1965 Erzurum (Tekman, Cat, Ilıca, Hınıs) Measles Outbreak

Studies on epidemic diseases in Turkey's recent history show that measles and the damage done by this disease are not adequately covered. As can be seen in the example of Erzurum, the disease, which caused massive child deaths in the late Ottoman period, did not come to an end in the first years of the Republic, but as late as 1965, especially in the southern provinces of Erzurum, hundreds of children had died. In February and March 1965, measles outbreaks in Erzurum's Tekman, Çat, Hınıs and Ilıca districts resulted in the deaths of hundreds of children in a short time. There was a violent winter in Erzurum that year; roads were closed due to snow and food and medicare aid was not available for weeks. At the time of this catastrophe, the reasons for measles disease and the remedies for the disease were discussed in national and local newspapers. There were discussions on various administrative and social issues such as malnutrition, which is called "hidden hunger", lack of health services, lack of child care knowledge, bureaucratic insensitivity, lack of transportation and communication possibilities. When studies on infectious and epidemic diseases are examined; the devastation caused by the measles disease in the Turkish society has not been adequately addressed. In this article; how the 1965 measles outbreak, which resulted in death of nearly 300 children, occurred, the helping efforts, the causes of death, and the impact on the society will be investigated.