The Hawaiian star. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu]) 1893-1912, 1899-07-10

Ter soon diagnosed the case as one OF
plague. Barisch was at once isolated
having for attendants two nurses and
DR. Mueller. In four days Barisch died
Or Mueller himself put the body in the
coffin destroyed by fire all the contents
of the room. and deluged everything
with disinfectants. or course the two
nurses and himself were kept i'm quar-
antine.
Two days after the death of Barisch,
one Of the nurses. Albine Pecha, sick
ened. BY night she had developed symp-
tons Of plague and Mueller, though tired
with hsi word over Barisch, attended to
her through the greater part of the
night, and doing his best to comfort her
for she wept bitterly over her fate, and
indeed it was sad because this was her
last case, and she had just obtained a
lucrative appointment to look after
wealthy invalid in Ireland. When at
last Mueller left her and went to his
own room, he himself felt i'll, but as
there was no fever he thought he was
only tired. When he awoke in the morn
ing he recognized that he was taken
with the plague himself. However, he
attended to nurse Pecha, administering
medicine to increase the action of the
heart, and then the plague stricken
doctor had to leave his plague-stricken
patient. On his return to his room he
set to work to examine his own symp-
toms, and as long as consciousness re-
manned to him, he studied his own case,
and set down his observations, as II he
were writing of another patient and
also wrote a history of nurse Pecha's
case. These papers he put on the glass
of his window, and they were copied by
a person stationed some distance out
side.
The greatest care was taken about
communication. Food was supplied to
the two Sisisters of Charity, who came
in to attend upon him, and for the pa
tents, as follows. An attendant came
to the window knocked, and then re-
tired. Sister of Charity then put on
the window sill a disinfected dish and
shut the window, the attendant poured
| the food into the dish and went away.
The window was then opened, and the
food taken in.
After two days Mueller died, in a
week, nurse Pecha died. Up to the last
moment of consciousness he kept up his
study of his own case, supplying thus
invaluable notes for the study of the
disease, in hopes of giving clue to
some method by which it could be
fought. Such fortitude in face of GER
! tain death, and with the weight and
! languor of disease clogging the will and
brain, aroused at the time, and will
arouse whenever the tale is told, Won
der and admiration at the strength of
character displayed. 1t was science
triumphant even though wounded to
death.
With the death of Mueller and the
nurse, the tragic episode finished. The
precautions taken prevented any fur
Their spread of the disease. 1t had been
npped in the bud, but it had shown it's
malignant power.
This incident is frought with lessons
for us. 1t shows that the baccili of
plague, under favorable circumstances,
are just as dangerous year after they
had been taken from Bombay to Eu-
rope, as they were when first obtained.
If they can be so preserved for scenti-
fic purposes, the chances are that they
can keep alive for the same period of
time and longer when they are not
wanted for scientific purposes, and that
therefore it is a necessary precaution to
disnfect all goods which come from a
place where plague is prevalent
1t also shows that even where great
precautions are taken, the disease can
act quickly and claim it's victims in
spite of scientific knowledge. If, in the
case cited Barisch was careless, most
certainly neither nurse Pecha nor DR..
Mueller were and yet both were strick-
en-. Again it is clear that in certain
conditions of health the disease germs
do not find suitable soil, and so some
people escape, as the second nurse and
the Sisters of Charity did.
But this is clear, that the one and
only safe thing to do, is to keep
the enemy out, and to give it not the
slightest chance of effecting a landing
on our shores. There is no need for
alarm, because The Star firmly believes
that the gentlemen upon the Board of
Health are fully alive to their respon-
sibilities under the circumstances, but
there is need to have a public opinion
to support them in their arduous and
unpleasant task. However rigorous
their measures are, they cannot be too
rigorous, A false step, or bit of care
lessness might be frought with dire con-
sequences, just as the carelessness and
over confidence of Barisch was frought,
not only with disaster to himself, but
also with disaster and death to others
to be lost sight of.