My friend, Dr Short, who resided some time in Persia, and who has paid much attention to the history of the plague, informed me, that, in addition to the above, he found hemorrhage a frequent symptom in the plague, which raged at Bagdad in 1800 and 1801.
In one case he saw a copious hemorrhage from the eyes, which continued for nearly twelve hours. As soon as it stopped, an eruption appeared over the body very much resembling the measles. This patient, a boy of twelve years old, died on the 5th day of the disease.
The duration of the disease in different persons was very different. In several instances, the effect of the pestilential contagion was the immediate extinction of life; and we had several instances of the patient surviving but a few hours the first sensation of illness.
The muccadum of the dooley-bearers of the 88th regiment, about nine in the morning, exhibited the symptoms of fever. About twelve, a bubo appeared, and he died before four o’clock. In some instances, again, the patient lived till the thirteenth and seventeenth day of the disease; however, these instances were rare.
Prognosis. We found that the greatest caution was requisite in giving an opinion as to the probable event of cases: in no disease was the practitioner oftener deceived. In several instances, patients who had recovered from the fever, whose buboes were doing well, and people who were convalescent, suddenly dropped down and expired. Whether this was from re-infection, or whether it was a feature of the disease; will be difficult to determine.
On the 24th of December, one of the Arab servants, convalescent from the disease, and who had been convalescent for eight days, taking bark, while smoking his pipe suddenly expired. In no disease do patients bear motion worse than in this. The least motion[5] induced syncope or death.
Sometimes, they who had for some time been convalescent, suddenly complained that they felt giddy, and expired. Sometimes they called for food, and expired with it in their mouths. In one of Mr Adrian’s cases, where the fever had for some time been gone, and the patient was so far convalescent that he daily walked about a quarter of a mile, the man suddenly complained of giddiness, and expired in ten minutes.
Mr Thomas had two cases where, after affecting their gums, there was a complete apyrexia: but he lost his patients from an immense discharge from the glands and from a secondary fever. In general, it was found, that the patient recovered in proportion to the facility with which his gums and skin could be affected.