National Republican. (Washington City (D.C.)) 1872-1888, 1879-08-12
THE YELLOW FEVER.
An Address by n Veteran Physicia


The following are the principle points of an
address recently delivered before the Medi-
cal Society Of this city by Greenville Dowell,
NJ. d. late Of Galveston, Texas, who has had
q large experience with yellow foyer epidemic
cases, devoting some twenty five or thirty
years to the study of the disea Sc:
"rhe subjects of most importance to this so.
ciety, believe, are the nature, causes, modes
ofsprcading, and diagnosis of this disease.
yellow fever is u festive disease, chame-
leon, changing its type in different epdemics
and its characteristics in individual cases SO as
to confound the doctors and confuse their
diagnosis. The nature and pathology of the
disease is not much different from other fcvers
until the third day, there being no pathog.
nomonic symptom, or even genealogy of
symptoms, that can be relied on as positive
demonstration of the disease. The general ap.
pearance of the patient aud mode of attack
will in most cases give relative summing-up
of symptoms that Ito an expert may be con.
sidered positive proof but many physicians
will deny the disease even when ii is ut.
tended with black vomit, yellOwness of the
skin and retention of urine or the large dis.
charge Of albumcn are all found, and will die
sometimes with all these symptoms and yet
deny its being yellow fever. This is what
produces SO much excitement in the earlier
part of outbreaks of yellow fever. The doctors
quarrel about 1t until it gets spread all oven
the city and then everything is confusion.
yellow fever Is not more fatal than small
pox. typhoid foyer, diptheria or scarlet fever
but all take 1t at once sometimes every mem
Der OF family will have it at once, and al
who will takc II IN u city will have it in about
ninety days, and then IL will linger ON eve
after, first us new cases come into its atmo
sphere or under its direct infectious or couta
gious influence. | believe the body alon,
produces the poison, and that it is taken int,
the system through the lungs, and If the air il
pure ard open to frequent changes II will b,
diluted or destroyed SO it will not always atiec
persons. Hence the necessity of removal iron
infected towns aud cities aud living in tents
This may be done in few miles of an infected
city and even in houses in the city by pre-
venting persons from going into the room
where persons are or have been sick with tn,
disease, who have never had the yellow fever
Quo attack is, | believe, II complete proteo
ton, and all persons are liable to ii until they
have once had the disease then they mas
never fear it again. This should b,
well understood by every doctor, TO
many cume to Memphis last year aud sacri
feed their lives and did no good, for very few
escaped being taken sick In a week, and after
ward they could do no good without riskini
their lives rs the poison does not leave the sys
TEN under forty days, aud a patient may re
lars, by eating or drinking too much takin,
too much exercise working too hard, loss o
sleep or anything that will exhaust til,
strength, bringing back the fever and ending
finally In all the fatal symptoms. These re
lapses are called secoud attacks, but let on,
pass forty days and these will not Tecur, an,
| he will never, as l believe have the diseas
again, AS / passed through Memphis lately
many who had the disease last year were de