Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1890-08-16

In the course of the next four chapters
much conflicting evidence is given as to
whether human smallpox and bovine cow
pox are notifications of the same disease;
in the opinion of the author they are not So.
In the very interesting chapter on cowpox
descriptions are gi ven of the case OF mixers
accidentally inoculated d
DIRECT FROM THE cow
in epidemics occurring in certain dairies in
1904 and 1887, the report of the former
being by Ceeley and of the latter by the
author. In all these the course of the
vesicles was very similar to that run by
those produced by incubation with human
lied lymph, except that the local and con-
stitutional symptoms were more severe.
With regard to the latter group of eight
cases the striking circumstance is re-
corded that the patients were all
vaccinated, with the lymph ordinarily
used, iour months after the casual attack of
cowpox, and were all found to be complete
ly protected. This of course goes far to prove
the identity OF the natural and artifcially-
produced diseases. In attempting to explain
the rapidity with which the new form Of in
oculation was accepted, both at home and
abroad, without admitting any intrinsic
merit in the practice, DR.. .Crookshank would
have US believe that Jenner had only to
name the disease variol@ vaccine to induce
medical men all over the world to believe
and act upon his doctrines without inquiry
| or examination.
We may summarize the objects which DR..
! Crookshank has endeavored 10 attain in
writing this book under the following three
| heads: First-To place in the hands of the
medical profession history OF the origin,
rise and progress of vaccination and the
pathology of the disease resulting from 1t;
second-To rob Jenner of his laurels by de-
priving him of any credit which, by the
world at large, has been thought due to the
discoverer of the practice; third-To en-
deavor to show that incubation with
vaccine lymph does not afford any protec-
ton from smallpox. The first of these OBJ
| jects has been carried out SUCCESSFULLY, and
| this book is valuable addition to the lit
eraturc of medical history. We cannot,
however, credit the author with any ap-
proach to that somewhat rare characteristic
impartial historian. The second point has
been gained to the limited extent of show
| ing that Jenner was not, strictly speaking,
the discoverer of the benefits to be derived
from cowpox incubation; nevertheless, it
was he who caused the practice to be
adopted by almost all civilized people. 1t
| is difficult to understand why the author
should have shown SO much animus against
- - r,oda srob dosnerote efn1ts IN
deprive him OF his posthumous fame by
throwing doubts on his character as scien-
tifc, and even as an honest man. Possibly,
with the enthusiasm of a recent vert, ne
thought that the severest blow he could deal
the old faith would be to discredit its author.
vAccINAT1oN DEFENDED.
As for tbe +bird oontent;on Dr Crool.
shant hos ~ soaroa1v mo5e ont nr;ma faoie
oasa aaa;nst % tbe ,,rotect;ve inauenoe of vac.
80 ;l"aI fan a.. ha Los ottor,ntod
- ~ ,s thot ottooLs of smaIInoy and
a1,a, saI,asa and fataI ones hove oncnrre5 in
thosa rrho have heen vaoc;nateS and this
aoo,o;nto5 i'll ~. r,h;aot ,ronId
nt, ~ one "eq uainu 1 W M III 49, an
"S.emp. w 80 - .I;1;oaI .,,;Sa,,oa no
collected bv competept observers. demon.
strating that the efficiently vaccinated per-
son is In position OF almost perfect security
against smallpox, as compared with one
who is not thus protected. with this evil
dence the author does not deal at all. 1t
clinical facts cannot be made to square with
the theories of certain physiologists, 80
much the worse for the theories. We may
enumerate few of these facts, for which it
seems to US impossible to account on any
other ground than that of the protective in
huence of vaccine lymph.
The Registrar General bears Us out in as
serting that the mortality rate among med
ical men from every infectious disease ex-
cept smallpox is greatlr' in excess of that of
the general population; whereas in this
| disease it is much lower. We think the in
| ference obvious. It is within our knowl-
edge that during two Of the years for which
the smallpox hospital at Hampstead was
open none of the staff, though living con-
stantly in poison-laden atmosphere, con-
tracted the disease, except an assistant
gardener who had escaped the re-vaccination
to which all the other members of the staff
had been subjected before being allowed to
enter upon the performance of their duties.
We are told that similar experiences are
common in smallpox hospitals generally.
s,,,nov npcpr.erSo
sh1AN1f Va AA-iNt'<>'i1'"
We have already referred to the circum-
stances that the diminuation in the number
of cases of smallpox is out Of all proportion
to that of other infectious diseases, and
therefore cannot be entirely explained by
isolation of the affected and improved sani-
tary conditions. 1t has also been found in
the examination OF patients brought into
the various hospitals that in the severe cases
there were no cicatrices at all, or only very
faint ones, showing that no efficient vacci-
nation had been performed. By careful
isolation Leicester has so far escaped an
cumstance was recently mentioned in the