DEATH FROM HYDROPHOBIA
Transcript of DEATH FROM HYDROPHOBIA
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practically useful, however, since it lays down as the onlypossible basis of judicial condemnation a previous and con-scious neglect of self-control. Unfortunately we are still
confronted by the problem suggested by a later uncon-trollable" impulse. The real significance of this could onlybe justly estimated on additional proof of the existence orabsence of a like sense of responsibility. This forms the core
of the question. It should be clearly understood, however,that badness is not madness in any legal sense, and that evengreat and wilful wickedness is consistent with sanity.
VARICELLA AND HERPES.
PROFESSOR JOHANN B6KAI, superintendent of the Child-ren’s Hospital at Buda-Pest, publishes in a, Hungarianmedical journal several cases of varicella which had occurredin his practice under rather peculiar circumstances. Thefirst of these cases had been observed in the year 1888, whena child was attacked by chicken-pox. Ten days afterwardsanother child in the same family had exhibited all the sym-ptoms of herpes zoster. Professor B6kai saw a similar casein 1891. A woman suffered from herpes zoster, and twelvedays after its appearance, her child of eight years had chicken-pox. A second case occurred in the same year. He diagnosedherpes frontalis in a young man, and fifteen days later
chicken-pox in his sister, a little girl of thirteen. Professor
B6kai communicated his observations to Professor Koranyiand the latter very soon reported a similar observation. He
had then in his ward a patient suffering from herpes ofthe thigh, and eight days after his admission a patient in thesame ward, who had a splenic tumour, contracted chicken-pox. The suggestion is offered that an attack of chicken-pox, instead of exhibiting general eruption, may undercertain circumstances have the latter so circumscribed
as to form the ring peculiar to herpes zoster. Professor
B6kai considers this explanation the more likely, as latterlyepidemics of herpes have been observed, especially by Kaposi.Certain forms of this disease have been known to be highlycontagious.
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DEATH FROM HYDROPHOBIA.
THE death from hydrophobia of H. L-, a lad seventeenyears old, a joiner, calls for something more than passing notice.On Aug. lst, 1887, his brother (a young man aged twenty-six), and J. W. W- were all bitten by a mad fox-terrierdog. The two brothers and W—— went to Paris four days safter they had been bitten and were submitted to the anti- Irabic treatment in the Pasteur Institute for about fourteen I
days. On their return to this country the elder brothersuccumbed to an attack of hydrophobia nine weeks afterhe was bitten, whilst the other two patients continued
apparently in good health. The younger lad stated that hehad no fear of hydrophobia, and for five years he had nosymptoms of anything of the kind. On Sept. 1st, however,he began to complain of pains in his neck, arms and back ;when he attempted to drink he was seized with spasms, whichbecame more marked until the 4th ; he then became verynervous; he had to be held down in bed, and chloro-
form was administered ; he foamed at the month, called out,was convulsed, and ultimately he died exhibiting all the
symptoms of hydrophobia, a diagnosis that was said to beconfirmed by post-mortem examination. The period of incu-bation in this case is a most extraordinary feature. Hithertothe longest period at which an attack of hydrophobia hassupervened after a bite is said to be about two years and ahalf, and it is very remarkable that if this was a case of truehydrophobia the appearance of the first symptoms should havebeen at such a late period after the bite. It seems that the
patient had suffered from blood-poisoning a short time ago,and from the nature of his employment the possibility ofthis being an attack of traumatic tetanus must not be over-
looked. It is certainly a matter that should be carefullyinquired into. The symptoms and post-mortem appearancesare so much alike in the two conditions that a mistake in
diagnosis may possibly have been made.
SMALL-POX.
ONLY some twenty cases of small-pox per week are reportedthroughout the country. The north still continues to furnishmost of them, Warrington and Halifax being the places atwhich the greater part have occurred.
FOREIGN UNIVERSITY INTELLIGENCE.Havana.-Dr. Gabriel Casuso has been appointed to the
:hair of Midwifery and Gynsecology.Innsbrite7t.-Dr. P. Dittrich of Vienna has been appointed
Extraordinary Professor of Forensic Medicine..TK.—Dr. Adolf Witzel of Essen has been recognised as
orivat docent in Odontology.jP<M’M.—Professor Verneuil, the well-known surgeon of the
Hotel Dieu, who is sixty-eight years of age, is about to
retire. He was one of the first in France to recognise theimportance of antiseptic surgery. It is expected that Pro-fessor Lefort of the Pitié will be appointed in his place.
DEATHS OF EMINENT FOREIGN MEDICAL MEN.
THE deaths of the following distinguished members of
the medical profession abroad have been announced :-Dr. Karl Ritter von Cessner, Emeritus Professor of Aki1/J".qie- e., surgical appliances-at Baden, in Vienna, at the age ofseventy-five. He was vice-president of the Austrian Red CrossSociety, in the work of which he took very great interest.-Dr. Neroutzous Bey, formerly President of the InternationalSanitary Council of Egypt.-Dr. Antonio Maria Barbosa,Emeritus Professor of Operative Medicine in the LisbonSchool of Medicine.
ON Friday night, Sept. lst, at the Sunderland Infirmary, Dr.James Murphy performed abdominal section on a girl agedseventeen for a perforating ulcer of the anterior wall of thestomach. He pared the edges of the ulcer and closed it withtwo rows of sutures ; he then washed out the abdomen andclosed the wound. The perforation had occurred thirteenhours before operation, and the contents of the stomach hadescaped into the abdomen. Up to Wednesday, the 14th
inst., the patient’s condition left nothing to be desired.
IT is very satisfactory to perceive the attention that is
being directed all over the country, by bodies concerned withthe administration of public health laws, to the condition ofwater-supplies. No more hopeful sign of the march of
intelligence in this direction can be afforded than the wideinterest that is being taken in this important question.
THE Sanitary Committee of the Glamorgan County Councilhas decided to promote the appointment of a medical officerof health for the county, at a salary, inclusive, of .g1250.
THE number of patients in the several feverhospitals of the Metropolitan Asylums Board at midnight onSept 13th was as follows : Eastern Hospital : scarlet fever,414 ; diphtheria, 69, and enteric fever, 33. North WesternHospital : scarlet fever, 393 ; diphtheria, 81 and enteric fever.24. Western Hospital : scarlet fever, 304 ; diphtheria, 44 ;typhus fever, 3 and enteric fever, 10. South WesternHospital : scarlet fever, 316 ; diphtheria, 61, and entericfever, 21. South Eastern Hospital : scarlet fever, 400; diph-theria, 24 ; typhus fever, 1 and enteric fever, 7. NorthernHospital: scarlet fever, 774 and diphtheria 20. Gore FarmHospital : scarlet fever, 730. In the Hospital Ship Atla<there were 4 cases of small-pox.