New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1865-04-28
TuH RUssIAN EPIDEMrC.


into Europe and thus indirectly into America
the Asiatic Cholera, the most destructive of the
epidemics OF modern times. We can. therefore,
not be surprised at the profound sensation which
the reproduction Of few brief kilograms from
Berlin in tens of thousands of newspapers has
produced. "The plague continues in st. Peters
burg. The total number Of cases is 10000 and
that of deaths 1900. Forty physicians have
died. The Russian Government has ceased to
publish reports of the number of cases" Such
and similar intelligence was sufficiently alarm
ing to startle the popular mind and to induce
|cyerv Government to think of sending medical
commissioners to 81. Petersburg to examine the
subject and to report Oh it.
There was, Of course, general anxiety to
learn the opinions of eminent physicians
on the subject. Their reports fortunately
agree in discountenancing the sensational
Berlin kilograms. In another column Of our
paper We refer to the opinion of Russian ply
sian in hill. position, who em,,,latcully denies
THAT there has been any case o. the plague.
| He designates the epidemic as a kind OF typhus,
II
| from which the poorer classes suffered somewhat
severely; but the fever had nothing OF an e2-
Extraordinary character about it. The increase IN
mortality can be sufficiently explained from the
| fact thai diseases are more frequent at this
season of the yea than at any other especially
among the humber classes.
With this testimony, that OF English, French
and other physicians fully agrees. DIR. Muir
Gibson, physician to the London Fever Hospital
writes to the London Times:
IF the details furnished by foreign physicians are TO
BE- relied on IL il not pest which has invaded the
world nor has the disease any relation Whatever 10
Asiatc cholera The mslady Is evidently reapsine
fever which under different designations, has been
well known In Britain and Ireland for nearly two cen
uries which constituted great part OF tho lrsh cpl
demc Of lsi7 and which about the same time was yer!
prey aent in Upper Siesa and ia other parts OF Ter
mnnv The Russian disease corresponds i'm feasiig
fever in every particular save oneyir. its great IN
tny hut this difercTce is apparent rather than real
and is attributable 10 an admilture OF ordinary typhs
The mortality reapsing fever has rarely exceeded
per cent but almost all epdenics OF reapslng ieFer
I have coeristed with cpidemies OF Nphns' 90
which the average mortality is nearly 10
per cent. Hence the aggregate mortality oil an ep
demc Of the two diseases varies with the proportion o
iyuhns One popularity of rcapsing fever Is that IL
prevails in great epide mics. and then entirely dlsap
pear, for years In 1851 of reap'ing fever
were admitted into the London Fever Hospital than q"
other fever but for upwnrd OF ~ years not one
case has been observed The intervals between some
of the epdcmics hare been long that time has ber
afforded for generation Of medicni men TO sprihe
up having no experience 81 the disease and who on
the occurrence OF esh outbreak have i.s lued that
they were encounteriug new mnlndy 30 II was IN
Scotland IN lsIJ. and l. IL now IN The case q the
Russian epidemic. The causes assigned for tie Eus.
sian epidemic the crOwdin futo ~ Petersburg oi
a. abores in search o work. but particularly
the unusual de'tu'on among The poor and Their re-,
oh
large quantity OF horned rye. The epidemic we are
told, Is exclusively confined TO the poorer classes
In this respect the relapsng fever Of Russia IS not sin
grar. In this country The disease has always Deeh
confined to the poorest classes
1 The Apenir National, of Paris, gives us a re-
port Of the opinions OF the French Academy Of
Medicine:
"Every year 1t says. the return OF Spring brings
with II tphu- epidemic In European Russia. and es.
peeiay In Siberia The typhus merely the resnt OF
ibis crowdiag Of living beings-caitle aud Peope-ut
ing tie snow THIS year the excessive severit,
of The Winter and It's long duration have had the nat;
ural consequence OF causing more extended ana per
haps more deadly epideuc than usual such appears to
be the sole origin Of oil those sinister fa9t' !eiIaSe
by The pshhc press. ON Wednesc.y. At the Academy
~ Medicine NJ. Nelpeau naturally excited by the Pno
tic emotion questioned the Bureau as to what II had
1lesrnei From the explanations given by several NON
ben, OF the Academy II appeared mat all 'he i"'o's
wer without Foundation
We might quote the opinions OF many other
European physicians, but the above will suffice.
so far as We have been able TO learn from the
report, in their political papers there prevails
among the medical authorities the greatest una
Injmiiy on the subject. No case of plague has
yet been established. T. is recurrcni or re-
Ilapsng fever with an admixturc of ordinary
Ityphus. IL has prevailed in st. Petersburg
since September, and the increase of mortality
over the same period of former years is by no
means excessive. The same fever has been well
known in Ireland and Silesia; in both countries,
as in Russia il arose from the poor quality and
| from want of food among the poor, and in 81.
Petersburg the same cause has produced the same
result There is thus far, therefore, not the least
reason for anticipating something worse; rs,
according 10 all accounts, the epidemic is on the
decline