The National tribune., 1898-05-12


taken to higher attitudes But in neither
case, unfortunately, is there much chance
| OF saving a man with bad attack. Yellow
fever Is very instantaneous In Its methods.
| The period of incubation in the disease Is
only four or five days, sometimes less. In
| a week or 10 days, sometimes In day or
so after the attack becomes evident, the
patient is either killed or cured. Military
| surgeons expect convalescent patients TO
be up and about their duties inside two or
| three weeks.
Regarding the propagation of yellow fever
little is certainly known. 1t is OF bacteria
origin, but the specific germ Is not ldentl-
fled beyond all doubt. Recently, an Italian,
| DR.. Sanarelli took up his abode on an
| island outside Tio de Janeiro and made
| systematic study of the disease. Through
| the kindness of the Brazilian Government
he was furnished all materials TO work
/ with. and a number of waste conVictS 10
| experiment upon.
! Sanarelli isolated bactcrium which is
| probably the cause of yellow fever. tie
| inoculited several men with il and they
died in due course with pronounced symp-
| toms. On the publication OF this work,
| the bacterium was recognized as one which
! the Surgeons General of our Army, DIR:
Sternberg, isolated 10 or II years ago, and
which he has kept growing in glass tubes
| ever since. Dr. Sternberg, not having
| Sanarelli's facilities, was compelled to con
| fine his incubation experiments to chick
ems. The chickens suffered from dis
ease resembling yellow fever. These ex-
perimentS with chickens were not sum
GENTLY conclusive, however, to enable
Sternberg to say positively tnat MS
bacterilIm was the real long sought yellow
fever germ, and he contented himself with
recording his work.
Further experiments with Sanarelli's
bacterium, granting the experiments and
deductions of the Italian to be correct, VIII
d.,Jrh nj
propagation of yellow fever. At present 1t
is mostly gueSSwork.
NOT A CONTAGIOUS DISEASE.
Yellow fever is not contagious. Patients
suffering with the disease do not inject
their nurses, attendants, wives or physi-
clans. The probabilities are that 1t is
conveyed in the same way as many other
filth diseases. A man must eat or drink
cholera or typhoid, and the same IS very
likely true of yellow fever. Air infection is
often suggested, but air infection with any
disease can only come through inhalation
of dried Infectious material In the form OF
dust, as is the case with tuberculosis.
Conveyance by flies and musketos is some
times suggested, and very likely occasion
ally happens.
Yellow fever rarely attacks person
born in Habana or Vera Cruz, or indeed
anywhere in the tropics. This immunity,
however, may be lost by prolonged resi-
dence in the North. One attack confers
immunity against another, or at least the
cases where a second attack is reported to
have occurred are SO rare as to make 1T
doubtful whether they exist. Living
through an epidemic also inSures against
attack in subsequent one. In all THESE
cases is an open question Whethef the
immune natives or strangers have not
been made so by an attack OF yellow fever
so mild as to be unrecOgnizable. Mild at
tacks are recognized as yellow fever with
great difficulty.
The more severe the Winter climate at
the home of a newcomer TO Hapana the
greater his susceptibility to yellow fever.
This is a rule which is often given, but is
merely an approximation. The following
gives the mortality among residents OF
various nationalities, ETC., in New Orleans
in the epidemic of 1883, the numbers given
being the deaths per 100000:
New Orleans, 1853; West Indies, e14;
Southern States, 1,322; Spain and Italy,
2.2OS; Middle States, 3069; New York and
New England, 3 2S3; Western States, ,423;
France, 4,S13; British America, 5,O24;
Great Britain, 5,219; Germany, 13,2o1;
Scandinavia, 1928; Austria and Swltzer-
land, q .O03; Netherlands, 81 1874.
Men are more susceptible to yellow fever
than are women. The reason usually
given is that men drink spirits, etc. Vel
low fever has Il special production Tor
man Just recovering from spree. Whites
suffer more than any other race. Negroes
are comparatively immune, although when
coming from the North they are liable to
suffer In the old days when Jamaica was
as dirty as Cuba is now, or at least as
dirty as any but a Spanish colony can be,
the mortality from yellow fever was fright
full An interesting bit OF statistics dating
from that time gives the mortality OF newly
arrived white troops as 106 per thousand,
per annum while that of black troops was
but eight per thousand. Nowadays, the
Jamaica hills are the healthiest foreign
stations of the British army. The NOR
tally from climatic diseases is more than
overbalanced by the immunity from pneu- |
monia and similar diseases.
HOW ONE MAY ESCAPE INFECTION.
There are few recommendations that can |
be given for individual prophylaxis. The |
most important is to let whisky alone, keep |
away from wharves and dirty parts OF town,
cook food and drink, and preserve cleanli- |
ness Contact with yellow-iever patients
is not dangerous, but contact with their
dejecta is After being in contact with a
patient. hands and face should be
thoroughly washed before eating or drink
ing Plenty of fly paper and MY poison
around a hospital is an unexpectedly
great help towards preserving health:
Uncooked articles of diet are always
dangerous to unaccllmated people In the
tropics. anyhow In colder climates the
bacteria and other organisms living in
water are accustomed to- comparatively low
Bacteria which thrive best
at high temperatures would have diff
Guilty in accuStoming themselves 10 our
conditions. Consequently,
when ordinary water IL the North IS drunk,
the bacteria contained in it have little or
no chance against the normal bacteria in
the stomach, and quickly go to the wall.
But those living in the comparatively
warm waters OF the tropics find the tenn
perature of the stomach fairly we'll adapted
to their needs and are likely to grow and
wax mighty when such proceeding is
Three conditions are necessary to de-
velopment of yellow-fever epidemics: the
presence of plenty of animal refuse, hot
weather, and the presence of the specific
In absence of the last two
yellow fever will not develop; in the alb
sence of the first, an epidemic cannot
start. MAUMEE.