[Our author having written so extensively upon the subject of rabies, it
would seem superfluous in us to attempt to add anything more upon a
subject so ably and practically handled by one having so great
opportunities to make personal observations. However, to allay the
feelings of many of our dogkilling citizens, we will not hesitate to
assert that we do not place as much credence in the frequency of rabies
as is generally done; but, on the other hand, are strongly led to
believe that the accounts of this much-dreaded malady are greatly
exaggerated both in this country and in England.
That there may be a few cases of rabies in our country in the course of
a year, we do not doubt; but, at the same time, we are satisfied that
the affection in its genuine form is quite rare, and that the great hue
and cry made every season about mad dogs, is more the result of
ignorance and fright than of reality.
Our limits in this publication would not allow us sufficient space to
enlarge upon the many pathological questions naturally arising from a
minute examination of this subject, more particularly as our views are
somewhat at variance with the generally received opinion, and which, of
course, we would be forced to express with considerable diffidence,
owing to the impossibility of collecting such evidence as might seem
necessary to substantiate any peculiar doctrine.
That tetanus, hysteria, and other spasmodic affections have often been
mistaken for rabies, there is no doubt, and we can easily imagine the
mental effect produced upon an individual of a highly nervous
temperament, by the knowledge of his being bitten by an animal known to
be hydrophobic; and we can, without difficulty, reconcile with our best
judgment the belief 'that the workings of such an individual's
imagination, occasioned by the never-ceasing dread of the horrid malady
to which he is now exposed, might be sufficient to produce a train of
symptoms somewhat resembling the actual state of rabies.'
For the benefit of these nervous unfortunates, we might say to them,
that the statistics of this affection show a very considerable ratio in
favour of escape from inoculation when bitten, or of entire recovery
even after the development of the disease, and that there are many
other ills in the catalogue of medicine that they should take equal
pains to provide against as lyssa canina. We doubt not that the minds of
many will be relieved, when informed that John Hunter mentions an
instance, in which, out of twenty persons bitten by a rabid dog, only
one suffered from the malady; and that of fifty-nine dogs inoculated by
Professor Hertwick at the veterinary school of Berlin, only fourteen
were affected; and of eleven patients entrusted to the care of M. Blaise
of Cluny, seven recovered after exhibiting greater or less degrees of
spasmodic symptoms.
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