Epidemic of scarlet fever at Donaldson's Hospital during the autumn and winter of 1861 / by James D. Gillespie.

  • Gillespie James D. (James Donaldson), 1824-1892.
Date:
1862
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Epidemic of scarlet fever at Donaldson's Hospital during the autumn and winter of 1861 / by James D. Gillespie. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh. The original may be consulted at the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh.

    3/18
    EPIDEMIC OF SCAELET FEVEB. In the Monthly Journal of Medical Science for the year 1853, I published an account of an epidemic of scarlet fever at Donaldson’s Hospital, in which I gave an analysis of 70 cases of that disease 5 and I now purpose giving a report of 43 cases, which occurred in the same institution towards the end of last year. Before entering on the statement in connexion with the late epidemic, I may briefly allude to the cases which have occurred during the interval • and it may also be advisable to recapitulate the leading features of the epidemic of 1852, as it was observed in the hospital. That epidemic was of a mild character, and of a re- markably consistent type, being characterized by,—111st, The almost invariable sickness and vomiting, most frequently of greenish biliary matter; 2d, The invariably injected appearance of the fauces prior to, or ushering in, the febrile symptoms ; 3d, The sthenic rather than asthenic type of the fever; 4th, The little tendency to severe head symptoms; 5th, The total absence of the malignant form of the disease; 6th, The mildness of the sequelas, which for the most part affected the glands and cellular tissue of the neck ; 7th, The non-existence of dropsy, or of albuminous urine, whether as a con- comitant or sequela.” Such being the characteristics of the fever, they sufficiently account for the absence of any fatal case. In 1853 and 1854 the hospital enjoyed perfect immunity from the disease ; but in 1855,18 cases were observed. All of these had smart fever, and pretty acute sore throat, but only 7' of them had anything like a distinct eruption, a mere mottling of the surface, as of a reddish colour shining through the skin, and chiefly on the chest, being apparent in the great majority of cases. In 3 of these cases, albuminuria was observed after the children had been considered convalescent and been permitted to rise. Each of these had laboured under a severe attack of scarlatina, with well- marked eruption. The fever prevailed from the middle of November to the end of