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127
1911
Keeping the above facts before us, we must recognise Pneumonia to be
a specific febrile disease, in every respect analogous to Small Pox, Diphtheria,
Enteric Fever, and other infectious diseases.
It is caused by a microbe, in which the lungs, although not invariably, are
the circumscribed battle ground in which the Diplococcus pneumoniae and the
Bacillus pneumoniae play a part, although not an exclusive one, for it has been
shown by Fliigge that the micro-organism peculiar to erysipelas, to influenza,
to tuberculosis, and to enteric fever, may all give rise to pneumonic fever.
It is usually most prevalent in the spring, more especially the late spring,
and reaches its lowest prevalency in the summer, rising gradually to the winter
The origin of the malady, according to Hirsch, is dependent on sudden
changes of temperature and considerable fluctuations in the proportion of
moisture in the air, proper to winter and spring. The same authority holds
that any exceptionally large number of cases of "inflammation of the lungs"
at the other seasons, especially in summer, has coincided with the prevalence
of similar meteorological conditions phenomenally at that season. The period
of incubation of the disease, viz., the time that lapses between the moment at
which the individual is infected and its manifestation on him, is very short,
usually from a few hours to a few days.
The disease is year by year coming more and more under the purview of
Public Health Authorities, although hitherto no definite steps have been taken
with respect to it in this country. In some cities of the United States, notably
in Chicago, it has been scheduled among the diseases to be notified, so that
instructions respecting preventive measures may be givep to those in attendance
on the patient, and to enable the authorities to disinfect the premises.
Probably later on something will be done in England, where, however, up
to the present, there has been no movement in the direction of notification or
otherwise. The matter is not yet ripe—but there can be no doubt that pneumonic
fever will one day be recognised as a disease to be dealt with by
Public Health Authorities for the protection of the public.
At all events, since 1890, a special weekly record of the deaths from the
disease has been kept, which has been charted for this report, and w hich the
Medical Officer of Health has not the least doubt will become valuable some
day.