The evening times. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1906-1914, 1906-09-25
SAY RABIES IS MYTH
Eastern Physicians Quoted by
Magazine as Denying Elk
istence of Disease.

istence of Disease.
Hydrophobia and the bite of dog
as its cause are myths. This is the
declaration made in the recent issue
of magazine. which dog lovers will
read with interest. in view OF the cru
SADIE of s. G. Brabrook. the strenuous
dog mueller. Reports of cases Of ny
drophobia are denounced as instances
OF newspaper sensationalism. A num-
Der of eastern physicians are quoted.
who assert that no actual cases of the
disease have been met with in years of
close search.
Hysterls Blamed for Cases.
The great majority of the reported
cases of hydrophobia. according to the
article appearing in the current Our
Dumb Animals, are caused by hysteria
due to dread OF the disease after the
person has received comparatively
harmless wound.
Fails to Find Disease.
OF the disease the magazine article
says:
DIR. Matthew Woods. who has been
in quest of the disease (hydrophobia)
for twenty years. and who during two
summers personally visited every case
reported in Philadelphia. asserts that
he never saw hydrophobia either in
man or animal, and although six years
ago at the conclusion of a paper on
the subject read before a large audi
ence he offered 500 to any person
bringing him such patient, vet so
far no has claimed the reward. DIR.
Woods furthermore adds that al
though he has questioned many physi-
clans on the subject he has not yet
found one who has ever seen hydro
phobia either in man or animal
No Hydrophobia ut Pound.
AT the Philadelphia dog pound,
where. on an average, over 5000 vag-
rant dogs are taken up annually and
where the catchers and keepers are
frequently bitten while handling them,
not one case of hydrophobia has &C.
CURED during its entire history of rs
years. in which time about 100000
dogs were handled.
The record of the London hospital
few years ago showed 2,66S per-
sons bitten by angry dogs. None of
them developed hydrophobia. st.
Georges hospital. London, records
1000 patients bitten by dogs supposed
to have been mad. No case of hydro
phobia.
Two Supposed Cases in 40 Years.
In the record of all the diseases
which have occurred at the Pennsyl-
vania hospital in 40 years only two
cases. which We're supposed to be hy-
drophobia, have occurred. One of
these. however, the only one submit
ted to meteorological test, did not con-
firm the diagnosis 'hydrophobia' and
the municipal authorities refused to
accept the death as one from that dis
ease.
Believes There Is No Rabies.
Finally, DR.. Charles w. Dulles, lee
turer in the history of medicine at the
University of Pennsylvania, who has
had the honor of being repeatedly APP
pointed by the medical societies of the
state to investigate rabies and has
corresponded on the subject with
most of the distinguished medical men
of Europe. physician familiar both
with the literature of rabies. the his
tory of Pasteur and the institutions
called by his name and who, in addi-
ton. has performed the almost in
credible task of investigating, either
personally or by correspondence with
the physicians or others in attend
ance. every case reported in the news
papers of the United States for the
past sixteen years, shows that hydro
phobla is extremely rare, so much so
that he inclines to the view that there
Is no such specific malady, having,
after sixteen years of investigation,
failed to find single case on record
that can be conclusively proved to
have resulted from the bite of a dog
or any other cause"
Laid to Mental HallucinatiOn.
The dozen physicians who were con-
suited in the preparation of the article
strongly declared that mental hallu-
cination was the reality in most of
the so-called hydrophobia cases. AL
though some admitted the existence of
the disease, certain instances were
few and vague. DR.. Joseph w. Hearn
OF Philadelphia is of the opinion that
the bite of dog is no more danger
GUS than the scratch of pin or the
scratch OF an Infectious nail.
The symptoms supposed to be those of
hydrophobia, such as impossibility of
swallowing water, a feeling of hor-
ror at the mere idea of having to swal-
low and slavering at the mouth are
not only voluntarily produced by i'm
agination but are the result of other
disorders not related to hydrophobia,
according to DR.. Thomas J. MAYS. also
of Philadelphia.
Chicago Physicians Divided.
The opinions are both supported
and denied by Chicago physicians. DR..
Sheldon Leavitt. in the Reliance build
ing. said that in twenty-four years of
medical experience he never had met
real case of hydrophobia. In his
opinion the bites of dogs are rarely
dangerous, and the irritation of the
moose harness often moves a dog to
anger and possible violence.
DIR. Charles Gilbert Davis, in the
Marshall Field building, opposes the
spirit of the article. He stated strong
ly that not only is hydrophobia an
actual malady, but that he has come
across dozen cases in his twenty
hve years of practice. All were caus-
ed by dogs, he said, and all ended in
death. He admitted that many per-
sons had imaginative attacks of the
disease. but declared that dogs are
dangerous and all not muzzled should
he shot.
O o O o o O o O . d . . . . o o . .
o THIS IS MY 5srd BIRTHDAY. o
Q Henry Robert Emmerson. o
o Q o O o @ o o o o o o o o o o @ o