The climate of the United States and its endemic influences. Based chiefly on the records of the Medical Department and Adjutant General's Office, United States Army / By Samuel Forry.
- Samuel Forry
- Date:
- 1842
Licence: Public Domain Mark
Credit: The climate of the United States and its endemic influences. Based chiefly on the records of the Medical Department and Adjutant General's Office, United States Army / By Samuel Forry. Source: Wellcome Collection.
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![GENERAL Depuctions. (Scorbutus.) 933 As the history, etiology, semeiology, and anatomical characters of scorbutus are contained in all elementary works, it may be well to bring under view at once the following table, exhibiting the number of cases of scurvy and the consequent deaths in the army, during a period of twenty years: Years. |e | 3 185) 53/33 | | 55 153 lad [3 | |B (eB [Ss |S |B |B] B Ln Ol i en BO cee ee Poe ie Ne eo ee oe ee eo | Cases 7|734|86| 4\29].. | 8] 4| 2] 8| 6/16} 3] 7 slis| 9|17|59| 15 Deaths. 3 190 he ke h , - WER, En . lersa ge Lyd The comparative infrequency and low mortality of the disease are thus shown. ‘The cases reported in the last three years occurred nearly all, either in Florida or amongst troops that had served in those campaigns, for a description of which, as witnessed by the au- thor at Fort King, reference may be made to that post in the preced- ing section. ‘The relation of cause and effect is here very apparent; for it can be readily perceived that a dict, consisting mainly of salt provisions, in a constitution deteriorated by repeated attacks of inter- mittent and remittent fever, diarrhoea, and dysentery, will develope scorbutic and cachectic affections. ‘The ration of our soldier, regarded in all its component parts, no doubt disposes the system to scurvy in warm countries; and in these campaigns, whenever it proved defi- cient in any respect, it was always found to be so in reference to the vegetable portion. As this disease prevailed as an endemic, in 1820, at Council Bluffs and St. Peter’s, its history in detail will prove no less profitable than interesting. The number of men reported at the former post on the first of January, was 788, and at the latter 228, making an aggregate of 1016. The total of cases of all diseases reported for the quarter ending the 31st of March at these two points, was 895. Of these, 503 were of a scorbutic character; and the number of deaths from this cause was 168, of which 157 occurred at Council Bluffs. The history of the endemic at Council Bluffs is fully illustrated in the annexed extracts from the reports of Surgeon T. G. Mower, of the sixth Infantry,.and Surgeon John Gale, of. the Rifle Regiment, more especially as these observations are known to have their origin in sound judgment and professional skill : “The second battalion of Riflemen,” says Surgeon Gale, in his aaah report dated Camp Council Bluffs, October ist, 1820, “left](https://iiif.wellcomecollection.org/image/b33288379_0341.jp2/full/800%2C/0/default.jpg)
