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
Few statistical compilations divide the cases studied into moribund and
non-moribund, and indeed such division, being a matter of judgment,
largely involves the personal equation of the observer.
The ease with which statistics may be moulded to support theories, or
to break them down, all with perfect honesty of purpose, is proverbial.
To me, the spectacle of a single case of plague, apparently ill unto
death, recovering under the administration of antiplague serum, is more
impressive than the contemplation of statistics; and I have seen more
than one such case respond to serum treatment and recover.
So far as it goes, however, the study of statistics supports the view
that treatment with antiplague serum is effective.
I have not at hand the records of the last 20 or more cases, but of
the first 68 cases of plague in the recent Manila epidemic, 32 were
either found dead or died upon the same day that they were found.
If we exclude these cases from consideration there remain 36 cases. All
of these patients received serum treatment and ten of them recovered.
It is at once apparent that this percentage of recoveries (27 per cent.
plus) is far more favorable than the actual percentage of recovery in
the series in which cases found dead and moribund are considered, the
recovery percentage here being a little more than 14 per cent. It is
also quite fair, it seems to me, to make this separation of cases, or
even a more liberal one, if we are to consider the effects of serum
treatment statistically.
DOSAGE AND TECHNIQUE OF SERUM ADMINISTRATION.--The amount of antiplague
serum to be given will vary somewhat with the age and weight of the
patient and with the apparent severity of the case.
In general terms it may be said that adults should be given from 300
c.c. to 500 c.c. of serum by injection, 100 c.c. being given every four
hours. The injection may be either intramuscular or intravenous.
In view of the improvements in technic of intravenous administrations
and its comparative simplicity, and especially in view of the
uncertainties and delays of absorption from the tissues, the
intravenous route should be given the preference. The serum may be
delivered intravenously from a large glass syringe, the introduction
being very slowly made, or through a gravity apparatus, as in the
administration of salvarsan. The serum should not be diluted.
The use of antiplague serum for protective (immunizing) purposes is
also recommended--especially when exposure to infection has
occurred--in the same way in which diphtheria antitoxin is used. Its
protective properties are conceded to be somewhat superior to those of
plague vaccines as the protection conferred is immediate, whereas
plague vaccines do not protect until sometime after their
administration. The dose is from 30 c.c. to 50 c.c.
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.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account