Variola, vaccination, varicella, cholera, erysipelas, whooping cough, hay fever / by H. Immermann [and others] ; edited with additions by John W. Moore ; authorized translation from the German, under the editorial supervision of Alfred Stengel.

  • Immermann, H.
Date:
1902
Catalogue details

Licence: In copyright

Credit: Variola, vaccination, varicella, cholera, erysipelas, whooping cough, hay fever / by H. Immermann [and others] ; edited with additions by John W. Moore ; authorized translation from the German, under the editorial supervision of Alfred Stengel. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    41/730 (page 31)
    A fact which, for the pathogenesis of variola, is of scarcely less importance than the volatility of the contagium (or its transmissibility through the air) is its power and tendency to settle in the goods and fur- niture surrounding the patient and to cling to these persistently. Objects of loose texture and rough, uneven surface are by their physical con- struction best adapted to serve as shelter for the smallpox virus, and especially, of course, if they, like the body-linen and bed-clothing, are in direct contact with the patient; yet even articles at''some distance, sucli as cushions, carpets, tapestry, etc., also shelter the poison. The contagium clings less readily to smooth and compact objects (made of glass, porcelain, metal, and wood). Though not entirely safe, they are therefore decidedly less dangerous (or susceptible), provided, of course, thev are not directly soiled with the smallpox secretion. The danger that the disease may be eifectively spread by means of lifeless material of the above-mentioned kinds needs to be emphasized all the more, since these objects, after removal from the neighborhood of the patient, retain the power of carrying the infectious material and distributing it to those who are susceptible. To the list of highly susceptible things [fomites] belong, as is read- ily understood, the clothing and hair of the head and beard of those persons who remain in the neighborhood of the patient and attend to his wants (the friends, the nurse, and the physician). These persons, if not predisposed, do not themselves take the disease, although directly exposed to the contagium. But they may be, unfortunately, by want of prudence, and frequently are, the intermediate carriers of the contagium, which clings to them or their belongings. The bodies of those who have died of smallpox are also infectious to a high degree, and the disease has been quite frequently contracted by laying out the eorpse, or making an autopsy, or even by mere attendance at the funeral. Whether the smallpox virus has simply remained adher- ent to or inherent in the body after death, or whether it has reproduced itself in the body for a short time after death, the same prudence is demanded in our dealings with the dead body of the smallpox patient as in our intercourse with the living. The vitality of the smallpox virus, under proper conditions, is extra- ordinarily great. For instance, dried pus from a variola efflorescence may be inoculated years afterward with positive results. Also the above-named carriers of infection [fomites] (as body- and bed-linen, clothing, etc.), if kept from the air and from high temperatures, long retain their power of transmission, and may later cause the disease. This insidious character of the poison deserves attention, for at explains.