Yellow fever: its nature, diagnosis, treatment and prophylaxis, and quarantine regulations relating thereto / by Officers of the US Marine-Hospital Service, together with an abstraction of the report of the medical officers detailed as a commission to investigate the cause of yellow fever.

  • United States. Public Health Service.
Date:
1889
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Yellow fever: its nature, diagnosis, treatment and prophylaxis, and quarantine regulations relating thereto / by Officers of the US Marine-Hospital Service, together with an abstraction of the report of the medical officers detailed as a commission to investigate the cause of yellow fever. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine Library & Archives Service. The original may be consulted at London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine Library & Archives Service.

    44/202 (page 320)
    MARINE-HOSPITAL SERVICE. PROBABLE MEDIA OP SPREAD. The microorganism, however, is unquestionably a sapro- phytic facultative parasite, and foci of infection can be established at a distance from the primary focus by the conveyance into suitable culture media of the microorgau- «p?ea<i?inVan>p^^^^~*^^' ^^^^ scwcrs, about the dumping places of andsuadedspots. rcfusc, ctc., and by fomites. For the same reason the infec- tion spreads slowly along ditches and on damp and shaded grounds to a considerable distance, always to leeward. Taking all these methods of propagation, it may go far from the habitations of men and become general over all parts of a town, yet, in fact, seldom does so. A place which has become infected may remain infected for a considerable period of time, being freed from it by cold weather, ventilation, etc. CONCENTRATED AND DIFFUSED INFECTION. We will consider, then, the (1) house infection, and (2) general infection—out of doors infection. This is fre- quently called atmospheric infection, but I think the term is liable to mislead. The first is in general far the most apt to infect one exposed to it—concentrated, virulent, is usually said of it. The latter, with the exceptions above indicated, is usually confined to the resident part of the town, and especially to the neighborhood of infected houses. INFECTION GREATEST NEAR THE GROUND. The infection is heavy and hangs and spreads near the ground. It is unable to pass a close wall of any consider- able height, although under the shady side of such a wall AotiTity at it may spread well when once started. It seems especially active at night, and certainly, out of doors, is less apt to be contracted on clear dry days. It is believed, I think, universally, to be taken into the human system by inhala- tion, although other avenues of entrance (besides the respir- atory tract) are, since the observations of Sanarelli, accused by pathologists—rather from analogy, however, than from clinical observations. RATE OF PROPAGATION OF INFECTION AND EFFECT OP WEATHER. Dust as a prop- The rate of propagation of outdoor infection is increased agator. ^.^.^^ dusty Weather, apparently being conveyed with the dust. It is temporarily lessened after full rains, to increase more rapidly afterwards. Strong, steady winds in clear weather lessen the infection.