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Plague: Its Cause and the Manner of its Extension, Its Menace, Its Control and Suppression, Its Diagnosis and TreatmentJackson, Thomas Wright

History

Plague: Its Cause and the Manner of its Extension, Its Menace, Its Control and Suppression, Its Diagnosis and Treatment

Name: Plague: Its Cause and the Manner of its Extension, Its Menace, Its Control and Suppression, Its Diagnosis and Treatment
Author: Jackson, Thomas Wright

Jackson, Thomas Wright

Plague; Rats as carriers of disease

It must be borne in mind that the patients, who showed
    positive agglutination, had been vigorously treated with
    antiplague serum. Nevertheless, in consideration of the low
    titer of the curative serum (dilution 1:32, agglutination
    positive; dilution 1:64, agglutination negative), the rise of
    the agglutinant power of the patient's serum in dilutions
    higher than 1:16 cannot be explained as wholly due to passive
    immunity, but rather to active immunity arrived at on the
    principle of simultaneous immunization.

    From the preceding observations the following conclusions are
    drawn:

    1. The importance of blood cultures as a diagnostic means is
    evident from the fact that positive blood culture was
    obtained in practically every case that was examined in the
    febrile stage of the disease, even when buboes or signs of
    pulmonary involvement had not been detected clinically.

    2. It is also evident that _Bacillus pestis_ may be found in
    the circulating blood of the patients even in cases which
    subsequently recover.

    3. The period of time during which _Bacillus pestis_
    circulates in the blood is evidently short and irregular.

    4. Mixed infection may be encountered in plague septicæmia
    (_Streptococcus_, _Pneumococcus_).

    5. The agglutination test is of no value for the diagnosis of
    plague, as it was found positive only in convalescents.

    6. Phagocytosis of plague bacilli in the bubo was noticed
    only in patients who recovered after being vigorously treated
    with curative serum.

    7. The presence of numerous plague bacilli in comparatively
    insignificant skin lesions during the life of the patient
    points to the possibility of direct transmission, while the
    fact that a patient without any apparent bubo, who is not so
    sick as to be detained from his daily occupation, may
    expectorate large numbers of plague bacilli, are facts of
    great importance with regard to the communication of the
    disease. It is obvious that the last-mentioned condition
    might, and very likely does, give rise to an epidemic of
    pneumonic plague if the atmospheric and sanitary conditions
    are favorable.

  TABLE III.--INSECTS FOUND TO CONTAIN BACILLUS PESTIS

Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.

Opening the text

Plague: Its Cause and the Manner of its Extension, Its Menace, Its Control and Suppression, Its Diagnosis and TreatmentJackson, Thomas Wright

History

Plague: Its Cause and the Manner of its Extension, Its Menace, Its Control and Suppression, Its Diagnosis and Treatment

Jackson, Thomas Wright

Plague; Rats as carriers of disease

It must be borne in mind that the patients, who showed
    positive agglutination, had been vigorously treated with
    antiplague serum. Nevertheless, in consideration of the low
    titer of the curative serum (dilution 1:32, agglutination
    positive; dilution 1:64, agglutination negative), the rise of
    the agglutinant power of the patient's serum in dilutions
    higher than 1:16 cannot be explained as wholly due to passive
    immunity, but rather to active immunity arrived at on the
    principle of simultaneous immunization.

    From the preceding observations the following conclusions are
    drawn:

    1. The importance of blood cultures as a diagnostic means is
    evident from the fact that positive blood culture was
    obtained in practically every case that was examined in the
    febrile stage of the disease, even when buboes or signs of
    pulmonary involvement had not been detected clinically.

    2. It is also evident that _Bacillus pestis_ may be found in
    the circulating blood of the patients even in cases which
    subsequently recover.

    3. The period of time during which _Bacillus pestis_
    circulates in the blood is evidently short and irregular.

    4. Mixed infection may be encountered in plague septicæmia
    (_Streptococcus_, _Pneumococcus_).

    5. The agglutination test is of no value for the diagnosis of
    plague, as it was found positive only in convalescents.

    6. Phagocytosis of plague bacilli in the bubo was noticed
    only in patients who recovered after being vigorously treated
    with curative serum.

    7. The presence of numerous plague bacilli in comparatively
    insignificant skin lesions during the life of the patient
    points to the possibility of direct transmission, while the
    fact that a patient without any apparent bubo, who is not so
    sick as to be detained from his daily occupation, may
    expectorate large numbers of plague bacilli, are facts of
    great importance with regard to the communication of the
    disease. It is obvious that the last-mentioned condition
    might, and very likely does, give rise to an epidemic of
    pneumonic plague if the atmospheric and sanitary conditions
    are favorable.

  TABLE III.--INSECTS FOUND TO CONTAIN BACILLUS PESTIS

Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.

Plague: Its Cause and the Manner of its Extension, Its Menace, Its Control and Suppression, Its Diagnosis and Treatment

Plague: Its Cause and the Manner of its Extension, Its Menace, Its Control and Suppression, Its Diagnosis and Treatment

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