A brief history of epidemic and pestilential diseases: with the principal phenomena of the physical world, which precede and accompany them, and observations deduced from the facts stated ; in two volumes (Volume 2).
- Noah Webster
- Date:
- 1799
Licence: Public Domain Mark
Credit: A brief history of epidemic and pestilential diseases: with the principal phenomena of the physical world, which precede and accompany them, and observations deduced from the facts stated ; in two volumes (Volume 2). Source: Wellcome Collection.
Provider: This material has been provided by the National Library of Medicine (U.S.), through the Medical Heritage Library. The original may be consulted at the National Library of Medicine (U.S.)
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![11] s.n eminent phyfician of the prefent century, wrote a confiderable treatife, evidently with a view to remove this opinion. This author obferves, thatfouth winds at Rome, if violent, humid, with clouds and heat, produce inconvenience, and if they pafs over marfli, they may bring '* particulas lethiferas, ve- ry pernicious vapors, which produce peftilential difeafes. The Romans very early took meafures to corredl the evils to which the city was expofed. The enormous cloacs, orfew- ers were raifed at a vaft expenfe, to carry off all ftagnant water, and dry the foil,and while kept clean,were very ufeful. Hence cloacina was deified as the goddefs of health. Thefe fewers were under the care of certain officers, called Curatores Cloa- carum Urbis.*' In one inftance, thefe drains had been a long time negleded, and were cleanfed at the expenfe of a thoufand talents. Severe laws were enaded, prohibiting individuals, un- der penalty of a fine, to fuffer water to ftagnate. Lancifius afcribes the fcvere difeafes which afflicted Rome, in the decline of the Empire, to the deftrudtion of the aqueduds and negled of the fewers. In 1695, when the ditch of Adri. an's tower, and the great fewer of the city Leoninje, were filled with filth, immediately on the blowing of the fouth wind, began peftilential difeafes. By order of the Pope, at this author's fug- geftion, the ftreets, vaults, ditches and all fimilar places, were thoroughly cleanfed, and ten years after, no epidemic malignant difeafe had appeared. He however obferves that when a fouth wind blows for a long time, acute fevers, tertians, pains in the head, and vertigo become epidemic. This muft be occafioned by the debilitating effects of that wind, or by miafmata convey- ed from a diftance, probably from the pontine marlhes. See Lancilius, paffim. Egypt is a flat country, containing not much marfh, but annual- ly overflowed, and fubjed to raoft of the inconveniences of marfhy countries, from the drying of its moift furface, in very hot weather. Here again we have a nurfery of peftilence. The banks of the Euphrates and Tigris are nearly in the fame predicament, and Baffora, is in Perfia, what Cairo, is in Egypt. Moll of the coaft of South America, from Carthagena to the Oronoke, is bordered with marfh, and is every where fickly.](https://iiif.wellcomecollection.org/image/b21163212_0235.jp2/full/800%2C/0/default.jpg)
