Observations on the diseases of British Malaya / by C.W. Daniels.

  • Charles Wilberforce Daniels
Date:
1904
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Observations on the diseases of British Malaya / by C.W. Daniels. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    66/96 page 58
    [ 388] There was one case of ulcerative endocarditis, another of acute pericar- ditis and peritonitis the origin of which could not be traced, and in yet another case there was an abscess in the muscle substance near the apex of the heart. In the last case there was an old sinus in the axilla. I include in this series a large solitary splenic abscess. As is usual with such splenic abscesses there was no other associated disease and no. ulceration of any part of the alimentary tract. No amcebe were found. The abscess had been opened during life by operation and had also burst into the peritoneum. Various bacteria were found in the contents of the: abscess but were probably secondary. Cultures made from blood or spleen in the cases of Sepsis showed the organisms to be Staphylococus pyogenes aureus and not Streptococci. This prevalence of general infections by Staphyloccocus renders it unlikely that good results could be anticipated from the use of antistreptoccic serum. As regards lower animals. The septicemia of rabbits is a cause of heavy mortality amongst them. It appears to originate de novo and affect simultaneously four or five. Prompt removal of the other unaffected rabbits from the flock and successive removals if any more are attacked usually suffices to limit the epidemic. The organisms are found usually in pure culture both in the affected lungs and in the cardiac blood, and are those: commonly described for this affection. Though fatal to guinea-pigs when injected intraperitoneally it does. not seem to be communicable to them under natural conditions. Hemorrhagic Septiczemia in cattle has not been observed by me. This disease is so frequently confused with Rinderpest that it is possible some of the described epidemics of Rinderpest may have been Hemorrhagic Septiceemia, but there is no satisfactory evidence that such is the case. The outbreaks of Rinderpest in 1903 and 1904 were certainly that disease and not Hemorrhagic Septiceemia. Rats do not appear to develope any epidemic disease either naturally or in confinement here. Many organisms, some of them occurring in natural waters, were fatal to rats when injected, but other rats confined in the same cages were not infected. The same organisms given by the mouth in food produced no effect. These experiments were made with a view to the destruction of rats, as this is a matter of first importance in connection with Sugar and other plantations. INFECTIVE GRANULOMATA. Of the infective granulomata other than Tubercle and Leprosy, Syphilis. is the most important. Syphilitic lesions of the internal organs were found in 7 cases and were definitely the cause of death in 2. In many other cases. there were external lesions, of the disease. On the whole, considering the frequency of the disease, the small mortality, the absence of cerebro-spinal cases, including Tabes dorsalis, is satisfactory. The only special lesion that is of importance because so often overlooked and so likely to be confused with dysentery is the Proctitis referred to in that connection. Two of the cases included on account of their symptomology with Malignant disease probably belong to the class of granulomata. In neither case was there any evidence of syphilis.
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