The Sun.
London, England, 1805-08-15 00:00:00

CONTAGIOUS DISEASES.

An Outline of a •Plan to Prevent the Spreading of the
Shigtite. OthOr gQintitoti. pttscrilect by
Board of Health, agreeably to the Im.troctiocs 01 Ma—
,jesty's most Honourable Privy Cousicil. •

[OWluded PON our yiwerolites Paper.]
PraZice ofFbriner Times.—ln consulting the ex-
perience of former times, we have found with plea-
sure, that the praEhee of our ancestors, as far baeke
as the time of Queen Elizabeth, furnish many
wholesome regulations, which might easily be
adapted to the present times., These we have
thought the more deserving of attention, not only
because they bear the stamp and seal of eiperieuce,
but because their execution. does not appear to have
any thing in it inconsistent with- the laws-and con-
stitution of the Kingdom, as the legal authority of
the Magistrate is the only' power resorted to. tut
though we commend the spirit in which the regillii-
tions were executed, some of the regulations thetn-.
selves seem highly injudicious, as particularly where
they direect the sick and the well to be .shut to
ether in the infeCied houses. Thii.proceeding was
in its consequences no less injurious to the:public
than cruel to individuals; for, the dread of .being
shut up made every one about the sick conceal the.
disease as long as possible; and when that, could eo
longer be done, and the Magistrate had set his mark
upon the house, the horror of their situations drove
them, to despair, and made them eiandestinetypeer.
'even by force, break ,through their contioenette
and spread wide the infeaion.
Regulations proposedee-In the • following Beguile.
tiotis we have had respect to the predice both of our
oxen Country and of foreign countries In times of
sickeess, and have endeavoured, as far as the nature
of the subject would admit, to consult the security
of the publk, end the comfort of individuals. Batt
t.ite principle of aeparation being acknowledged, the
mode to be adopted may admit of cousidereble va-
riation, from many local 'circumstances.-
DiPrent Pegrees of Pestitence:—Some variation
of pratlice will likewise be necessary •Att different
degrees of the calamity; for such measures as seem
best calculated to extinguish in its beginning would
become impraiSticable, wilco the mischief hint spread
over a larger alistrid ; let us, therefore, early exert
ourselves with prompitude and vigour before it has
acquired strength with its growth, end become 'too
powerful to be resisted.-
. Thefirst steps to be taken.--As soon as any one is
reported to be infecied, notice must immediately, be
giveh to the Magistrate, who shall employ seine
Physician. toleeamitle. Mid the fa& ;' and upon .
ceiving the confirmation oflusreport, the Magistrate
shall, without delay, remove the .rest of the inha-
bitants from the sick house to some place of obsee.
vation. It may be left to the option of the Pattie%
either to provide for themselves, at their ewo egs
-pence, *a house for this purpose, such as the Magi...,
strate shall approve of, or go to one,procuted by ale
Negistrates at the public charge. They shall be con-
Antlered as' suspeßed, 'and shall be examined te ice
every day by some Physician, in order that any one
.Of them who sickens may hie-eel:stole bceeinoved;
the others Shall be prohibited from it tereourse
for the space of twenty days. A Physician ought to
be sent immediately by,the Lords of His Majesty's
most Honourable Privy' Council, or by the Board of
Health under their direction, for the exclusive pun-
puska attenditig the sick, and also .tor ex4unining
the suspected.
The sick .to le confuted.--Tha sus'peCed being re-
moved, the sick person shall ceminne to reiicte in
the house where he was tril:en ill, and shall not be
permitted to quit it till twenty .day from the dete'of
ltis perfect reeovery,- or longer, in case any open
sore,. or, other circumstance, render the 'security
doubtful, Heauust then be required to go two. se-
veral times into a warm bath, or to have his body as
often thorceit;hly'svasbed all over',wiih warm water;
he must afterwards put on clothes which are either
new, or have beedetFeaually, purified, aceording to
such process as shall hereafter. be dire :fed.
Of the. Alirse.,--The sick person shall be allowed
to have any one of his friends or family he classes,
and who may be willing to, attend him as his nurse.
It , there is nobody he or his friends may. appoint for
this purpose, the Magistrate shall provide ene,
any case the Attendant must upon go et:count leave
the house till the Sick be either recovered or dead,
and shall then perform a quarantine of twenty days,
filLiesiltrpttri't
cttittl p,res‘n,Obedx.edlor the purer
eub,,:elisrsPtiaillsvt•Fiecy, 1.04t°111.5.ce
Mca;~i7tr. tea core r list ra;` all
with th,;lrn, tint 5,11t,11,J pro
cess as this .1,47411.0t10 it%
IrrtiClCS fth:eiVcd. 110!{l• 51.15pea.0 alaseese
,ehoted be re! ,10,.;2A without, an ex.prl/4.:si lic(l,Qe
from the It might. be :else
cheap ci at the.. public es pt.mce, for tills
use of such as hue M't a sedi,eeet
the =tele of dress,
Of win be

cary tilt

4 N •
in•);;C.--atchrnen or. giianls 1)e placed constaitly
the d;),)‘. of the nifi.-.+te4 house ; and-also tit the'honse
lit oix,erc;zition, to prevent all'iugreis egres, either
e.lsu,l or designed; •
Qf Atessngers.---Nteiqenvrs 'should also be 'pro-
yid( ci, whose bushies it
,4):111 be to procure such
things as are wanted in the sick'hotise, orhouse of
obs...rvation. These things shall be conveyed throiGh
a window by a plank or a basket. -
In the case of poor people, all necessaries must
be .furniihed by the Magistrate's at the expence of
the county, or neighbouring counties, which, from
their, proximity, become more inunediitely in-
terested in checking and extinguishing the disease.
&pait/4ml ty. the Gentr#:-11 the infeded pet-Son
be in a ..ituatioll to admit of insulating the part of the
house itl which he resides, it may not be necessary
to remove theo-other parts of the .family; provided,
they will submit to he shut up in the same house,
emir' It .separtte2. from the sick, and cut off from all
Communication wish the rest of the town, to the
aa.idih:tion of the Magistrates.. ln this, as in
,the
fotner case, every individual of the thmily must
fo:ro a rinarantine of twenty dtt,i*front• the time of
the venation cif the disrder. •

Managenient of the Sick Ilimse.---The economy
and Management of the sick lieuse should be as
ful-
' The person ill of the Plag► e,. or other conta-
gious fever; should be laid in a bed without curtains.;
in the largest and most airy apartment, and the bed
should be placed, ie the middle of the room ; a part
of the window
.and door should be constantly kept
open, to promote a current of air in the morn, 'tak-
ing care, however, that it do not annoy the sick.
it tae cold, there should be a fire in the Tooth, which
would promote the circulation of air in the •apart--
ment. The utmost attention should be paid to
cleanliness, both in the person, of the sick, and in
the clothes that are about them, which oughe to
be frequently changed: By these means the ac-
cumulation of the poison will be prevented. in 'such.
things as are about the sick; and by means of venti.
halm', the concentration of the poison willte guard-
ed against M. the air of the apartment; both which
circumstances will materially contribute to the safety
el the nurse and all others about the sick.
Importance If the above Preeautions..-The im-
portance of these precautions will appear, if we
keep in mind the well-established fa6t; that the poi-'
son, by being diffused in the air„ soon becomes in-
nocent; and that at a very small distance from the
person of the sick it ceases to do mitehief. It can
scarcely, therefire, be doubted, that the • less it
allowed to concentrate in the air of the apartment, or
to collea in the apparel or bed clothes, the less dan-
ger will there be of the spreading of.the disease, and
the greater chance of its speedy extinCtion.
of the Phasician, Surgeon, Apothecary, and
rarse.---The PhYsician, Surgeon, Apothecary, or
NOW, who attends any, person ill of the disease,
sheeild be enjoined to remain about the sick as
short a time as is consistent with their duty
and to avoid as much as possible all contaEt. with
his person, or with his bedding, clothes, &c.
—Gloves of oiled silk, an oiled silk dress, and
other similar precautions, may he useftil with this
view. These might easily be washed or wiped with
a wet sponge, which shoidd .be allowed to remain in
water. The glass or cup out.of whieb the sick haVe
taken any thing should be immediately put in cold.
water. Any fragments of bread: r other food they
may hire handled should be treated in the same man-
ner. Their excrementitious 'discharges should also
all be received, in cold water, crud quickly removed
out of the sick apartment.
Of 11w Linea of the Sick.—The, linen about the
persons or beds of the sick, when changed, should
be put in cold water, in which they should lie
till it can be put on the fire - and boiled ;' and every
other part.' of clothing of a suspicious nature •
might be treated in the -same manner. The wash-
ing of such things should be 'all performed by wash-
ing machines. .
Me immediate Source. of infe44ion. uncertain
These precautions may appear minute,: bet we beg
it may be recollected that though wo know,, Mast
certaitily that the poison. proceds from the :per-
son of the sick, yet we do oot koow that it 15 con-
fined to any one discharge more than another, pit 3
therelbro must g,ruatd as. munch as possible against
them all. The perspiration, both sensible and in-
sensible, the breath, the hanging ,about
the 'bed-clothes, the excrementitious matter dis-
charged from the mouth, the, nose, the bowels, and.
the bladder. also the matter from the Sores, are all.
probably capable of convey:dig the poison, and ought,
therefore all tribe carefully avoided.
of th Doi! f ' the sick die, the body
should be' .Vrappect in ;oil cloth, or tarred cloth
and !,oen burled.. ""' •

it muit be remembered, that every thing that
tends to secure those'about the sick from inteeition,
is of the greatest importance; both by checking the
pregresa of the disease, and by giving,confidence to
those whose, business it is to • help 'and, assist the,
aftlided-; for by these means many of the miseries
which accompany pestilence would be alleviatcd.:.-.
Nor are such precautions to be thought unavailing,
when it is considered how many of the medical
attendants in different. Plagues have escaped ; whieh
can only be imputed to their using similar pre-
cautions with those we have now . slated ; very
of the Physicians or other medical attendants who
took care of the soldiers intbfted with the Plague in
tl.e niy of 4ypt died. And of thirteen physicians
at Moscow, who formed a committee • by order of
the late Empress of Russia to attend those ill 'of the
Plague, one of the most rep..,ttable (Mertens)
states., that they used no ether proem-dm, than
`avoiding to touch the persons ni' he do:hes of their
patients, and that he hirrisellund all his brethren
escaped the disorder.
Advantage of early ,I.f osnree.---The efforts to• he
made to extinguish the disease can be .al}. much
more completely carried into effeet in the begin-
ning, while there are' but feW ill, than after the
contagion has extended to a greater ritunber ; there-
fore, every= thing. that diligence and 7.eal can (haft
must be done in time tit-St instance. On me:.
Pitiably supposition that it spreads widely, new mea-
snres would I,e come necessary,
frhat is to done when the Disease spreod.—
As soon as any town is- declared to' be infocted,
it °tight to be divided into districts. •Thosc in-
habiting the sound distrids should be at liberty

• I v'T--..1.; •
to depart'; but fil/4-4-a—the tautteo ditria; nolie
should be permiteo to retnove: without a certifi-
cate of health signed by the Justices. bolgogimg to
that
Of purl :iltch. DO?,, JoFtkTi at
least iu each cliStriet should 'ilea daily for the.pur-,
pose, of recciVing applications for relief., of grant.;
tug certificates of be:ilth, of provicling for the burial
of the dead,,
;of conveying the sick to tlt hog
pitals, of regulating the supply of prov;sions, of
appointing different OfficerS and attendants, &c. &c.
Council rf Coun(;jl of.F.lstices should,
meet once in the'week, or oftener, to consider of the
best wanner in Mich their resolutions can be carried
into etfea. They should also report to the Privy
Council onto the Board of Health.
Examiners will be the buiinCSS of the. Justices'
•
to appoint examiners who, may dill'..;eutlyinquire into
the state of health in each distria. These iin
ought to be persons.aequainted with diseilseS, 113 sur-
geons or apothecaries. -
Besides exarninerS, it will ,be necessary to pro-
vide,
Tl ni en .—is..Watelimen ny guards, to be
stationed at the doors of infeEted houses ;
illessengers.-2d, Messengers, Nyllo :,1)all procure
every thing that is wanted. ;

. ,
Carters.--ad. carters and carriages, to convey
the sick. to.the hospitals, and others to carry the dead
to the places appointed for their burial.;
Constable :; or overseers, 'Who
shall see that the above-mentioned officers perform-
their duty.. • ,
Early Notice.—Physicians, surgeons, f,ind 11)01110..
caries, and also all other persons, should, be enjoined
to give immediate notice to the Magistrates .of every'
case Of intEtion.
Of Removal to Hospitals.-,-After the dkeac has
Spread, the number ask]: rendering it inipraaieable
to provide adequately for them while they are dis—
persed•in different parts, .or to remove all the other
inhabitants from every hafeaed house, it beconi:s
expedient to carry the sick, as early, as possible, to
some teMpOrary hospital, unless their situation in
life enable-them to provide fer4bctuselveS, withatit
risk to the public, in a manner that shall be satisfae-:
tory to the Magistrates.
Of the Condue3 of HOspitas.,—Every, attention
will be necessary to render the hospitals as clean and
comfortable as possible, that the sick' may not Con-
Sider it as a hardship they will endeavour to avoid,
but as a benefit they will be glad to embrace, .
It will ',be necessary beforehand to provide ser-'
win tfi foil he hospital, and also a superititendant, upon
whom much Will depend. There must likewise be
cures for the exclusive purpose of removing persons
to the hoSpital. For hospitals 'may be used houses,
barns, sheds, tents, orany,other, buildings the Ma-
gistrates •can appropriatelo this use,
Suspeeled,..and Convalescent.—The unsound
part of the community should be divided into sick, •
suspeded, and
.convalescent ; and they must be kept
separate : Of the suspe&ed the individuals Ought as
much as possible to be kept distill& from each
other.`,

Of' the Suva-led—The uninfeCted persons who
have been living in the same house with the sick
.ought to' be considered as Very muchsnspeeied; they
should be confinetteither in that house, or in some
• place of observation, for the space of twenty days
before they aredeelared to be sound. During this
time they should be examined night and morning
by some physician, surgeon, or apothecary ; and on
the first appearance of disease, that person should
be taken to the hospital,. and the others who have
had communicatiou With him should bu obliged to
begin their quarantine anew.
Public Assemblies Prohi order the more
effeaually to prevent the contagion from spreading
among thepeeple' all meetings or assemblies. of every
kind should be dis Continued 5 all places- of, public
amusement should be shut: up, as play-horses,
and even. the schools and diuretics should not be
opened, and the places appointed for Markets should
be removed without .thetown.
Of Burials,.—it becomes a duty of the Magi-
strates likewise to ~ appoint burial groucts.--The
burial should be conddeted pri\ ately, and in the
night time, without tollifig a Ire 11. And the bodies
ought to be deposited:at a depth allot less than six
feet
.below the surface.
Moreover, some provision will be neCe•;-;:lry fOr
orphans and helpless children; and likewise for thoSe
poor people who art distressed by the ifiterrt4ption
of their usual business. But these must Only; be
relieved when their 4ittiation is pro,ierl att

Goods- to he Secured.—For securing the goods of
those who are moved from their own,houscii to the
house of observation, the Magistrates shoulA direh
such measures to be taken as:to:' them may seem
most expedient. The apartments not used might
be sealed up ; thegoods and furniture might be stmt
up in one or more rooms, also.to he sealed, What
remained in use thr the sick, if ah hired nurse wrre:
employed; should be taken an account of, and the
inventory entered in a book to be kept by the Ma,
gistrate.

Voluntary Seelm.;ion.---The intercourse with neigh-
bours should,be as, little as possible ; and any person
'finding any syMproms of disease upon hirn should
separate himself from others ; and the moment the
complaint is fOund to be the Plague, or Pestilential
Disease, he should give that notice to others.which
he would thiik but fair should be given whim by
another m his situation.. ,This cutting off of inter-
couro has been proposed to go the length of putting
-every ooe into; quarantine ; but there are many dif•:'
fic.ultics in doing - this; and we..hope the disease
'night be cut short before such a nieasure becomes
neecssary. Net it will deserve the .ettehtinm of: the
Magistrates to promote the 'wishes., of individuals
who, from a desire to cutoff intercourse, may pro.
pose ' to confine themselves 40 their.ciwn, louses.--
This may he done by appointing proper persons_to
go to market for them., and throish all such families
with necessaries. Supposing the disease not to have
been Cut short in, the beginning, but to continue to
spread, great: advantages ',would result to the public
from this measure.

Physician, Surgeon, or Apotheraq, to relinquish
other hnsineys.—Any physician, surgeon,' orapotho-
env, who attend: the sick- of the plagite,.or other
like diAease, should be obliged to confine- his praCtiee
entirely to that department: He should ba tequiml
to carry a wand or other mark of distinaiou, and w

•
I'M, SS 6**11)41, rt`.Cdtllllll,l6TC.ll76ll
should keep ohe ZO-a.teibr th
orvisiiing the ; end iretne-:
diatelY return ineneeacfi day Aiotild Put
it, ore to he prol,er-ly futnii;ittea. Ti)e re-'
skiing in the.house with him Sheuld all he consider-•-
ed snspefiled.: lastle, both. he and they,
filiouldperfinin a qunantine of o:veety days -Subse-
quent. to his latest exposere to- infeaion. • •
oifße;•lledies.—W L. thiihk it riglit to state, that
there j,s kudwn antidote'ag.tinst the contagion of
ale" Plague, or other diseases of a siinilar kihd ; for
it isueceseary that people shordd not expose thein-
selves to danger a reliance on the virtue of any
vain reinedieS which may be feconnhended with
that confidence :which geneteilly attends ignorance,
and, which 'is often sufficient to iMpose meou th,4.
unwary. ,At the same time we are ver far front.
depreciating the ifnportauce Of Medichle -at :meal
time. For, thoughindeed it furnish us with no spc-
citic.to strike at once at the root of the disease,' yet.
does it stitteSt various means of'ieliev--ing,thenthst
diarel•e•ing chC.tunstances which attend it, and-of
assisting tin. • natuua
,powers of the: censtitut.ion to.
withstand !he baneful effeas of its poison, .
(y.Franigqiions.—ft tray be proper ,to take notice
in this pjac.v of the employment of fumigations.—
ThOse prepared nom the mineral acids, in, the Man-
ner hereafter to eu. de:,.crihed,- may at any time be
employed in the slek chambers ; but we, feel it Our
duty to diseountenaince stich reliatiee ()it their eft-
eaey as would prevent an aiteinion to the more
portant .objea of ventilation,
ficasolialichess ty* the.“, RegulationS.--"--Thc,pbos're
precautionS will, in our opinion,. atTord the ~• reatest
• possible Security to.tbe publie, at 'die .saine time tleit,
due'PrOvision is in idt. for flu 'care 'de the sick. Nor
can they give ri:e to contalrii.'ehi'rthi-Ouli fear and
apprehension filly leink ,of to- tin pacer mad
What can be more desirable 'than 'to knOw that he.
will not be abandoned in the most creel if all dis-
easeg. Even in the separation of the sick from those
that are Well, there is nothing that shoUld ere:ate"
.alarm. For the poorest:,; seeing the reason fin- Which
it is done, shOuld rejoice in theproSpea' it holds out,
of saving perhaps Ins. Wife; hes ehildren, or otlier
near relations, from the most imminent danger; of
des tenaio ; and use'• do not • thitll itT too much' .• tO
ckpea, fibril the information and sense of juStire
that pervades all ranks, even' the poorest,' in this:
country, that they should' lend their helping hand
with the 'same zeal. as they would do' in the case:Of
fire or other in:Vending ":misfoftnne. :Even the. sick
would find their adVantage in griviiig the earliet no-
tice of their. disease. For what could any one, ill'
of such. a malady, desire more than that he q:lottiti
'.haVe-proper assistanee himself, and that thoje• Most
dear to him should be saved f..oin the il:mger of fk?-
ris4ingby'contigiOn derived from him?. -We-i.);..g. le:we
to repeat 'again, that we do, not think we presume
too much on the' goOd sense of country to sup,
pose that the poor will see the tea on= and justice of
the measures to be- taken'';' and that "those in better
Circumstances will not acquiesce in
them, but givf.t their be;t aid to render them effica-
ciouS.-'4By doing Which, in every rank of lisle, while
We are dtschar,;ing a sacred and importa6t duty to
our felldw creatures, we shall all ;ii tic is,a, best Co:)-
suit ottr own safety.
It will be bi,,titly.itriportant,that the nature of ratty
pestilential diserdet hien 'may unhappily be intro-
chieed, should be di .e, at an earlY period. It
Trav, th,reibre, 1,,...jve a snort account of
the distinAive symptonrs which the :
the Pestilential Distemper et Gibraltar:lre principally
charaeieriLi•d, • : 7 ;.
Signs the Plague.—Pl.!.loi)'!4;ll.l of the P1.2,-ue
'are 'attacked with the follow•ing 'Symptoms : with
cold and shivering ; with lassitride and pane in the
dimbs ; With a loss of appetite, sickness, and -sonie-
tirries vomiting; also•with a pain in the head. 'These
Affeeticms are the cenopanions of moa feverS at the
beginning : but in the Plague the head-iteli is parti-
-Oularly Severe, • and there is a •eonibsion and weight
•in it; and a giddiness, which conies 'and •goeS, There
is rut unedinnion prostration of strength, heel a great
oppression about the precordia, 'accoinpanied with
an unusual dejectionof spirits, The sick 'ate inclin-
ed to be silent ; and though anxiety iS-stronoy
cd in the countenance,' they rnalte'bUt C'eth-
plalnts. If these syruptOms do. not put an end' to
life in tWeitty•tbur hours, they increase- in violence
through the second and third day, and the progre,::i
Of the' disorder then sheers itself is tumour, of the
lymphatic 'glands.; in the arm-pits, ,groin; or neck,
•or by carbuncles Which appear in many parts of the
body-. 'And these eruptions mire such specific marks
• of the Plague, that one or other of them is inmost
always presenteunlesS, through the extreme malig-
nits-of the disease, Wleakness induced; the pa-.
tient sinks before they have time to appear. These.
general •noriccs wee'conceive to be sutiicient to make"
the attending physician or others aware of what they
are th;ipprchwl,and tocltcide 111111 taking the !feces-
Sat.)! measures of precaution which thecit'eurnstances
may requn.e. •
Though the bistory of the pestilential fever which:
has 'prevailed' at Gibraittr, and On the coasts of 'the
Mediterranean, he ntg_perfeel, 'yet We think it our
duty.to IftY before .y'crui.- Loichi hips some account; of
according to the best infornUition tha't hits. I?,eeti
reccis of its nature and charrtler
Signs of fife.Gikraitor i/ver.--.-It begins weh cold
shiveringefmin.in the limbs, frequently, hut note;'.-
ways, accompanied with siela-e;is and a dispJ to
vomit. elliere is a pain in the liefid, More oiele,-,sviii
lent, . attended With a , fitlifitiio4. and redneSs 'of The
'• cscs. In many-the pain of the head is
lug and ,iii some cases confined .to the forehead.
While in .others it exteuded very low dos her. .. .......
the eyes and cavity of the nose; sometimes ilia
cheeks and the whole countenance '',k'Og SW;Alt::11,
with a glossy appearance. -The pulse in this disop-
Iler is full and quick, soon 'after ,the .uccession4if the
fever, but without any dilliculty of reSpiration,' The
'heat of the skill, as soon as•tha_cOld went • off,- be-
cattle always very, great ; and this `.heat, with a
full quick pulfie and pain in the head, 'general,:
ly' continued to- increase during' the first: thirty-
six hours, and then to decrease geadually far the
samelength of time ; so:that at the end of seventy-
two .hours ;11l febrile heat and fulness ofthe
as Well a 4 the pain .of the. head and limbs; 'seemed
to have left: the patient. In this prost'ess at the disease,
, a bleeding of the nose often he spelled, and -a yel-.

LONDON ;I' rilltrd by It I C 1) fIA kUS, of No. 4,triurtleit-401Iitt 1-10W,51 Published bS. 11 LIAM Artm fr, S4X:lo,rfi, Souch Atf,tl
at the SU tv•01:11',313, No, 11'2, Strand whore Vt s:rliFerfzenis (Irders tlie l.,'!iters for the