March 28, 1797, I inoculated this girl and carefully rubbed the
variolous matter into two slight incisions made upon the left
arm. A little inflammation appeared in the usual manner around
the parts where the matter was inserted, but so early as the
fifth day it vanished entirely without producing any effect on
the system.
CASE VII.--Although the preceding history pretty clearly evinces
that the constitution is far less susceptible of the contagion of
the cow-pox after it has felt that of the smallpox, and although
in general, as I have observed, they who have had the smallpox,
and are employed in milking cows which are infected with the cow-
pox, either escape the disorder, or have sores on the hands
without feeling any general indisposition, yet the animal economy
is subject to some variation in this respect, which the following
relation will point out:
In the summer of the year 1796 the cow-pox appeared at the farm
of Mr. Andrews, a considerable dairy adjoining to the town of
Berkeley. It was communicated, as in the preceding instance, by
an infected cow purchased at a fair in the neighbourhood. The
family consisted of the farmer, his wife, two sons, a man and a
maid servant; all of whom, except the farmer (who was fearful of
the consequences), bore a part in milking the cows. The whole of
them, exclusive of the man servant, had regularly gone through
the smallpox; but in this case no one who milked the cows escaped
the contagion. All of them had sores upon their hands, and some
degree of general indisposition, preceded by pains and tumours in
the axillas: but there was no comparison in the severity of the
disease as it was felt by the servant man, who had escaped the
smallpox, and by those of the family who had not, for, while he
was confined to his bed, they were able, without much
inconvenience, to follow their ordinary business.
February the 13th, 1797, I availed myself of an opportunity of
inoculating William Rodway, the servant man above alluded to.
Variolous matter was inserted into both his arms: in the right,
by means of superficial incisions, and into the left by slight
punctures into the cutis. Both were perceptibly inflamed on the
third day. After this the inflammation about the punctures soon
died away, but a small appearance of erysipelas was manifest
about the edges of the incisions till the eighth day, when a
little uneasiness was felt for the space of half an hour in the
right axilla. The inflammation then hastily disappeared without
producing the most distant mark of affection of the system.
CASE VIII.--Elizabeth Wynne, aged fifty-seven, lived as a servant
with a neighbouring farmer thirty-eight years ago. She was then a
dairymaid, and the cow-pox broke out among the cows. She caught
the disease with the rest of the family, but, compared with them,
had it in a very slight degree, one very small sore only breaking
out on the little finger of her left hand, and scarcely any
perceptible indisposition, following it.
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