที่ 5 [Plague during the reign Rama V]. Office of Literature and History, Fine Arts Department.
Khana anukammakan chattham photchananukrom sap phaet lae phesatchakam phaen Thai คณะอนุกรรมการจัดทำพจนานุกรมศัพท์แพทย์และเภสัชกรรมแผนไทย. (2010). Photchananukrom sap phaet lae phesatchakam phaen Thai พจนานุกรมศัพท์แพทย์และเภสัชกรรมแผนไทย [Dictionary of Thai traditional medicine and pharmacy]. Warasan kan phaet phaen Thai lae kan phaet thanglueak วารสารการแพทย์แผนไทยและการแพทย์ทางเลือก [Journal of Thai Traditional & Alternative Medicine], 8(1), 107-111.
Krasuang satharanasuk กระทรวงสาธารณสุข. (1962). Anuson krasuang satharanasuk khrop 20 pi phoso 2485-2505 อนุสรณ์กระทรวงสาธารณสุข ครบ 20 ปี พ.ศ. 2485-2505 [A commemorative book celebrating the 20th anniversary of the Ministry of Public Health (1942–1962)]. The Ministry of Public Health.
Krasuang suksathikan, Sathaban Phasa Thai กระทรวงศึกษาธิการ, สถาบันภาษาไทย. (1999). Phaetsat songkhro: Phumpanya thang kanphaet lae moradok thang wannakam khong chat แพทย์ศาสตร์สงเคราะห์: ภูมิปัญญาทางการแพทย์และมรดกทางวรรณกรรมของชาติ [Phaetsat songkhro: Traditional medical knowledge and the national literary heritage]. Sathaban Phasa Thai.
Phraratchabanyat rok titto phoso 2477 พระราชบัญญัติโรคติดต่อ พ.ศ. 2477 [The Communicable Diseases Act, 2547 B.E.]. (1935). Ratchakitchanubeksa ราชกิจจานุเบกษา [Ratchakitchanubeksa], (May, 5), pp. 344-358.
Prakat krasuang mahatthai rueang kan chit wak seen kan ahiwatakarok ประกาศกระทรวงมหาดไทย เรื่องการฉีดวัคซีนกันอหิวาตกโรค [Notification of the Ministry of Interior Re: Cholera vaccination]. (1935). Ratchakitchanubeksa ราชกิจจานุเบกษา [Ratchakitchanubeksa], (January, 12), p. 3069.
Prakat krasuang mahatthai rueang kan pongkan ahiwatakarok chak changwat ma la maeng prathet Pha Ma ประกาศกระทรวงมหาดไทยเรื่องการป้องกันอหิวาตกโรคจากจังหวัดมะละแหม่ง ประเทศพะม่า [Notification of the Ministry of Interior Re: Prevention of Cholera from Moulmein province, Burma]. (1940). Ratchakitchanubeksa ราชกิจจานุเบกษา [Ratchakitchanubeksa], (July, 1), p. 963.
Pramern Chandvimol ประเมิน จันทวิมล. (1960). Prawat kan rabat khong ahiwatakarok nai prathet Thai ประวัติการระบาดของอหิวาตกโรคในประเทศไทย [The history of cholera outbreaks in Thailand]. In Thiraluek phithi poet rongphayaban bamrat nara dun wanthi 2 phruetsachikayon 2503 ที่ระลึกพิธีเปิดโรงพยาบาลบำราศนราดูร วันที่ 2 พฤศจิกายน 2503 [Commemorating the opening ceremony of Bamrasnaradura Hospital on November 2, 1960] (pp. 45-58), Department of Health, Ministry of Public Health.
Smith, M. สมิธ, เอ็ม. (1994). Ratchasamnak Sayam nai thatsana khong mo samit ราชสำนักสยามในทัศนะของหมอสมิธ [A physician at the court of Siam] (Sukonrat Tharasak, Trans.). The Fine Arts Department.
Suwasadee Photpun สุวัสดี โภชน์พันธุ์. (2023). Saengsawang nai khwam muet: Chotmaihet thang phaet khong phaetthaya samakhom haeng prathet Thai kap kan sang khwamru thangkan phaet samaimai nai sangkhom Thai, thotsawat 1910-2010 แสงสว่างในความมืด: จดหมายเหตุทางแพทย์ของแพทยสมาคมแห่งประเทศไทยกับการสร้างความรู้ทางการแพทย์สมัยใหม่ในสังคมไทย, ทศวรรษ 2460-2560 [Light in darkness: The Journal of the Medical Association of Thailand and the formation of modern medical knowledge in Thai society during 1910-2010]. Foundation for Advanced Research on Asian Societies.
Tamra phra osot khrang ratchakan thi 2 ตำราพระโอสถครั้งรัชกาลที่ 2 [The Royal Pharmacopoeia, the Reign of King Rama II]. (2003). In Tamra sapphakhun ya (chabap boran) ตำราสรรพคุณยา (ฉบับโบราณ) [Thai herbal pharmacopoeia (traditional manuscript)]. Book Corner.
Terwiel, B. J. เตรวิล, บี. เจ. (1984). Khai ha nai Sayam: ubat kan khrao raek kap kan rabat yai muea pi 2363. ไข้ห่าในสยาม: อุบัติการณ์คราวแรกกับการระบาดใหญ่เมื่อปี 2363 [Asiatic cholera in Siam: Its occurrence and the 1820 epidemic] (Supoj Chaengreo, Trans.). Silapawatthanatham ศิลปวัฒนธรรม [Silapawatthanatham], 5(6), 20-32.
Thiphakorawong, Chaophraya ทิพากรวงศ์, เจ้าพระยา. (1938). Phra ratcha phongsawadan krung Rattanakosin rat chakan thi 3 phoso 2367-2394 chabap Chaophraya Thiphakorawong พระราชพงศาวดารกรุงรัตนโกสินทร์ รัชกาลที่ 3 พ.ศ. 2367-2394 ฉบับเจ้าพระยาทิพากรวงศ์ [The royal chronicles of Rattanakosin, the third reign, 1824-1851: Chaophraya Thiphakorawong edition]. Rongpim Sophon Phipattanakorn.
Thiphakorawong, Chaophraya ทิพากรวงศ์, เจ้าพระยา. (1971). Phra ratcha phongsawadan krung Rattanakosin rat chakan thi 2 chabap Chaophraya Thiphakorawong พระราชพงศาวดารกรุงรัตนโกสินทร์ รัชกาลที่ 2 ฉบับเจ้าพระยาทิพากรวงศ์ [The royal chronicle of Rattanakosin, the second reign: Chaophraya Thiphakorawong edition]. Teachers’ Council.
Wibun Ayurawet, Phraya วิบุลอายุรเวท, พระยา. (1926). Ahiwatakarok อหิวาตกะโรค [Cholera]. Chotmaihet thang phaet khong phaetthaya samakhom haeng Sayam จดหมายเหตุทางแพทย์ของแพทยสมาคมแห่งกรุงสยาม [The Journal of the Medical Association of Siam], 9(2), 40-51.
Wibun Ayurawet, Phraya วิบุลอายุรเวท, พระยา. (1927). Kan pongkan lae ra-ngap ahiwatakarok nai kongthapbok Sayam การป้องกันและระงับอหิวาตกโรคในกองทัพบกสยาม [The prevention and suppression of Cholera in the Siamese Army]. Chotmaihet thang phaet khong phaetthaya samakhom haeng Sayam จดหมายเหตุทางแพทย์ของแพทยสมาคมแห่งกรุงสยาม [The Journal of the Medical Association of Siam], 10(1), 32-45.
Yuwadee Na Thalang ยุวดี ณ ถลาง. (1962). Kan pongkan lae prappram ahiwatakarok nai changwat Phra Nakhon nai rawang pi phoso 1958-1959 การป้องกันและปราบปรามอหิวาตกโรคในจังหวัดพระนครในระหว่างปี พ.ศ. 2501-2502 [The prevention and control of cholera in Bangkok province during 1958–1959] [Unpublished master’s thesis]. Thammasat University.
ภาษาต่างประเทศ
Aretæus. (1843). The use and abuse of Calomel. The Boston Medical and Surgical Journal, XXVII(22), 357-360.
Barua, D. (1992). Chapter 1 History of cholera. In D. Barua & W. B. Greenough III (Eds.), Cholera (pp. 1-36). Springer.
Baskett, T. F. (2002). William O’Shaughnessy, Thomas Latta and the origins of intravenous saline. Resuscitation, 55(3), 231-234.
Benyajati, C. & Keoplug, M. (1961). Metabolic Alkalosis, a late complication in Asiatic cholera: A case report. The American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, 10(6), 914-917.
Benyajati, C., Keoplug, M., Beisel, W. R., Gangarosa, E. J., Sprinz, H., & Sitprija, V. (1960). Acute renal failure in Asiatic cholera: Clinicopathologic correlations with acute tubular necrosis and hypokalemic nephropathy. Annals of Internal Medicine, 52, 960-975.
Bhamarapravat, N. (1960). Pathology of cholera as seen in the epidemic of 1958-1959 in Thailand. In SEATO Conference of Cholera: Papers presented and summaries of discussion (pp. 59-60). SEATO.
Bornside, G. (1982). Waldemar Haffkine's cholera vaccines and the Ferran-Haffkine priority dispute. Journal of the History of Medicine and Allied Sciences, XXXVII(14), 399–422.
Chamuni, A. P. (1960). Experimental cholera in rabbits and monkeys. In SEATO Conference of Cholera: Papers presented and summaries of discussion (pp.72-75). SEATO.
Das, B., Verma, J., Kumar, P., Ghosh, A., & Ramamurthy, T. (2020). Antibiotic resistance in Vibrio cholera: Understanding the ecology of resistance genes and mechanisms. Vaccine, 3, A83-A92.
Feltus, G. H. (1924). Samuel Reynolds house of Siam: Pioneer medical missionary 1847-1876. Fleming H. Revell.
Finkelstein, R. A. (1992). Chapter 8 Cholera enterotoxin (choleragen): A historical perspective. In D. Barua & W. B. Greenough III (Eds.), Cholera (pp. 155-187). Springer.
Gangarosa, E. J., Beisel, W. R., Benyajati, C., Sprinz, H., & Piyaratn, P. (1960). The nature of the gastrointestinal lesion in Asiatic cholera and its relation to pathogenesis: A biopsy study. AJTMH, 9(2), 125-135.
Gangarosa, E. J., Sribhibhadh, R., Sprinz, H., Benyajati, C., Kundel, D. W., Beisel, W. R., & Halstead, S. B. (1960). Intestinal pathophysiology of Asiatic cholera. In SEATO Conference of Cholera: Papers presented and summaries of discussion (pp.76-82). SEATO.
Gayley, J. F. (1850). On cholera asphyxia. The American Journal of Medical Sciences, New Series, XX(XXXIX), 83-89.
Hell, S. (2010). Siam and the league of nations: Modernisation, sovereignty and multilateral diplomacy, 1920-1940. River Books.
Hoffendahl, C. F. (1849). On the Homœopathic treatment of cholera. Otis Clapp.
Janakan, G. & Ellis, H. (2013). Dr. Thomas Aitchison Latta (c1796–1833): Pioneer of intravenous fluid replacement in the treatment of cholera. Journal of Medical Biography, 21(2), 70–74.
Leary, B. (1987). Cholera and Homœopathy in the nineteenth century. British Homœopathic Journal, 76(4), 190-194.
Levine, M. M. & Pierce, N. F. (1992). Chapter 14 Immunity and vaccine development. In D. Barua & W. B. Greenough III (Eds.), Cholera (pp. 285-327). Springer.
Lim, M. L., Murphy, G. S., Calloway, M., & Tribble, D. (2005). History of U.S. military contributions to the study of diarrheal diseases. Military Medicine, 170(4 Suppl), 30-38.
Morgan, F. M., Watten, R. H., Bidyabhed, B., Vejadakdhi, P., Na Bangxang, E., & Phillips, R. A. (1959). Treatment of cholera. Journal of the Medical Association of Thailand, 42(5), 413-422.
Na Bangxang, E. Boon-nag, D., Chamnarnkij, P., Charturongkakul, S., Thaprasarn, S., Chantrakan, S., … Harnphel, T. (1960). Practical management of cholera cases in the field. In SEATO Conference of Cholera: Papers presented and summaries of discussion (pp.19-21). SEATO.
Nalin, D. R. (2022). The history of intravenous and oral rehydration and maintenance therapy of cholera and non-cholera dehydrating diarrheas: A deconstruction of translational medicine: From bench to bedside?. Tropical Medicine and Infectious Disease, 7(3), 1-28.
Ogawa, M. (2000). Uneasy bedfellows: Science and politics in the refutation of Koch's bacterial theory of cholera. Bulletin of the History of Medicine, 74(4), 671-707.
Pallegoix, J. B. (1854). สัพะพะจะนะพาสาไท Dictionarium linguae Thai, sive Siamensis, interpreta tione Latina, Gallica et Anglica. Jussu Imperatoris Impressum.
Pollitzer, R. (1954). Cholera studies, 1. History of the disease. Bulletin of the World Health Organization, 10(3), 421-461.
Rhys Davids, T. W. & Stede, W. (Eds.). (1952). The Pali text society’s Pali-English dictionary. The Pali Text Society.
Rosenberg, C. E. (1959). The cholera epidemic of 1832 in New York City. Bulletin of the History of Medicine, 33(1), 37-49.
Savarino, S. J. (2002). A Legacy in 20th – century medicine: Robert Allan Phillips and the taming of cholera. Clinical Infectious Diseases, 35, 713-720.
Siddhichai, P. (1960). The epidemiology of the outbreak of cholera in Thailand, 1958-1959. In SEATO Conference on Cholera (pp. 116-120). SEATO.
Siddhichai, P. & Grayston, J. T. (1960). Epidemiologic studies of the 1958 cholera epidemic in Bangkok, Thailand. The American Journal of Hygiene, 72(2), 149-161.
Smith, M. (1993). Medical memories of Bangkok at the turn of the century. The Journal of the Siam Society, 81(2), 145-148.
Sobocinski, A. (2023). Stemming the tide: Navy medicine and the Egyptian cholera epidemic of 1947. Navy Medicine. Retrieved March 3, 2025, from https://www.med.navy.mil/Media/News/Article/3533326/stemming-the-tide-navy-medicine-and-the-egyptian-cholera-epidemic-of-1947/
Sutton, W. L. (1849). Large doses of Calomel in cholera. Boston Medical and Surgical Journal, XLI(14), 269-277.
Terwiel, B. J. (1987). Asiatic cholera in Siam: Its first occurrence and the 1820s epidemic. In N. G. Owen (Ed.), Death and disease in Southeast Asia: Explorations in social, medical and demographic history (pp. 142-159). Oxford University Press.
Thomas, P. (2001). Homeopathy in the USA. British Homeopathic Journal, 90, 99-103.
Tod, D. (1832). Cases of malignant cholera, treated with large doses of Calomel, &c. The Lancet, 18(467), 585-587.
van Heyningen, W.E. & Seal, J. R. (2018). Cholera: The American scientific experience, 1947-1980. Routledge.
van Kessel, J.C. & Camilli, A. (2024). Vibrio cholerae: a fundamental model system for bacterial genetics and pathogenesis research. Journal of Bacteriology, 206(11), 1-7.
Watten, R. H., Morgan, F. M., Na Songkhla, Y., Vanikiati, B., & Phillips, R. A. (1959). Water and electrolyte studies in cholera. The Journal of Clinical Investigation, 38(11), 1879-1889.
White, F. N. (1923). The prevalence of epidemic disease and port health organization and procedure in the Far East: Report presented to the health committee of the League of Nations. League of Nations.
Whooley, O. (2013). Knowledge in the time of cholera: The struggle over American medicine in the nineteenth century. The University of Chicago Press.
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
Copyright and plagiarism
Authors are responsible for obtaining permission to use copyrighted materials from copyright owners. Authors are responsible for observing requisite copyright law when quoting or reproducing copyrighted materials. Quotations and reproductions of content from other published sources must be accompanied by a reference and all sources should be clearly listed in the references section. Quotations and reproductions of content from external sources without due attribution could be considered a severe infringement of academic conduct and may constitute a legal offence under the Copyright Act of B.E. 2537. Any legal ramifications arising from the infringement of copyright regulations would be the sole responsibility of the author(s).
