In 1246 Hijri - 1830 AD, Iraq witnessed a deterioration in its political, economic and social conditions. As the country has suffered epidemics, diseases and famines, as well as backwardness and ignorance during the Ottoman occupation. The most prominent of these diseases was the plague.
Due to the large spread of the disease throughout the country, the city of Karbala received a share of it, and because of the deterioration of the health system in the city as a result of the lack of preventive medicines, hospitals and medical staff, the fear and panic were spread among the people.
Among the most prominent figures of Karbala that passed away because of this disease, were Sayyid Hussein bin Sayyid Mortadha al-Daraj, who was then the custodian of the holy shrine of Imam al-Hussein "pbuh", the noble scholar Mohammed Sharif bin Mawla Hassan Ali Al-Mazandrani, who died in the same year because of the disease, and Sheikh Khalaf bin Haj Askar al-Haeri, who also was hit by the plague in 1247 Hijri.
The plague ended in the final days of the Islamic month of Ramadan in 1247 Hijri after taking so many live of the residents of Karbala, as the sources say that the death toll of the disease has reached more than two hundred and fifty people.
Source:
Al-Hussein City: by Mohammed Hassan Al-Kalidar, The Karbala Center for Studies and Research, Vol 4.
