Gustav Orreus (1738–1811) was a doctor of Finnish-Swedish origin in the

Imperial Russian The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War. The ...

service. An early

epidemiologist Epidemiology is the study and analysis of the distribution (who, when, and where), patterns and determinants of health and disease conditions in a defined population. It is a cornerstone of public health, and shapes policy decisions and evidenc ...

, Orreus distinguished himself during the Russian plague of 1770–72. He was the first

Doctor of Medicine Doctor of Medicine (abbreviated M.D., from the Latin ''Medicinae Doctor'') is a medical degree, the meaning of which varies between different jurisdictions. In the United States, and some other countries, the M.D. denotes a professional degree. T ...

ever to qualify in Russia.Melikishvili, Annex: p. 8

Biography

Born in

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...

(then part of Sweden), Orreus was trained at

Åbo Turku ( ; ; sv, Åbo, ) is a city and former capital on the southwest coast of Finland at the mouth of the Aura River, in the region of Finland Proper (''Varsinais-Suomi'') and the former Turku and Pori Province (''Turun ja Porin lääni''; ...

and relocated to Russia in 1755. He continued medical training in Moscow and is believed to have taken part in the

Seven Years' War The Seven Years' War (1756–1763) was a global conflict that involved most of the European Great Powers, and was fought primarily in Europe, the Americas, and Asia-Pacific. Other concurrent conflicts include the French and Indian War (175 ...

. On August 2, 1768 Catherine II of Russia awarded him the

diploma, the first of its kind ever issued in Russia. In the same year Orreus became a surgeon at

Pyotr Rumyantsev Count Pyotr Alexandrovich Rumyantsev-Zadunaisky (russian: Пётр Алекса́ндрович Румя́нцев-Задунайский; – ) was one of the foremost Russian generals of the 18th century. He governed Little Russia in the na ...

's headquarters in the

Moldavia Moldavia ( ro, Moldova, or , literally "The Country of Moldavia"; in Romanian Cyrillic alphabet, Romanian Cyrillic: or ; chu, Землѧ Молдавскаѧ; el, Ἡγεμονία τῆς Μολδαβίας) is a historical region and for ...

n theater of the 1768-1774 Russo-Turkish War. The southern provinces of Moldavia and

Wallachia Wallachia or Walachia (; ro, Țara Românească, lit=The Romanian Land' or 'The Romanian Country, ; archaic: ', Romanian Cyrillic alphabet: ) is a historical and geographical region of Romania. It is situated north of the Lower Danube and s ...

were infested with

plague Plague or The Plague may refer to: Agriculture, fauna, and medicine *Plague (disease), a disease caused by ''Yersinia pestis'' * An epidemic of infectious disease (medical or agricultural) * A pandemic caused by such a disease * A swarm of pe ...

. Orreus, in charge of disease prevention, persuaded the generals that the disease was indeed plague and not " malignant fever"; he set up basic reconnaissance for plague outbreaks and imposed anti-plague controls that are credited with preventing widespread disease among the troops.Klyuzhev et al., p. 52 However the plague infiltrated mainland Russia, causing the epidemic of 1770–72 that peaked in Moscow in September and October 1771.Melikishvili, pp. 24-27, provides a historical summary of the epidemic. Orreus was summoned to Moscow by

Grigory Orlov Prince Grigory Grigoryevich Orlov (russian: Князь Григорий Григорьевич Орлов; 6 October 1734, Bezhetsky Uyezd – 13 April 1783, Moscow) was a favourite of the Empress Catherine the Great of Russia. He became a leade ...

, the statesman placed in charge of emergency anti-plague action. Orlov and Orreus arrived in the city September 26, 1771, at the peak of the outbreak.Melikishvili, p. 25 Orreus was assigned to manage

quarantine A quarantine is a restriction on the movement of people, animals and goods which is intended to prevent the spread of disease or pests. It is often used in connection to disease and illness, preventing the movement of those who may have been ...

hospitals in Moscow. At first, he opposed Afanasy Shafonsky and denied the plague nature of the Moscow epidemic, but despite bitter medical dispute the course of events persuaded Orreus to admit the facts. He summarized his experience during the plague in a 1784 treatise ''Descriptio pestis, quae anno 1770 in Jassia et 1771 in Moscua grassata est'' (''A Description of Plague that Ravaged Iaşi in 1770 and Moscow in 1771''). In 1776 Orreus retired from state service and settled on his estate near

Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...

. His experiments with agricultural novelties were publicized in the ''Proceeds of the Free Economic Society''. He also authored ''A Brief Essay on Fever, Diarrhea and Bloody Flux and other Diseases Prevalent among Soldiers'', printed in the Russian language at Saint Petersburg in 1808.

References

Notes

* * wit
Annex:Biosketches of scientist and other public figures in Russia's anti-plague system
{{DEFAULTSORT:Orreus, Gustav Russian public health doctors Physicians from the Russian Empire 1738 births 1811 deaths