Spirillum fever : synonyms, famine or relapsing fever as seen in western India / by H. Vandyke Carter.

  • Carter, H. V. (Henry Vandyke), 1831-1897.
Date:
1882
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Spirillum fever : synonyms, famine or relapsing fever as seen in western India / by H. Vandyke Carter. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by The University of Leeds Library. The original may be consulted at The University of Leeds Library.

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    found in 190 continuous instances to have a mean duration of 7-4 days, an average duration of 8-i, and an extreme range of 3 to 12 days. The instances of extremest range were very few, especially those of the shorter period. It is remarkable how nearly alike is the duration of the invading attack, and that of the first apyretic interval—viz. as 7 '5 to 7 -4 days : still the two events are probably not connected, for a relapse is by no means invariable, and analogy points to the association of each non febrile stage with the succeeding pyrexial attack. Apparently there is no fixed relation between the duration of interval, and that of pre- ceding or following febrile event; or between it and the intensity of fever in these attacks. Nor has experiment on the quadrumana eluci- dated the conditions of varying incubation-period and febrile manifes- tation: probably they are not simple, but complex. The close of this first interval is attended with a visible blood infection and both t. and p. may indicate some concurrent perturbation ; as a rule, however, there is little that is certain recorded, and more elaborate research is still required ; my experiments on the temperature observed at even 3-hour intervals not being quite conclusive. Second Febrile seizure ; first Recurrence or Relapse.—Usually this is a prominent feature in the patient's illness, being almost tantamount to a reproduction of the invasion seizure terminated a week before : less often it is comparatively insignificant, and between these two extremes there occurs almost every variety of form, intensity and duration of pyrexia. Even when brief, the fever commonly presents marked diurnal exacerbations ; and this paroxysmal character tends to prevail in re- lapses of 3-4 days duration ; in pyrexia of 5-6 days it is still apparent at first, the subsequent tendency being towards more continuous type. In consequence of so great liability to variation, it becomes difficult to convey briefly an adequate conception of the relapse : 30 cases have been selected for analysis, all in survivors and free from complication, of 4-7 days' duration, and dating throughout the epidemic. The whole group will first be considered; then each series of most to fewest days' length ; a few examples of short relapses being added to complete the description : remarks are based upon bi-daily records. Initiation.—Some hourly observations made at the beginning of the relapse shown in Chart 2, Plate IV., prove that when chills occur at onset of fever, they do not supervene until the temperature has already risen :—7 a.m.—t. ioo°-4, p. 86, no chills or headache, bilious vomiting with uneasiness over site of gall bladder : 8—t. ioo°-4, p. 90, no chills or other sign of uneasiness : 9—t. 101°, p. 100, no chills, some aching in loins, no splenic uneasiness: 10—t. 102°, p. 108, no chills : 11—tio2°, p. no, slight chilliness, no headache, hepatic uneasiness : 12 noon— t. 103°-4, p. n2, still sense of chills, no headache : i p.m.—t. 103''-6, p. 126, still sense of chills, no headache : 4—t. io4°-2, p. 150, chills ceased. L