Medical Sketches of the Expedition to Egypt, from India

by Sir James McGrigor

After the plague broke out, the disease was for a long time confined to Rosetta; it was otherwise in the former season.

Soon after the British army effected their landing at Aboukir, in March, 1801, they were attacked with the plague, though the season was then on the decline. In the beginning of the year, the disease had prevailed very generally over the whole country, and the loss arising from thence, to the French, was considerable. It continued to spread in the British army till May, during which month few cases appeared; but none I believe in June.

Though the contagion is seldom or never, I believe, out of the country, the natives of Egypt denominate the season of plague from November or December of one year, to June of the year following; they observe, that the disease constantly stops at the period of the summer solstice.

I have said, that, during the season ending in June, 1801, the disease prevailed very generally in Egypt; Rosetta, however, was an exception; if any case did occur there it was concealed.

At Cairo, Alexandria, and Damietta; at Suez, in the villages, and in Upper Egypt; it proved very fatal: at Siout, at Girgé, and in general throughout the towns and villages in Upper Egypt, we saw continued marks of its desolation, and heard many dismal accounts of its ravages.

The reason of the plague first appearing in, and afterwards being confined only to, Rosetta, in the last season, was, that it was the only open port to which vessels from Turkey and Greece resorted; and that from some of these, no doubt, the disease was imported.

In the pest-houses of the army, thirteen medical gentlemen did duty, who in the Indian army might be said to have had the post of honour. They were, Mr Thomas, Mr Price, Mr Rice, Dr Whyte, Mr Grysadale, Mr Adrian, Mr O’Farrel, Mr Whyte, Mr Dyson, Mr Angle, Mr Moss, Dr Buchan,[4] and Dr Henderson. Besides these, Mr Cloran was in charge of the cases under observation, and Mr Bell of cases under quarantine. Mr Blackwell, surgeon on the staff of the English army, acted as inspecting surgeon to the Board of Health. He visited every case in the first instance, and, as he judged it necessary, sent them to the quarantine, to the observation-ground, or to the pest-house: to Mr Blackwell’s unceasing attention and discriminating knowledge of the pestilential symptoms, we owed no small share of our safety in Alexandria.

Besides the above gentlemen, we had two Greeks, the barber-doctors usually employed in Egypt, who visited the inhabitants, and before interment narrowly examined every body. These two made a daily report to the Board of Health of the number of deaths and of their inspection of the bodies; they likewise did other duties under Mr Blackwell.

In order to take from our medical gentlemen, in the pest-houses, some of the most dangerous part of the duty, it was my wish to procure some of the Greek doctors of the country to reside in the pest-houses, to feel the pulses there, draw blood, open and dress buboes, &c. The most diligent search was made for those people, and very high pay was promised to them, but we could tempt none of them to live in our pest-houses: a plain proof of the opinion which they entertain of the contagious nature of the disease.

The thirteen gentlemen first mentioned, were those only that were directly in the way of contagion, for, it became their duty to come into contact with the infected, and seven of them caught the infection, and four died.