The Houston daily post. [volume] (Houston, Tex.) 1886-1903, 1897-02-10
| WAR ON BLACK DEATH
Now York World.

ever afflicted the earth 1t has already
been brought by infected seamen TO Mar
settles, France
Tho Disease" Gays the surgeon general.
"besfns generally with high fever, and IN
from one to five or six days the glands OF
of the groin and of the axilla begin 10
swell The duration OF the fever is from
| n Few hours to some weeks, In large
proportion of the cases the fever lasting
about five or six days. After the primary
Fever, the secondary fever occurs IN u
/ majority of recovering cases. The most
| Important characteristic OF the disease Is
| the swelling of the glands. Large buboes
may form within few hours after per-
son has felt in the best othcalth. but bu-
| boes are sometimes entirely absent IRE
| term black death is probably derived
| from tho hemorrhages Of the Stomach or
| the Intestine or from the fact that the
| bodies frequently undergo discoioratoh.
| OWING TO rapid decomposition aftG death
| Inc cruise of the dlsease Is a btclliuH'
somewhat resembling that OF chicken
cholcrl, n small. short ROD, with rouhusi
enus. The bacillus, which was discoNereu
| hy kitaa1to, In lS9i, Is chardcterzei by
rs property of rapid multiplication anu
inc facility with which 1t enters me hu-
| man organism.
| I'm general the disease is spread In
| the cholera germ must enter the intes.lna
| tract, while the germ of the plague may
attack any part or the mucous membrane,
| or lie contracted by even fhe minheSt
abrasion OF the skin. While this germ
Is so virile and so easily taken INTO the
system. 1t is one of tho most easily Killed
by dlslufection
TN the experiments now being carried
on IN the laboratory of the marine hos
p.tal service It has been found thnt but
ono pathogonlc organism Is AK easly &C.
nv Form N ~ stf1 traG 70
bacillus, namely the staphyloccccus pyo-
genes aureus. one per cent. of quichlme
VII also destroy II.
There are known to be- two forms of
the disease: one is the Illuminating
form. called 'pestus major "a which
form the d .sease acts very quickly ana
IS very Fatal: the other 'pestus MINOR,
IN which the symptoms are mild, the
p1uenl not beng confined to the bed.
whence this class are called ambulant
cases. The period for Incubation for
the acute cases appears to be pretty VOL
fiNed Mt under ten days, VIII le IN the
pnbulltng cases the apparent period
In other words amhulatug cases may
be AFFLICTED for. a pcrioi of from ten 10
ihiiiy DAYS before the SYMPTOMS have
developed which cal, attention to the dis.
ease, Tire acute form Of the infection
may cause mild attacks. while on the
otter hand the ambuatlng cases may
cause the acute attacks. The amhulant
dreaded.
According to Kltasato. after pa.
tent has apparently recovered he must
be Kent apart from the healthy COM
munity for period OF oae month. for the
hacilli may he discovered I'm the blood
during convaltCscencc or for three or four
weeks AFTER all symptoms have ceased.
while quarantine measures necessary
10 prevent the spread OF this disease are
similar 10 those requ rcd for prevent ne
chplera. there Is marked dlssimilarity
betwcn tho nature of the two diseases
n their ene9a upon the human body.
The pogue bacillus is found not only in
tho .ntosttnal and other mucous tracts,
hut IN the blood OF the patient as well.
while choleia is not found In the blood
Moreover, the bub2es.. or swollen glands.
considered aggreGat!ons Of the germ
While cholera IS disease affecting
the dgestiva and Intestinal tract alone,
the bubon!c plague is practically a septi
caemla or blood POISONING affecting ali
the, tissues of the body. aud is thrown on
with tho excreuons. Moreover. the germ
of cholera is generally destroyed by dry
ing. whereas the germ of the bubon.c
plague may be mingled with the dust and
inhaled
Regarding the present danger from
tlnued ~ should ne borne In mind That
~ terrible rayages were at periods
Even during the last century. AZ com
pared with previous periods, the disease
has been kept In allowance nldrr quar-
ures extremely Imperfect as romlared
%tlh those of today. All the European
pe eye ,b,, IRE are on ne alert md be
thV eN tension Of the d.Sed So from India.
~ should be borne In mind that Il is
o cni,, wlthn three years that the exact
i9turc of the disease has become KNOWN
nus pos tive knowledge ohvlates unnec.
cSsdrN and futl. measures and efvca
Of ares ines and force to those which are
quarantine established by a Ian Of con- |
sress. which provides for the thorough |
u sne'iion Of vessels at various foreign |
United States. and the uniform system
nl uuannt ne IN the ports of the United |
states. warrant confidence that the dis |
aaSS VIII not enter this country.
oqaae dates back to ' the 'Rira s Sa99ny
peioM Christ In the sixth century it |
lfty Years. II is sad tina, IN Consiante |
SopIe i carried Off 1900 persons IN ono |
i ,aN, IL nreya.led in the fourteenth CEN |
ittoanth and sixteenth centuries, In The |
sixteenth century IN London. "A was |
'erS severn ,1 1honsa md dying weekly N
Nd0 os and the nelghhorhood. IN $50 |
9Wo persisted at Lyons In the frst |
,ai 81 mo ,snyuteenlh century It still |
AVE carried OF sco, 90, persons 3 Nil withi '9
I'VE months N Europe The rreat
'laEue Of London was in 1854. rho total |
'"'''Fi u -ttAtuSf from the ptngup "a |
.oNdon In 1868 YVES estimated at 4GO n6f
! prevailed also throughout various nor
.ons or Europe In the eighteenth ten-
ulN', IN the nineteenth century ii pre-
,alled in Constantinop!e. RUSSIA. IoI.l
nina, Egypt. Arabia and Persia. Tho
~ tuthroak of The plaSue Gu curoDean
OIL was that of 1873 and 1879 i'm Ito
'"ighborhood OF Astrakhan, on tba
olga, In Russia. The plague of London
exam IN December, lG6i there be,ntr ne
many as 600 deRths a week. and II WI |
carcelN stayed when tho great fro Of |
ONION broke out The whole CIV Wa |
llames' ma the seeds Of the disease
men prevailed IN RUSSIA In 1878 Nv,
iouoir Gordon was established. \ line If
o'dleiN encircled all the @uspectasl terri
orN, and another the diarint wherr ia, |
liectlon was known TO exist So AZ, III
'aS me .'sease that the percentage az
Gains quickly rose TO 100. every pnif,nt
very doctor and every nurse diving when
ne plaEhe wss Al its height. 1t became
creSSary therefore, TO clear the neonie
nt OF some towns in the valley 81 tro
olga ana burn every house 10 tho
The surScor- general has an interc,t,r.
eport on the bubonic plague in chinn
mich was sent to him hy Prof. Kitasato
I Toxic. lunnan. in Eds:ern chinn IL
he anctni home Of the plague. ana II DC
Yrs there with alarming frequency ma
ery iaial results. In 1891 1t spread TO
anton and Hong Kong.
idrof' kttasato says In his report:
HNNH.