The Greenville times. [volume] (Greenville, Miss.) 1868-1917, 1888-09-29
YELLOW FEVER.

The dreaded yellow fever. which is
now affecting the people of Florida,
brings to mind 4 lecture delivered in
1879 at Philadelphia by an eminent
physician whose experince in yellow
fever epidemics in South America,
Mexico, Cuba and New Orleans, and
along the Atlantic coast gave him
peculiar fitness to speak on SO interest
ing subject. In his lecture this sci
enlist asserted that yellow fever had
visited the United States seyenty-eight
times, and that ithad been conclusively
shown that in seventy-two visitations
it had been introduced from infected
localities outside of the United States,
and that it was very reasonable to sup
pose that the remaining six times it
had likewise been imported, but that
the means or opportunities were want
ing to trace its importations. That
quarantine laws are not properly car
ried out is evident from the following
facts:
That there were no restrictions on
intercourse between Tampa and Ha-
vana within the past two years, while
yellow fever was raging in Havana
and that at Key West a hotel was fitted
up last summer with bedding that had
been purchased from a hotel in Havana
which had been closed up and sold out
in consequence of yellow fever.
Next comes to mind the fever in
Memphis in 1879. In that year the
National Board of Health employed
physician from the Gulf coast to ex-
anime into the origin Of the fever, and
this gentleman, after three weeks in
vestigation, found that man who had
imported cargo of fruit direct from
Havana to Memphis was the first case,
and from this one case the fever spread
to other persons.
Going back to 1873, when the South
was scourged with the greatest cpl
demic it ever experienced, we find that
the steamship Emma B. Louder arri-
we'd at quarantine station below New
Orleans with cargo Of green coffee.
The quarantine officer found three
cases Of yellow fever aboard the vessel
and telegraphed the fact to New Or
leans. Now comes the startling part
of the history as narrated to the wri-
ter In New Orleans: The consignees,
fearing that II the coffee remained
much longer In the hold, it would be-
come heated and ruined, offered the
quarantine officer $4,000 If he would
contradict his statement of the pre-
vious day and allow the vessel to pass
Accordingly dispatch stating that he
had been mistaken in his judgment
secured the release of the vessel on
which five new cases developed after
its arrival in New Orlcaus, and from
which the fever radiated in every di.
rection, producing about 100000 cases
all over the South, of which about
10000 proved fatal, and commerce was
damaged to the extent of nearly two
hundred millions of dollars.
Space forbids further details, but the
general government, in conjunction
with the various State governments,
should perfect system of quarantine
laws and have them rigidly enforced
so as to protect the valuable lives Of
this our great and grand country.
Quarantine alone will not do 1t; the
laws of sanitation and Of hygiene
must be rigldly observed in all cities,
for If the atmosphere be rendered
mellow or impure by an accumulation
of filth or by exhalations from a soil
saturated or super-saturated with ex-
creta and decomposing animal or vege-
table matter, ETC., then there is danger
that the infcction-producing germ, if
brought into such UNIV holesomc atmo-
sphere, may produce specific diseases,
such as yellow fever, cholera, etc.
The late DIR. w. c. Cavanagh, of
Memphis, in 1879 stated that in his
practice of medicine for more than
twenty-six years, he found cases of
yellow fever brought here from New
Orleans each time it prevailed in the
latter city, and that in most of those
years the fever did not spread in Mem
phis, although some of the patients
died while others recovered; and from
this the Doctor arrived at the follow
ing conclusion: aThat whenever the
atmosphere of city is in normal or
a pure and healthy condition, yellow
fever will not spread, although cases
may be brought in from other points.
But If the atmosphere should be mel
low, or ripe for disease, then one case
would be sufficient to infect the atmo-
sphere and to produce an epidemic
In connection with this subject it
may be well to note that there is not
in all this vast country an institution
that limits its work to the complete
instruction and training of men for
the dnties of health officers of cities.