The later history of spirillum fever at Bombay, 1882-83 : memoir based upon cases read before the Medical and Physical Society / by H.V. Carter.

  • Carter, H. V. (Henry Vandyke), 1831-1897.
Date:
[1884]
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: The later history of spirillum fever at Bombay, 1882-83 : memoir based upon cases read before the Medical and Physical Society / by H.V. Carter. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by The Royal College of Surgeons of England. The original may be consulted at The Royal College of Surgeons of England.

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    6 Series 2. Teyiement Epidemics.—Snh-Series 1.—Tlie first example given below occurred at the G. T. Hospital, where I wiis kiudly allowed to see the patients and examine their blood. These instances having been fully described by the late Surgeon- Major Cody in Transactions Medical and Phijsical Society of Bombay, New Series, No. II.,p.^l, 1883, a brief summary of them will here suffice. Dr. Cody prefaces his account with a signi- ficant remark— The following three cases are the most typical of a considerable number that have been admitted during the past year into the G. T. Hospital, all of which were strongly suspected as being relapsing fever. The majority of them, how- ever, might be open to doubt, or they showed but one fall of temperature, or rather one of either period—pyrexial and apyrexial, and I have therefore excluded them for these three. Nos. 1—3-—A mother and two children, brought by the Police, 13th May 1882 ; found on the road-side at Mody Bay, houseless and destitute, and apparently ill. On admission the mother was in a semi-comatose state, collapsed, with temperature 97° ; in a few days she rallied, and could then state that in the ' chall' (tenement) where her room was, a man had been previously ill with fever, from whom this woman considers she contracted her fever; also that the family subsisted on charity, and had been ill-fed lately. I saw this patient, and considered her case one of spirillum-fever at the close of specific pyrexia ; since no relapse took place in hospital, verification by blood-analysis was impracticable. The next case described is that of the boy, 10, admitted on 2nd day of invasion or first attack. The chart shows critical defervescence on 6th day of illness ; 7 days apyretic interval; and then an entire relapse of 3 days' duration, maximum temperature at acme 106-6°, crisis and decline to 96°, and no further return for fourteen days. Details given are, in the main, characteristic. I saw the patient myself, and found the blood spirillum during the sharp febrile relapse. Sister of the above, 8, admitted on reputed 4th day of invasion, with high fever which promptly subsided two days later; 6 days of apyretic interval followed, and then a pronounced relapse of 3 days' duration, maximum temperature 105-4, minumim temperature at crisis 96 2° ; again after 6 days apyrexia.a second relapse of about 36 hours' duration (maxi- mum temperature 10-l-2°, minimum temperature 96°); thenceforward progressing convalescence while in hospital. This patient, too, r visited, and in her blood, during fever, found the parasite : besides, the general fentnrcs of the illness wore unmistakeably those of gennine relapsing fever.