Presidential address : plague in Bombay, 1896-1900 / by Lieut.-Col. Waters.

  • Waters, George.
Date:
1900
Catalogue details

Licence: In copyright

Credit: Presidential address : plague in Bombay, 1896-1900 / by Lieut.-Col. Waters. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by The Royal College of Surgeons of England. The original may be consulted at The Royal College of Surgeons of England.

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    attacked on the first appearance of the pest in Bombay, was much more fatal than it has been since either there or elsewhere. With this exception, the terrible disease with which we have now been close on four years face to face, has exhibited little or no modification. The characteristic symptom, the glandular swelling—tbeomerodsof the Old Testament—is said by many to be often absent, but my own observation leads me to believe that it is almost a constant feature of plague; only in some cases the enlargements of the lymphatic system appear very late in the course of the disease. I have seen it make its first appear- ance as late as the tenth day of the sickness. It may, therefore, be considered the most constant and characteristic symptom of plague; it is, in medical phraseology, the pathognomonic feature, apd this I believe has been the experience of all times. I n my own case the mesenteric glands seemed to have been most implicated, and the chief and most depressing symptom was a drastic bowel complaint with drumlike distension; and the sequel, which did not declare itself till some months later, was pronounced jaundice, attended with remarkable stupor of the mental faculties. Somewhat late in the attack one axillary gland became swollen and tender to the touch. Plague has from remotest time been a dread of humanity. It would appear that the circumstances of modern times are less congenial to its mis- chievous progress, than were those of the earlier visitations o.f the disease, as for instance, those recorded in the Bible. I must here, however, say that the plague does not appear to me to be a disease associated with defective sanitation to any marked degree. I find plague a constant accompaniment of damp, and, of course, inasmuch as damp and dirt are often co-existent, it may to a certain extent be alleged that it is a disease of defective sanita- tion. I nevertheless maintain thatplague is not a pythogenic or filth-begotten ailment. I have over and over again seen plague contracted in the very cleanest of places, but I do not think I have seen more than a few cases that were not in obvious