“These two tables show that, among 611 cases admitted as continued fever, there were 340 filthy and 271 clean, or about 55 per cent. filthy; that among 395 cases of eruptive typhus, there were 245 filthy and 150 clean, or about 62 per cent. filthy; and that among 48 cases of febricula there were 14 filthy and 34 clean, or about 29 per cent. filthy.”
Amongst the fever patients are found a larger proportion of the highly intemperate than appear to be usually found amongst the labouring classes.
Dr. Davidson, in remarking on the influence of intemperance on fever, adduces the following table to show the proportion of temperate and intemperate individuals who were admitted into the Glasgow Fever Hospital from November 1st, 1838, to November 1st, 1839, whose habits could be ascertained with more or less certainty. He states that the eruptive cases only are included:—
| Temperate. | A little Intemperate. | Intemperate. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Typhus (Males) | 125 | 51 | 73 |
| Typhus (Females) | 76 | 8 | 30 |
I have been informed that those were classed as “temperate” who never indulged in strong liquors to the extent of inebriety; those a “little intemperate” who now and again, perhaps at long intervals, drank to intoxication; and those as “intemperate” who were habitually so—who drank whenever they could get ardent spirits.
He adds,—
“In the Glasgow Fever Hospital there occurred 81 deaths from eruptive typhus in individuals whose habits were ascertained, and 34 of these were reported as intemperate, 19 a little intemperate, and 28 temperate. In Dr. Craigie’s table of the deaths in 31 fever cases that occurred in the Edinburgh Royal Infirmary, there were 15 stated to be irregular or dissipated; only two regular; the habits of the remainder are not stated.
“It is also a singular fact, which has been noticed by several writers, that fever is more fatal among the higher than among the lower classes. Dr. Braken states, in reference to the fever which prevailed at Waterford during the years 1817–18–19, that ‘it would be difficult to adjust the rates of mortality in the upper classes, but it seems probable that one-fourth, or perhaps one-third of all those persons who were attacked with fever fell victims to its power.’
“Drs. Barker and Cheyne, in their historical account of the Irish epidemic, state that, ‘in every part of the country, fever was reported to have been much more fatal amongst the upper than the lower classes.’ To what is this difference of mortality, so generally remarked by experienced hospital physicians, to be attributed, and which in Ireland seemed to be very remarkable, namely, in the lower classes about one in twenty-three cases, and in the upper classes one in three or four generally, but in other places about one in seven? Can the difference in the mode of living account for this anomaly? as the first live very much on potatoes, while the others use a larger or smaller proportion of animal food; and the lower classes almost everywhere in this country use less animal food and stimulating dishes than those who are more wealthy and in a higher sphere of society.”
In remarking on the supposed influence of fear and the depressing passions in producing fever, Dr. Davidson, however, remarks:—