Birmingham state herald., 1897-06-02
THE SMALLPOX WOLF CRY Time for the Nervous System to
 Take a Rest. REMig< KS DR. A. M. BROWN Ls After q roughly Investigating the Two Cases I5S he Pest Honse-The Workings of IS the Disease Explained
1T State Herald:

y sS GIT state Hefafd:
 v justice to an apprs hensive and scared public, and in dlfense of the med ical profession and city officials. who have put forth every effcTt to pTeys nt the spr, ad in Birmingham of that dr- ad. d disease, smallpox, in my opinion doubt no longer hovers around the two supposed csdss of smallpox. The fi:s. time since the smallpox wolf cry I saw in ecm- pany with Dr. Mason th-s m1rnl3g the two cases under investigation at the pest house, and each one is a severe and somewhat unusual case of varic h, or in common parlance, 'cn-ckenpox.' Ihiee have but a very slight genaral res en- blanee to variola and, tech~Ieally, it's re- semhlance i: less striking. 1he two cas s at the pest housa and one not yet thee, which fell within the scope of my obs rV- ation yesterday morning, by rtue OF even vague l'esemb.lnce, causes the c-ty officials to take pr5cautiona-y steps d to give the pubic the benefit Of the oubt by isola ti.-g them. But t) one hay ns gone through an epidemic of genuina smallpox these two eases, closely Cb- served, are net Indicative of yarlold In any one Of thrae principal p2ints-his- tory, progress or appSarlnce. ThS hi5- tory reveals a recent or not very re- mote exposure to variCla. The stag of incubation is generally w l m 3rked by an epoch of from ten to fourteen days. There is period of invasion following. 1h sa'z C. teriZs1 by the appearance of pabul, S or pimples on head, for head and flce, with a constant and almost rythmic progress downward onl the neck, chest, arms, trunk and lower eHtremities. In a fSw days the pabules lose their fdenty in Ves- icular bod1S and finally the Ves.cuGar metamorphose into pustulae. The char acter of these pustul-s, different fir m the pustules of Varcela is distlnctively re- ticulated, l. e., each pustule contains mt work, dividing ths body of the puls-csl into compartments, So that upon pitt ng the contents escape only from the punct- ured cell of an f.dividual pustula. Um- bilicatine or depression has little signif1- canoe, and consequently plays no im- portant role in the differential diagnosis.
 The h1 sory of the two cases under in- vestigation, reveals no record of having been exposed to genuine smallpox. The invasion of varieella. now prevalent, makes it's attack upon its victims without regard to the usual prodromal warning The regular rythmical, military precision which characterize variola in its down ward march of progress, with regard to cfickenpox is conspicuously absent. The appearance of the cases at the pest house is decidedly pustular but Is more concrete than the average case of even varioloid. Upon puneturisg the h. tents of these pustules escape only to be replaced with air, producing what Is known as wind pox. The pustules are dcssicating and leaving no foot prints or signs of their having camped a short time upon the skin. It is time for the nervous system of the community to take rest. I believe it is the physicians duty since it is largely within the do- mains of his power to correct the rumor of smallpox and set at ease the troubled waters of a restless mind. The false rumor, if continued, may have dele terious effect upon the community and business in general to say nothing of in- dividual families in particular who are uneasy and uncomfortable at home. If the physicians generally will correct the statement of smallpox among us, am of the opinion that it will have an antipy- retic effect upon the feverish condition of the community at large.
 A M. BROWN. ]