Fantasy Football Challenge - Football Fanatics Library

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Popular Science Monthly

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which yellow-fever cases from the city were often admitted. Work was begun at once. Fortunately for our purpose, an epidemic of yellow fever existed in the town of Quemados, in close proximity to the military reservation of Camp Columbia. Even before the arrival of Reed and Carroll, Lazear and I had been studying its spread, following the cases very closely; subsequently a few autopsies were made by me, Carroll making cultures from the various tissues and Lazear securing fragments for microscopical examination; a careful record was kept and the results noted; cases gradually became less in number as the epidemic slowly died out, about the middle of August. In the meantime a rather severe outbreak of yellow fever had occurred in Santa Clara, a city in the interior of the island, having invaded the garrison and caused the death of several soldiers; as the origin of the infection was shrouded in mystery, and cases continued to appear among the troops even after they had moved out of the town, it was agreed that I should endeavor to trace the source of the epidemic and aid the medical authorities in establishing whatever preventive measures might seem proper. This service is here recorded because in the general discussion of the start and course of the epidemic with Dr. J. Hamilton Stone, the officer in charge of the military hospital, we incidentally spoke of the possible agency of insects in spreading the disease, pointing particularly in this direction the fact of the infection of a trooper who, suffering from another complaint, occupied a bed in a ward across the yard from where a yellow fever case had developed two weeks before. The infection of the city of Santa Clara had evidently taken place from Havana, distant only one night's journey by train. Captain Stone, a particularly able officer, had already instituted effective quarantine measures before my arrival, so that I only remained there a few days. But as to the actual cause of the disease we were still entirely at sea; it helped us little to know that a man could be infected in Havana, take the train for a town in the interior and start an outbreak there in the course of time. Upon rejoining my colleagues (July 2) we resumed our routine investigations; not only in Quemados, where the disease was being stamped out, but also in Havana, at "Las Animas" Hospital and at Military Hospital No. 1, where my laboratory (the division laboratory) was located. There was no scarcity of material and the two members who until then had never seen a case of yellow fever (Reed and Carroll) had ample opportunity, and took advantage of it, to become acquainted with the many details of its clinical picture which escape the ordinary practitioner, the knowledge and the appreciation of which, in their relative value, give the right to the title of "expert." Since the later part of June, reports had been coming to headquarters of an extraordinary increase of sickness among the soldiers stationed at Pinar del Rio, the capital of the extreme western province, and very soon the great mortality from so-called "pernicious malarial fever" attracted the attention of the chief surgeon, Captain A. N. Stark, who, after consulting with Major Reed, ordered me to go there and investigate. A man had died, supposedly from malaria, just before my arrival on the afternoon of July 19. The autopsy which I performed at once showed me that yellow fever had been the cause of his death, and a search through the military hospital wards revealed the existence of several unrecognized cases being treated as malaria; a consultation held with the medical officer in charge showed me his absolute incapacity, as he was under the influence of opium most of the time (he committed suicide several months afterwards), and so I telegraphed the condition of things to headquarters; in answer I received the following: CHIEF SURGEON'S OFFICE, HDQRS. DEPT. HAVANA AND PINAR DEL RIO, QUEMADOS, CUBA, July 20, 1900 SURGEON AGRAMONTE, Pinar del Rio Barracks, Pinar del Rio, Cuba Report received last night. My thanks are due for your prompt action and confirmation of my suspicions. STARK, Chief Surgeon Conditions in the hospital were such as to demand immediate action; the commander of the post refused to believe he had yellow fever among his 900 men and was loath to abandon his comfortable quarters for the tent life in the woods that I earnestly recommended. In answer to my telegram asking for official support, I received the following: CHIEF SURGEON'S OFFICE, HDQRS. DEPT. HAVANA AND PINAR DEL RIO, QUEMADOS, CUBA, July 21, 1900 SURGEON AGRAMONTE, Pillar del Rio Barracks, Pinar del Rio, Cuba Take charge of cases. Reed goes on morning train. Wire for anything wanted. Nurses will be sent. Instructions wired commanding officer. Other doctors should not attend cases. Establish strict quarantine at hospital. You will be relieved as soon as an immune can be sent to replace you. Report daily by wire. STARK, Chief Surgeon When Major Reed came to Pinar del Rio (July 21) I had, the day before, established a separate yellow-fever hospital, under tents, attended by some of the men who had already passed an attack and were thus immune. The Major and I went over the ground very carefully, we studied the sick report for two months back, fruitlessly trying to place the blame upon the first case. I well remember how, as we stood in the men's sleeping quarters, surrounded by a hundred beds, from several of which fatal cases had been removed, we were struck by the fact that the later occupants had not developed the disease. In connection with this, and particularly interesting, was the case of a soldier prisoner who had been confined to the guard-house since June 6; he showed the first symptoms of yellow fever on the twelfth and died on the eighteenth; none of the other eight prisoners in the same cell caught the infection, though one of them continued to sleep in the same

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