Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1869-09-03
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Typhus and Typhoid Ferers--
Their Causes.

A physician in the Hearth and Home
gives some interesting information in re-
card TO the causes Of fevers. He was in
yited by a minister 10 visit family OF his
porishoners. all of whom had been sick,
and several of whom had died OF fevers,
caused, it seemed, by drinking impure
brock water. The DR.. discourscd to the
minister on fevers and their cause, thus:
Fever" remarked, lis an effect, or,
as medical men would define il, symp-
tom. Now, every effect has cause, and,
therefore fever has its cause. Not many
years ago typhus and typhoid icvers were
identical and depending upon the same
cause. IL was long known that these ie-
vers in some way resulted from the ag-
gregaton of people. They frequently
broke out in jails, and hence they were
called iail-feYer; and on emigrant ships,
and hence the term ship-fever; and IN
camps, and hence the name camp-tever.
Sometimes the form of fever would be ty-
plus, and again typhoid, the two rarely
occurring together. They have frequent
ly been designated spotted fever, from
the dark-colored eruption from the chest
and bowels. The names indicate the
close alliance of these fevers in the opln-
ion of the older observer; they first give
the name typhus to the lever. and alter
wards they distinguished slight differ
encc. and added another form, namely,
typhoid, or like typhus. In typhur (stu-
por) the head symptoms (delirium) were
most marked, while in typhoid the bow
ell symptom (diarrhpaD prcdominated.
In time these fevers weIe made the sub
ect of very careful study in regard to the
circumstances under which they occur.
Itwas found that though thsy are the
most frequent where people are crowded
together, as in jails, camps, emlgrant
ships &C., still the typhoid form may APP
pear in the country and in localities or
families hitherto considered healthy. II
was also noticed that typhus more often
prevailed in the winter and typhoid in the
fall months. At length, more accurate
observation established the fact that ty-
phus occurs where people are crowded
together with very deficient ventilation,
and typhoid when excrementious matter
is received into the system, whether by
inhalation or inhibition. In both cases,
the poison is animal in its character; in
the former it is thrown off by the skin
and lungs, and in the latter by the bowels
and kidneys. Forexample, il man were
confined, as in prison cell, in small,
unventilated room, and the room was
kept clean without ventilation, that
man would sooner or later have typhus;
but il the facal discharges of this person
were allowed to accumulate in his room,
though the ventilation were sufficient to
remove the air he had once respired. he
would hare typhoid. But in the latter
case it is not essential that he breathe the
enianations from the excrementious mat
ter, for the same effect would happen if
these discharges were so placed that they
impregnatc his drinking water. We can
therefore produce typhus and typhoid fe-
yer at will. IL wished to have typhus l
should simply have my bedroom unven-
tilated, and on sleeping in it night after
night, and breathing over and over again
the poisonous emanatioas of my own