Volume 1

A system of medicine / edited by J. Russell Reynolds.

Date:
1866-1879
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: A system of medicine / edited by J. Russell Reynolds. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    150/976 (page 130)
    ot tlie day. Ihe temperature of the individual may he lowered during those hours, and this may have the effect of predisposing him to suffer. Possibly the lower temperature of the air may cause a greater concen- tration ol the poisonous atmosphere near the ground at that time. Ihe tendency ot attacks to commence in the early morning lias been noticed in Scotland by Dr. Adams, and in India by Mr. Twining, Dr. Morehead, Sir R. Martin, and others. Rain and Moisture.—These do not prevent the spread of Cholera. It prevails most in Calcutta in the dry season. It does not do so in the North-West Provinces of India, in Bombay, or in Madras. The North-West Provinces have at times suffered severely in the hot and dry months, but the majority of the epidemics have been in the wet months, as shown by the Report of the Commission of 1861. Sin- gularly enough, though the dry months are now the most fatal in Bengal, the great and desolating outburst which startled the whole world, ravaged Jessore in August, 1817, in the midst of one of the wettest seasons known. The combination of heat and moisture, when the air is moving slowly, or not at all, seems very favourable to the spread of Cholera. Thus a prevailing hot, moist, and stagnant atmosphere during these epidemics has been recorded by many writers. This is mentioned by Mr. Thom in his report of the memorable outbreak of Cholera at Kurrachee in 1846. He states that the dew point was very high, 83°; with thermometer at 90° in the shade, and there was induced a sense of languor and oppression, a stifled feeling about the respiration, and inability to undergo the least fatigue. This sense of languor and oppression is often felt during the lulls in the rains in India, independently of Cholera times, and therefore must not be considered causative of the disease. A warm, moist, stagnant atmosphere in Bengal, at any time of the year, is often followed by sporadic cases of Cholera, or in an increase of cases where the disease is endemic. Cholera has been known to cease after heavy falls of rain, and, on the other hand, to set in immediately afterwards, as in the Meerut gaol in 1861. In considering the influence of rain, we must recollect the temperature prevailing, and the time that has elapsed after the said fall. A very few hours after a fall of even heavy rain, if there be no wind, is sufficient to produce just the stagnant, hot, and moist atmosphere which is so oppressive to the feelings, and favours so much the spread of Cholera. One must not be misled by the name of dry months. The hot months in Calcutta are called the dry months, and are indeed the driest of the year, yet a great deal of moisture exists dissolved in the warm atmosphere; absolutely a greater amount of moisture in the air there than in England. In 1853-54 the atmosphere in England was drier than usual, for every month, except May and December, the rainfall being 18-62 inches, or 5'93 less than the average. Winds.—The only way in which these seem to influence the spread of Cholera is when they blow over places charged with miasma. It has appeared to prevail in certain situations when the air came across