Epidemic Respiratory Disease: The pneumonias and other infections of the repiratory tract accompanying influenza and measlesOpie, Eugene L. (Eugene Lindsay)
History
Epidemic Respiratory Disease: The pneumonias and other infections of the repiratory tract accompanying influenza and measles
It is perhaps well, first to define exactly what is meant by secondary
contact infection in influenza and pneumonia. In our experience at Camp
Pike it was found that a very large percentage of the pneumonias
following influenza were accompanied by secondary infection with
pneumococcus, some few being caused by hemolytic streptococcus. The
types of pneumococcus encountered were almost entirely those that are
found normally in the mouths of healthy men, approximately 85 per cent
being Types II atypical, III, and IV. It has been generally accepted
that infection with these types of pneumococci is usually
autogenous—that is, that under the proper conditions of lowered
resistance an individual becomes infected with the pneumococcus that he
carries in his own mouth. Many observations made during the course of
the present work have suggested that this is probably not so in many
instances and that the influenza patient may not be so much in danger
from the pneumococcus that he normally carries in his own mouth as he is
from that carried by his neighbor, in other words, he is in danger from
contact infection. The same considerations hold true with respect to
hemolytic streptococcus infection. Secondary contact infection in cases
of already existing pneumonia following influenza were found to occur
frequently. These were for the most part caused by hemolytic
streptococcus infection superimposed upon a pneumococcus pneumonia. Many
instances of double pneumococcus infection, however, either coincident
with or following one another were encountered.
Secondary Infection with S. Hemolyticus in Pneumonia
Pneumonia caused by streptococci was repeatedly observed[50] during the
pandemic of influenza which occurred in 1889–90. With clearer
recognition of the characters which distinguish varieties of
streptococci several observers have shown that secondary infection with
hemolytic streptococci may occur during the course of pneumonia and
though definite evidence has been lacking have suggested that it may be
acquired within hospital wards. That a similar secondary infection with
S. hemolyticus in pneumococcus pneumonias following influenza occurred
not infrequently at Camp Pike during the epidemic was shown by
bacteriologic studies made during life and at autopsy in a considerable
series of cases. During the early days of the epidemic of influenza,
secondary streptococcus infection was almost entirely limited to certain
wards which were opened for the care of the rapidly increasing number of
patients with pneumonia. During this period these wards were
overcrowded, organization was incomplete, and the opportunities for
transfer of infection from patient to patient were almost unlimited. The
spread of streptococcus contagion and its fatal effect may be clearly
brought out by comparison of these wards with wards that had long been
organized for the care of patients with pneumonia.
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