There Is No
Such Thing As Influenza; Whooping-Cough, Measles, Scarlatina,
Etc., Are Rarely, If Ever, Heard Of; We Ring The Changes Upon
Four First-Class Ailments - Four Scourges, Which Alternately
Ascend To The Throne Of Pestilence And Annually Reduce The Circle
Of Our Friends - Cholera, Dysentery, Small-Pox And Fever.
This
year (1854) there has been some dispute as to the routine of
succession; they have accordingly all raged at one time.
The cause of infection in disease has long been a subject of
controversy among medical men, but there can be little doubt
that, whatever is the origin of the disease, the same is the
element of infection. The question is, therefore, reduced to the
prime cause of the disease itself.
A theory that animalcules are the cause of the various contagious
and infectious disorders has created much discussion; and
although this opinion is not generally entertained by the
faculty, the idea is so feasible, and so many rational arguments
can be brought forward in its support, that I cannot help
touching upon a topic so generally interesting.
In the first place, nearly all infectious diseases predominate in
localities which are hot, damp, swampy, abounding in stagnant
pools and excluded from a free circulation of air. In a tropical
country, a residence in such a situation would be certain death
to a human being, but the same locality will be found to swarm
with insects and reptiles of all classes.
Thus, what is inimical to human life is propitious to the insect
tribe.
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