I. Dünya Savaşı Yıllarında Osmanlı Devleti’nde Sığır Vebasına Karşı Alınan Tedbirler Kapsamında Bir Risale: Sığır Vebası ve Hakkında İttihazı Lâzım Gelen Tedâbir
Hayvan hastalıkları birçok devlet ve toplumda olduğu gibi Osmanlı Devleti’ni de erken modern dönemlerden itibaren menfi anlamda etkilemiş ve devlet bu tür hastalıkların görülme sıklığı, yerleri ve telef olan hayvan sayısına göre çeşitli tedbirler almak zorunda kalmıştır. Sığır vebası veya diğer bir ismiyle veba-yı bakarî hastalığı özellikle 19. yüzyılın son çeyreğinden itibaren Anadolu coğrafyasında daha sık görülmeye başlanmış ve 1880’lerden sonra da yaygınlaşarak ciddi bir hayvan kaybına sebep olmuştur. Osmanlı Devleti, veba-yı bakarî ve diğer hastalıklar karşısında 1890’lardan itibaren birtakım yasal düzenlemelere girişmiş ve öncelikle hastalıkların yayılmasını engellenmek adına 1893 yılında Zabıta-i Sıhhiye-i Hayvaniye Talimatnamesi’ni yayımlamıştır. Devletin bu tür yasal düzenlemeler uygulamasına rağmen veba-yı bakarî hastalığı I. Dünya Savaşı’na kadar olan dönemde etkisini sürdürmeye devam etmiştir. Devlet, hastalığın öncelikle tanınması ve önlenmesi adına araştırma konumuzu teşkil eden Sığır Vebası ve Hakkında İttihazı Lazım Gelen Tedâbir isimli risaleyi R. 1331 [M. 1915/16] yılında yayımlamıştır. Umur-ı Baytariyye Müdüriyeti tarafından düzenlenen bu risalede hastalığın ne olduğu, sebepleri, hastalığa karşı alınacak önlemler ile aşı ve serum çalışmalarına değinilmiştir. İlgili dönemde üzerinde aşı uygulamaları yapılan sığırlar ve hasta hayvanların zengin bir görsel içerikle sunulduğu bu risale veba-yı bakarî hastalığına karşı devletin 20. yüzyılın başında savaş koşullarında dahi ne kadar etkin ve etkili önlemler almaya çalıştığını göstermektedir. Araştırmamız, bu önemli tarihi kaynağı kullanarak hastalığın Osmanlı’daki genel seyri ve alınan tedbirler hakkında açıklamalar yapıp bu önemli risale tanıtmayı amaçlamaktadır.
A Treatise on the Measures Taken Against Cattle Plague in the Ottoman State During the First World War: Sığır Vebası ve Hakkında ittihazı Lâzım Gelen Tedâbir
As in many states and societies, animal diseases had a negative impact on the Ottoman Empire from the early modern period onwards, and the state had to take various measures according to the incidence of such diseases, their locations, and the number of animals that perished. Bovine plague, also known as cattle plague, began to be seen more frequently in Anatolia, especially in the last quarter of the 19th century, and became widespread after the 1880s, causing severe livestock losses. In the face of plague and other diseases, the Ottoman Empire started to enact several legal regulations in the 1890s. It issued the Zabıta-i Sıhhiye-i Hayvaniye Talimatnamesi in 1893, primarily to prevent the spread of diseases. Despite the state's implementation of such legal regulations, the plague continued to impact until World War I. In order to recognize and prevent the disease, the state published the pamphlet titled Sığır Vebâsı ve Hakkında İttihazı Lazım Gelen Tedâbir [Cattle Plague and the Measures to be taken about it] in R. 1331 [M. 1915/16]. In this pamphlet prepared by the Directorate of Umur-ı Baytariyye, the disease, its causes, the measures to be taken against it, and vaccination and serum studies were mentioned. This pamphlet, in which the cattle and sick animals vaccinated in the relevant period are presented with rich visual content, shows how effective and efficient measures the state tried to take against the bovine plague disease even under war conditions at the beginning of the 20th century. Our research aims to introduce this important pamphlet by making explanations about the general course of the disease in the Ottoman Empire and the measures taken using this important historical source.
Diseases and the microbes and viruses that cause diseases are important phenomena that have left permanent traces in human history. These diseases have affected society socioeconomically, socially, and psychologically by infecting humans and animals. The plague epidemic in medieval Europe, also known as the black death, not only changed the political history of Europe but also shook the whole world in terms of its effects. Along with human diseases, animal diseases also affect societies and cause severe damage to the food production chain. When food supply was not possible, societies faced serious problems, and, as in the Ottoman example, bread riots broke out. The Ottoman Empire had to fight against animal diseases since the Early Modern period, and many diseases, especially cattle plague, started to be seen in Anatolia, especially in the 16th century. The limited sources available to us indicate that cattle plague epidemics in the 16th century caused serious economic problems. In the early modern period, cattle plague was not limited to the Ottoman Empire; it also spread to the European continent. The cattle plague, which became an epidemic in Europe, caused severe livestock losses all over the continent, especially in the middle of the 18th century, which was a period when animal deaths reached the highest level. The spread of cattle plague in Europe and the severe damage it caused to the economy necessitated the first academic studies on this disease to be carried out in Europe. The disease, which became an epidemic in Europe, ravaged Anatolia in the 19th century, especially after the Ottoman-Russian War of 1877-1878. The disease spread throughout Anatolia, and the capital city of Istanbul was also affected. The cattle plague epidemic in Istanbul was particularly effective between 1886 and 1891, and the disease continued to affect Anatolia until the end of World War I.
The epidemic outbreak of cattle plague in Anatolia corresponds to the 1880s and 1890s, during which time the disease was seen almost everywhere in Anatolia. In the face of this disease, the Abdülhamit II administration had to make some legal arrangements and started to institutionalize. In this sense, the Inspectorate General of Umurı Baytariyye was established within the Nafia Nezareti in 1888, and Lieutenant Colonel Veterinarian Mehmet Ali Bey was appointed as its head. Established in 1888, the Inspectorate General of Umur-ı Baytariyye was later affiliated with the Ministry of Forestry, Mining, and Agriculture in 1892. After the Inspectorate of Umur-ı Baytariyye was affiliated with the relevant ministry, the Regulation on Veterinary Central Organisation was issued on 11 December 1892. According to this regulation, agricultural affairs were to be carried out by a science committee composed of five branches, and the fifth branch of this science committee was to be the Islah-ı Hayvanat ve Umur-ı Baytariyye Branch. In this period, when the state started to formulate legal regulations and institutionalize, the Zabıta-i Sıhhiye-i Hayvaniye Talimatnamesi, which entered into force on 5 January 1893, played a primary role in the state's fight against animal diseases.
The Ottoman State's struggle against animal diseases continued during the Second Constitutional Monarchy Period, and the state issued the Zabıta-i Sıhhiye-i Hayvaniye Kanunu Muvakkati on 17 December 1913, shortly before World War I, in order to prevent the diseases. The Zabıta-i Sıhhiye-i Hayvaniye Kanunu Muvakkati repealed the previously published regulations and other legal provisions as of 17 December. Along with such legal regulations before World War I, the state also published a treatise titled Cattle Plague and the Measures to be Taken About It, which deals with the recognition of cattle plague, the causes of its spread, its symptoms, and serum and vaccine studies against this disease and constitutes the subject of our research. This treatise provides detailed information about cattle plague, the measures taken by the state against cattle plague, how this disease affected the Anatolian countryside, and the serum and vaccine studies against this disease. The fact that the disease continued its effect during World War I and affected the animals used in the army accelerated the vaccine studies, and serum and vaccine were produced against this disease in "Serum Darü'l İstihzarı" [Serum Production Center] in Dersaadet, Erzincan, and Eskişehir. These serums were sent to certain regions even under wartime conditions, and the disease was tried to be prevented. This important treatise also deals in detail with the necessary sanitary measures to prevent the spread of cattle plague and the penalties to be imposed in case of non-compliance. In this sense, this important treatise prepared under wartime conditions shows that the Ottoman Empire tried to take the necessary measures against diseases and tried to eliminate such diseases by emphasizing scientific studies.
