Medical Inquiries and Observations, Vol. 4: The Second Edition, Revised and Enlarged by the AuthorRush, Benjamin
History
Medical Inquiries and Observations, Vol. 4: The Second Edition, Revised and Enlarged by the Author
Rush, Benjamin
Medicine; Yellow fever -- Pennsylvania -- Philadelphia
The news of the death of these two citizens, with unequivocal symptoms of
yellow fever, excited a general alarm in the city. Attempts were made to
trace it to importation, but a little investigation soon proved that it
was derived from the foul air of a ship which had just arrived from
Marseilles, and which discharged her cargo at Pinestreet wharf, near the
stores occupied by Mr. Lewis and Mr. Hall. Many other persons about the
same time were affected with the fever from the same cause, in Water and
Penn-streets. About the middle of the month, a ship from Hamburgh
communicated the disease, by means of her foul air, to the village of
Kensington. It prevailed, moreover, in many instances in the suburbs, and
in Kensington, from putrid exhalations from gutters and marshy grounds,
at a distance from the Delaware, and from the foul ships which have been
mentioned. Proofs of the truth of each of these assertions were
afterwards laid before the public.
The disease was confined chiefly to the district of Southwark and the
village of Kensington, for several weeks. In September and October, many
cases occurred in the city, but most of them were easily traced to the
above sources.
The following account of the weather, during the months of August,
September, and October was obtained from Mr. Thomas Pryor. It is
different from the weather in 1793. It is of consequence to attend to
this fact, inasmuch as it shows that an inflammatory constitution of the
atmosphere can exist under different circumstances of the weather. It
likewise accounts for the variety in the symptoms of the fever in
different years and countries. Such is the influence of season and
climate upon the symptoms of this fever, that it led Dr. M'Kitterick to
suppose that the yellow fever of Charleston, so accurately described by
Dr. Lining, in the second volume of the Physical and Literary Essays of
Edinburgh, was a different disease from the yellow fever of the
West-Indies[1].
[1] De Febre Indiæ-Occidentalis Maligna Flava, p. 12.
METEOROLOGICAL OBSERVATIONS,
_MADE IN PHILADELPHIA_.
AUGUST, 1797.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account