Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1883-08-31
EGYPT.
Egyptian Cholera Nothing but ChOIeraic
Fever--The Character of the Present
Epidemic In Egypt.

A correspondent Of the London
Daily NeWs writes: / observe that
the native Egyptian authorities and
some of the English officers i'll the
khedive's service are in doubt as to
the real nature of the epidemic
which, having broken out at Dami-
eta, has appeared in Mansourah and
some of the intervening villages. BY
some the disease is called Asiatic
cholera, Ivy others gastric fever"
The published details OF the symp-
toms are rather meager, but from the
particulars already made known | am
inclined to believe that the Damietta
outbreak is not of cholera. but Of q
yirulent form of fever which in some
of its stages bears close resemblance
to it. 1t is worthy of note that the
Egyptian epidemic cannot be ac-
counted for by transfer or contaglon
from Bombay or Calcutta, the nurse
ries of cholera. 1t is true that spo-
radio cases occur in both cities all the
year roand, but in neither is there at
present anything like an abnormal
prevalence of the malady. If, as l
suspect, the + egyptian cholera is moth
ing else but ''choleraic fever the
necessity for quarantine regulation
such as are applied in the case of
cholera will be removed There is
no reason whatever for supposing
that this fever is contagious. The
name "choleraic fever" was, for want
of a better, invented in the Punjab
two years ago. on the occasion of a
frightful outbreak which in four
months killed thousands of people in
the native town of Lahore. and very
nearly $1,000 of tho 10000 inhabit-
ants of Amritsar. / was in the thick
of it. and retain an unpleasantly
vivid memory of the appearance and
and progress of the epidemic In
August and September, when the fe-
yer. which broke out in the middle of
June. was nearly reaching its hight,
the city Of Amritsar resembled a city
of the dead. The hot, damp, heavy
air smelled of disease and death, and
the aame description would apply to
the provincial capital, Lahore In
Lahore City the mosques resonnded
with prayers for the Divine interven
ton, and the Hindu priests were re-
peating their mantras for the same
desirable object; while in Amritsar-
the holy city of the Sikhs-the gurus
were reading the sacred "Granth''
day and night, without intermission,
one guru being always ready to take
up the holy text at his point where
his exhausted brother left off Yet
the Sikh ritual failed to accomplish
its end; the epidemic increased rap
idly in spite of all the prayers and
all the incantations, and the cases.
which in June were counted only by
the score, rose to thousands in Sep
tember and October. At the rate at
which the people were dying, the
largest city in the Punjab would
have been depopulated in some three
years time. Cholera ragged simulta
neously with tho fever. In Amritsar
only 6I2 cholera eases occurred, as
against the $4,000 fever cases. In
Lahore the total cholera deaths We're,
in round numbers, LOO out of a
population of $4,000. To the Egyp
tians, doubtless. it would be small
comfort to know that in place of the
dreaded cholera they had among
them disease even more deadly, or,
at all events, more wide spread.
There would be little satisfaction in
their having choice of ropes to be
hanged with. But as regards the
world outside Egypt, there would be
a vast relief in the assurance that,
after all, it was not to be threatened
with one of the most appalling
scourges which have afflicted man
kind. Indeed. even the Egyptians
themselves might derive some conso-
lation from the fact For the history
of the "choleraic fever" visitation in
the Punjab proves clearly that the
malady is completely preventable
by sanitation. And, as I have al
ready said, there was nothing to
show that the Punjab outbreak was
contagious. For the matter of that,
it has not been yet proved that
cholera is contagious. Perhaps the
Siamese theory of the origin of
cholera may be as practically useful
as any other. Cholera, according to
this hypothesis, is produced by an
exhalation from fungus which
springs from the poison of snake,
aud the exhalation is "blown over
the world by a snake wind" How
ever the fact remains that every
body accepts the contagion theory of
cholera.
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