Technician Removing Fleas from Rats to Make Injection Fluid

ID: 449 ~ Source: Image Courtesy of the Louisiana Division/City Archives, New Orleans Public Library. ~ Date: 1936

This file appears in: Wharf Rats, the Plague, and Public Health

As part of the WPA project, a technician removes fleas from a rat in order to create an injection that will protect against Typhus.

This file appears in: Wharf Rats, the Plague, and Public Health

Wharf Rats, the Plague, and Public Health

By Alison Laurence & John Lee

New Orleans has been a major port since the early 18th century. Until the 1960's, warehouses stood along this part of the river. These warehouses, or wharves, used to teem with the infamous "wharf…