The times., 1897-09-05

sion Of this subject it is well % determine
first the present status Of this uncertain
disease
During many years Of travel, il all
parts If tie world, where. hydr0phobia is
supposed to be distributed geogr4p 4pticaHy
after diligent inquiry I was unable 10 OBJ
taiu personal information oil a single case
and ilany Of the oldess practitioners of
great experience in The latitudes Of canine
rabies t.yld iiie that they had never seea
case. III Asia Minor and CeHstantinopie,
the home OF pariah dogs, one neyer hears
Of hydrophobia. In Japan and Korea, the
latter poss essing more dogs than any
other country, such i thing as hydro ptobia
is unheara Of. London, with its i've and
half million Inhabitants had but one
case reported. that in 1892 The statistics
Of New York for tlnrtyfiy years show
nine years in which no deaths uccJlrred
ana for two successive years not a case
was reported.
'Dr. Landon Carter Gray, one OF the
best known physicians of New York.
during the discuss ion of this subject before
the Medical Society said that there was
not Il neurologist in New York who had
ever seen n case during his practice that
very few physicians in the country had
seen one, and that he, during his twenty
years of practice, had seen but one, and
would not swear To that. Drs. Birdsau.
Loon.is, Byron and sptzka, all eminent
in the medical profession, declared in
similar terms that hydrophobia does not
exist and read papers TO that effect before
the society.
'Dr. c. W. Dulles, in a recent report
to the Medical Society of PENNSYLVANIA
said Most of the cases alleged to be
hydrophobia are utterly incredible and
wholly spurious; that in France, tue hot
bed OF hydrophoDia and other neuroses,
more people die from the Pasteur treat
ment than used to die formerly from hy-
dropbobia
The chief reason for skepticism in
regard tc this badly elucidated disease
is the faulty nature of the evidence
Many of the alleged cases, when thoroughly
sifted, resolve themselves into some dis
tinct. recognizabl disease, generally
hysterical or nervous, in which terror
and expectant attention are the main
factors Postnlortem examinations have
often dispelled alarming announcements
of hydrophobia outbreaks and generally
these sens ational discoveries turn out
TO be Something else after such examina-
tions.
Recent advanced study of nervous dis
eases show the lower order of animals TO
be subjected TO many OF the same diseases
that afflict the human being. Dogs are
subject to smallpox and may be pro-
tected by vaccination. Besides, they have
dreams. ifusive trans formations, epilepsy
and deliriuni. The last named may be
easily mistaken for what is called hydro
phobia.''
Referring TO the Pasteur treatment and
whether it had been the means of curing
alleged cases of hydrophobia, DR.. Rosse
said:
''As to Pasteur's anti-rabies vaccination,
the statistics both in this country and
abroad do not warrant statement of
definite results. Many persons who have
been inoculated after the method have
died, 1 believe, from direct influences of
the treatment. Still their deaths have been
charged TO hydrophobia. The statistics OF
France show a greater mortality record
from hydrophobia since the Introduction of
the Pasteur treatment than ever before.
The introduction of the infallable meth
cd has failed to eradicate or prevent rabies
in dogs, and in no part of the world has
it diminished the mum Der of deaths claimed
as hydrophobia.
The popular impression of this badly
elucidated disease derived by the public
is from the exaggerated, reckless and ir-
responsible accounts given by sensational
newspapers.
IF all the cases of hydrophobia exist
it is n curious fact that there has never
been a claimant for the large money award
offered by various kennel clubs and prom
inent physicians to anyone producing a
well-authenticated case of hydrophobi;s in
man or beast.
Another mistake that Is usually made
is that when person is bitten the first
impulse is that the dog should be inmedi-
ately killed. When this is done they
destroy the only means of proof and to
make proper diagnosis.