The Centre reporter. [volume] (Centre Hall, Pa.) 1871-1940, 1878-05-16
THE HYpRoPnopIA QUESTION.
L. there saeh "a Disease q opiaiens OF Iioh-
~ HprEh aHa DT. Hammond.

THE HlDROPHOBlA QUESIlON.
/ L. there such "a DI-ea.rt oPIaisas OF Hen
~ BrrEh aud DT. Hammond,
/ In view of the careful history ot the
case OF Richard SchweitEor, Of Melrose,
made by DR. krctschmar says the New
York Herald, aud in view of the physi-
cian 8 positive declaration that the case
was one of hydrophobia, considerable
surprisr was Occasioncd by the result Of
the pust-mortem examination. DIR. Mac.
Winnie, who made this examination,
/ declared that the immediate cause Of the
death was not hydrOphobia, but asphyI-
la, and the opinion of Mr., Heury Bereh
and that Of DIR. William A. Hammond
was asked for ON the bearing Of SchWeit-
GERS case ON the much vexed question Of
| hydrophobia
In the pOst-mortem examination u
small tibrlnous eliot was found IN the LETT
ventricle that indicated that death was
due to protracted causes, not 10 sudden
violence. Bits Of the egg eaten by the
/ boy shortly before his death were found
in the right brunchus and in the right
lung. DR.. MacWhiunie, therefore. de-.
clared that death was caused 10y
asphyxia, caused by the impactlon Of
pieces of egg in his lung and hronchus.
Mr.. Bergh, beng asked, said that he
was firm IN hls disbelief in the existence
Oi such "A disease as hydrophobia. lie
made distinction between mad dog
and hydrophobic one. he said he
WIS frequently mad himself, but it by
no means followed that he had the hy-
\ drophobia. So dog might be madden
( ed by ill-tfeatment He might be wor-
ried into madness, but he was not neces-
sarily hydrophobic. He thought the
/ principal trouble in the dog question
came from It's treatment by politicians,
who were not competent 10 deal with il.
/ He had offered years ago 10 manage the
whole matter il the city would only pro
vide house and keeper. The Society
/ for the Prevention of Cruelty 20 animals
would send men around daily and scoop
up the stray dogs without charging
/ the city for the service.
"Then do you believe in killing these
dogs ," he was asked.
Il must confess, said Mr.. Bergh,
that the unfortunate animals would be
better of dead than alive, and Il Is not
right that they should run al large,
alarming the community. But do oh
jeet TO the treatment they receive now. ="
Do you not consider, was the next
question, ';that the bite Of u dog mad
dened by worry or other means is more
dangerous than that Of a dog unin-
fluenced in that way -
why certainly II is, said Mr..
Bergh, and he told = story OF "A woman
sucklinga child while she WAS in fit Of
rage and Of the consequent death Of the
child.
DIR. William A. Hammond, on the
other hand, declared, after reading DIR.
kretschmar's history oi Richard
/ Schweitzer's case and the account Of the
/ post-mortem examination, that II WAS
unquestionably case Of hydrophobia
thought twas not genuine hydro
phobia, said he, "when read the first
accounts because they spoke Of the
child barking like . dog. In psuedo
hvdrophobia, which IL a hysterical dis
ease, superinduced by the Imagination,
! patients often do this, but not IN gcnu-
inc hydrophobia. As % the child dying
by choking, the choking was a symptom
of the hydrophobia. DR. krctschmar's
history Of the case is an excellent one
and leaves no doubt as 10 It's nature.
| One of the strongest proofs Of it j. the
abnormal temperature. In the real hy-
drophobia the temperature is always
high, ranging froIn l05 10 ll0. In the
false disease il is never raised, but al
ways remains normal.
Il would be III favor Of leaving the
whole question Of handling the dogs To
Mr.. Bergh's society, said he. IN reply
20 further questions; "for II has done n
deal OF good, aud would unquestionably
deal with the dogs in the best way; but
Mr.. Bergh is doing a great mischief by
promulgnting his disbelief in hyIirupho-
bia, in spite OF the fact that all the au-
thorities assert its existence. II was
formerly denied that there was such a
disease, but no authority denies il now.
And just so far as people are led by Mr..
Bergh TO disbelieve in the disease, Just
so far will they be inclined 10 neglect
the proper measures of precaution when
they are bitten"
at ia n serious fact, he said further,
THAT no one has ever lived after hy-
drophobia has been developed in his
system. There is no cure for the disease
known, though il may be prevented by
prompt measures taken after the bite
has been inflicted. .Excision is probably
the best of all prophylactics, and should
be performed as soon as possible. The
operation should not be done with a
niggardlv hand, but every part with
which the teeth of the animal have come
IN contact should be removed. as well as
the tissue into which the poison NAV
have become infiltrated. Cauterization
may be performed instead OF excision,
and io preferred by some practitioners.
Mr. Youatt. Of England. nsed IL with
over four hundred persons bitten by
rabid animals. and never unsuccessfully.
He preferred the nitrate Of silver, but
others have used the actual cnutery,
caustic alkaGes. have performed ex-
cision in eleven cases and cauterization
seven times, four with the nitrate Of
silver and three with the actual cautery,
and always successfully"
As TO the treatment with strychnia
which DIR. Koetschmer employed, DIR.
Hammond said that he did not believe
in it, but would not condemn il, because
irf a disease which had never been cured
a physician was justified in doing any
thing which he might fancy would do
good.