Little Masterpieces of Science: Health and Healing
History
Little Masterpieces of Science: Health and Healing
Medicine -- History
"Mosquitoes infected with the parasite of benign tertian malarial fever
were sent from Rome to England, and were allowed to feed upon the blood
of a perfectly healthy individual (Dr. Manson's son, who had never had
malarial disease). Forty mosquitoes, in all, were allowed to bite him
between August 29 and September 12. On September 14 he had a rise of
temperature, with headache and slight chilliness, but no organisms were
found in his blood. A febrile paroxysm occurred daily thereafter, but
the parasites did not appear in the blood until September 17, when large
numbers of typical tertian parasites were found. They soon disappeared
under the influence of quinine."
We have still to consider the question of the transmission of malarial
fevers by the ingestion of water from malarious localities. Numerous
medical authors have recorded facts which they deemed convincing as
showing that malarial fevers may be contracted in this way. I have long
been of the opinion that while the observed facts may, for the most
part, be authentic, the inference is based upon a mistake in diagnosis
[determination]. That, in truth, the fevers which can justly be ascribed
to the ingestion [taking into the body] of a contaminated water supply
are not true malarial fevers--_i. e._, they are not due to the presence
of the malarial parasite in the blood. This view was sustained by me, in
my work on "Malaria and Malarial Diseases," published in 1883. The
fevers supposed to have been contracted in this way are, as a rule,
continued or remittent in character, and they are known under a variety
of names. Thus we have "Roman fever," "Naples fever," "remittent fever,"
"mountain fever," "typhomalarial fever," etc. The leading physicians and
pathologists, in regions where these fevers prevail, are now convinced
that they are not malarial fevers, but are simply more or less typical
varieties of typhoid fever, a disease due to a specific bacillus
[minute comma-shaped plant], and which is commonly contracted as a
result of the ingestion of contaminated water or food. The error in
diagnosis, upon which the inference has been based that malarial fevers
may be contracted through drinking water, has been widespread in this
country, in Europe and in the British possessions in India. It vitiated
our medical statistics of the Civil War and of the recent war with
Spain. In my work already referred to, I say:
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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