FEVER, YELLOW. 



tr three members of the family had fallen 

 victims to the fever, a careful inspection by 

 the physician of the local Board of Health 

 revealed two ill-constructed and unventilated 

 vaults beneath the basement. These were se- 

 curely sealed, and, whether as a result or as a 

 simple coincidence, no further cases occurred 

 in this numerous and unacclimated household. 

 The deaths in this family gave an unusual 

 notoriety to the existence of feyer in New 

 Orleans. Quarantines were maintained with 

 rigor, and the commercial loss to the city was 

 as great as in years of severe epidemic. 



A focus of infection was well established, 

 and round it the disease smoldered slowly. 

 The local Board of Health attacked it prompt- 

 ly, and exhausted the resources of science in 

 disinfection. Always menacing, the disease 

 never attained the mastery, until frost, or the 

 power that controls both pestilence and frost, 

 relieved the people from deadly apprehen- 

 sion. 



The infected district lay between Tchoupitou- 

 las and Constance, First and Seventh Streets, 

 comprising in all forty-five squares. From 

 these must be excluded six squares in the south- 

 west corner which were exempted. Within 

 this limited area occurred twenty-four out of 

 the forty-one cases of this year. Of the re- 

 maining seventeen cases, five were imported. 

 The twelve others were distributed over dif- 

 ferent parts of the city. These may or may 

 not have been " original cases." It has been 

 found impossible to trace their causes. They 

 evinced no disposition to spread except in the 

 infected district. This dangerous locality was 

 the scene of the sharp autumnal epidemic of 

 1876, while the rest of the city was spared. 

 It is the field upon which public-spirited sani- 

 tarians should expend all their energies. Its 

 redemption from pestilence would silence op- 

 ponents sooner than columns of paper argu- 

 ment. 



Although there have been cases of doubtful 

 or difficult diagnosis, the faculty have shown 

 a spirit of candor. Suspicious cases have been 

 reported, and due consultation has been held 

 with a single eye to truth. The following 

 table is worthy of acceptance as containing 

 the whole truth and nothing but the truth : 



Of the forty-one cases, all were whites; 

 nineteen were natives of New Orleans, two of 

 the State at large, and twenty were persons 

 from abroad. The five imported cases reached 



New Orleans, one from Rio Janeiro and four 

 from Morgan City. 



Morgan City is a port of entry on Berwick'* 

 Bay, about eighty miles from New Orleans. It 

 has a fine harbor, used chiefly by the Texas 

 steamers connecting with Morgan's Texas and 

 Opelousas Railroad. The population is about 

 8,000. It was scourged in 1878. The fever 

 broke out again early in the season. The house 

 in which the Jewish rabbi and his wife died 

 in 1878 was hurriedly closed. Not even was 

 the last meal removed from the table. In May 

 the house was opened and the effects were sold 

 at auction. From this house and its scattered 

 contents the virus spread. From Morgan City 

 the infection was taken to Berwick and thence 

 to Centreville. Persons from Bayou Bceuf who 

 visited Morgan City before the disease was rec- 

 ognized carried the infection home with them. 

 Thence it spread through Assumption Parish, 

 and in a capricious and sporadic manner visited 

 various small settlements and plantations. It 

 followed the lines of travel rather than those 

 of prevalent winds. At the Patout settlement 

 it was generally disseminated, and was fatal 

 during its brief visitation. A social gathering 

 was held at the house of one of the principal 

 families of the neighborhood, a young lady 

 belonging to which had returned from a visit 

 indisposed, but not ill. The festivities went on 

 until a sudden change for the worse occurred, 

 and before the guests could leave the bouse she 

 died of pronounced yellow fever. Many of 

 them were soon fever-stricken. 



In comparison with 1878, the fever record 

 of 1879 is insignificant. A wide field for study 

 and experiment was opened. The warmth of 

 the discussion provoked proves the earnestness 

 of the inquirers. It is to be hoped that pre- 

 ventives or remedy may be found. The ques- 

 tion of quarantine is still an open one. Until 

 disproved, its officers should be upheld by opin- 

 ion and the press. No commercial interests 

 should weigh against the public health. That 

 the virus is transported in ships is known. 

 Many pronounce it a ship-disease. In 1872 

 there was in the harbor of Pernambuco a 

 frightful epidemic confined wholly to the ship- 

 ping, no cases whatever being produced on 

 shore. A new ship, built in 1876, the Niaga- 

 ra, became infected in Havana and underwent 

 scientific disinfection. The day after leaving 

 New York, on the return trip, yellow fever 

 broke out on board. From this it is argued 

 that the vessel itself communicated the infec- 

 tion. It is known that infection clings to de- 

 cayed wood. The captain attributes it to faulty 

 construction, as two inches of her bilge-water 

 can not be pumped out. These are suggestive 

 instances. Refrigeration has not yet been fairly 

 tested. It ought to be fully tried, although 

 Alpine researches have demonstrated that low- 

 class organisms inclosed in ice for an indefi- 

 nite period have retained vitality. 



The most hopeful signs of the times are the 

 vigorous measures taken to confront the foe. 



