Cholera epidemics in East Africa. An account of the several diffusions of the disease in that country from 1821 till 1872, with an outline of the geography, ethnography, and trade connections of the regions through which the epidemics passed / By James Christie.
- Christie, James
- Date:
- 1876
Licence: Public Domain Mark
Credit: Cholera epidemics in East Africa. An account of the several diffusions of the disease in that country from 1821 till 1872, with an outline of the geography, ethnography, and trade connections of the regions through which the epidemics passed / By James Christie. Source: Wellcome Collection.
Provider: This material has been provided by London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine Library & Archives Service. The original may be consulted at London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine Library & Archives Service.
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![manner as took place when the two pilots in their boat were infected by the steamship England at Halifax in 1866.1 1 The following report of this case was made by Deputy-Inspector General Barrow, the principal Medical Officer of the forces in Halifax :— At break of day on the 9th of April, [1866] a pilot named Terence was in his open boat, lying off Cape Sambro, five miles north-east from Sambro island and about fifteen miles from Halifax. An assistant, named Purcell and hi* son were in the same boat. Between four and five a.m. the steamship England came m sight, on which Terence hailed the ship, and asked if a pilot were wanted. Hearing there was sickness on board, he did not leave his boat A bucket was lowered over the ship's side, and in it the pilot placed some official papers, showing that he was properly licensed. The documents were not re- turned until the next day. A ten fathom rope was thrown to him, by which the boat was towed astern at some considerable distance. These details I obtained during a conversation with Purcell. He told me the boat was towed as far as the quarantine ground between George's island and the eastern shore, which would be a distance of about 12 miles. The England anchored here for an hour or two, whilst the pilots went to Cunard's wharf for further instructions how to act. On their return to the England, she was again got under weigh, the pilots now keeping their boat at a still greater distance astern. They took the ship to the west of McNab's island (about two miles further from Halifax), where she remained anchored in the main-channel until she left for New York. Here all communication between Purcell, his son, and the England ceased, for after seeing the steamer anchored for the second time, they went ashore in the boat with Terence. It will be better to com- plete the history of the Purcells before I again refer to the incidents connected with Terence. It is proved to a certainty by the corroborative testimony of Captain Grace and others that neither of the Purcells was at any time on board the England. Purcell returned home next morning (April 10th) to Portuguese Cove, eleven miles south of Halifax, and had an attack of diarrhoea on the following day, (April nth) which gradually got worse on the 12th, 13th, and 14th. By the 15th he was greatly prostrated, aud then vomiting appeared for the first time. He was always free from cramps. Two of his children (aged five-and-a-half and three years) were seized on the 15th with slight symptoms, with vomiting and debility, but quickly recovered. On the 16th April, the eldest daughter, aged fifteen, was attacked. She was danger- ously ill with every symptom of true Asiatic cholera, and the attack was followed by reactionary fever of a low type. Thus, four individuals were attacked out of a family of nine persons, but there were no deaths. The type of the disease was probably greatly modified by the fair sanitary condition of the house and immediate locality. I found Purcell's house to be in an airy situation, on elevated ground, that is, at least fifty feet above the level of the sea. It was open to all winds. During the epidemic all the windows were kept open; the rooms were of a fair size though not lofty. I must now return to the history of the other pilot, Terence. He left the anchorage ground of the steamship England on the 9th April, in the same](https://iiif.wellcomecollection.org/image/b21353700_0530.jp2/full/800%2C/0/default.jpg)
