Knoxville daily chronicle. [volume] (Knoxville, Tenn.) 1870-1882, 1882-12-31
Lessons from the Haytian Epidemic
of smallpox.

of smallpox.
The Importance of the subject of
protection from smallpox, and the
constantly repeated assertions OF the
real lack of protective power IN vac>
cination, make an occasional return
to the subject justifable, especially
where new experiments are being
made. It is favorite claim with the
opponents of vaccination that the
diminished mortality from the dis
ease is due to ii change in its type,
and not to the protective effects of
vaccination. This has been the most
specious of all the arguments used
by the Observation-Disclosures. The res
cent experiences in Hayti, detailed
below, it is to be hoped will not be
lost upon such as may have been in~
fuenced by this notion. The account
of it's ravages taken from the New
York Times is as follows:
A letter has been received by
prominent mercantile firm in this city
from Dr. J. B. Terres, of Port>au
Prince, giving an account of the ter
rible ravages made by the smallpox
in the Island of Hayti, since its first
appearance there in the latter part
of 1881; and the experience of physi-
clans III the use of vaccination as
preventive of the disease. Dr.
Terres says that the first case of
smallpox was brought to the city of
Cape Hayti from Porto Plata, a city
in the Spanish Province, In the latter
part of October, 1881, and from that
point it spread rapidly over the en-
tire island, not city or even q
plantation escaping the dreadful
visitation. The first case appeared
10 Port-au- Prince on November 18th,
1881, and the disease soon spread
throughout the entire city The
largest proportion OF the cases was
of the confuent form, and the NOR
tally was very great. From the
best information Dr.. Terres is able
to obtain he estimates that The num-
er of deaths on the island from
smallp ox have reached fully $4,000,
and the disease is still doing it's
deadly work.
The great trouble experienced
was to make the masses understand
that the spread of the disease was
Chiefly owing to the free intercourse
Of well persons with their sick
friends. The writer has seen Is or
20 persons sitting in the room with
8 man suffering from The worst form
of continent smallpox, and whole
families sleeping IN the same room
| with SICK children and even in the
50 % E. heo- s5.'~ro 1OuIU IcugU III
his personal observations, and some
facts which have come to his knows
edge in regard to the effect of vacci~
nation as preventive of smallpox.
In Hayl, he says, vaccination has
proved to be an almost absolute pro
lection from the disease. A few
exc, ptiols have been d.
out these LIE attributes 10
the fact, that the vaccine
did not take properly. "The NOR
tality, the Doctor writes, lis nomi-
nally nothing when you take into
consideration the fact, that when the
epidemic made its appearance it
found a population Of about 100000
people, the great majority of whom
had never been vaceinated. The
people look upon smallpox with very
little dread, and no particular atetn-
tion was paid to the adoption of the
only preventive that we have; conse-
quently the mortality was enormous.
DR.. Terres vaccinated himself and
family, consisting of six persons and
sever servants, III November, 1881,
and although during the height of
the epidemic he was called every day
to visit from 200 to 800 smallpox
patients, many of them suffering
from the worst form of the disease,
still, having entire confidence in
the preventive power of vac~
cination, he took no further
precautions against the intro
duction of the infection to his fami-
and not one case occurred among
'ahem. He writes that he can
snumerate at least 40 families, NUNS |
beriDg about 300 persons, where he
was successful in vaccinating, among
whom only six cases of smallpox |
occurred, and they all recovered. All
these people were exposed to the
contagion more or less daily, as they
would persist in visiting their
stricken friends and in attending the |
funerals of the victims. The doctor |
also vaccinated the scholars and |
teachers in three public schools, con-
sisting of about 500 persons, and
only one case occurred, that of
servant attached to one of the
schools. Il can say" DR.. Terres
writes, ''that did not find one death
occurring in cases that had been
properly vaccinated, and from all the
information that I have been able to
gather from other physicians,
they uphold my statements"
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