History of medical practice in Illinois - Bushnell Historical Society

Internal Medicine 151especially after Woodward, to crown the confusion, introduced in 1862 his uglyhybrid 'typhomalaria'. . . . But it is certain that typhoid became the prevalentepidemic disease of the Midwest in the second half of the 19th Century, remainedso well into the 20th Century and, unlike malaria, was overcome only by systematicantityphoid work. Illinois, for instance, suffered its biggest epidemic in1890-92; then started the systematic fight for better water supplies, toilet facilities,and against fly transmission."Dysentery epidemics in Illinois in the 1850's, 1860's, 7o's and 8o's showed mor-effectiveness of ipecac in some cases suggestsper cent. . . .talities of 7 to 9 Thethe presence of amebic as well as bacillary dysentery."Erysipelas is another disease so far neglected in surveys of the early pathologyof the Middle West. And vet numerous malignant epidemics of erysipelas or'black tongue' from the 1830's into the 1870's are on record, all the more malignantas they were usually accompanied by epidemics of puerperal fever. ... In thei86o's and 7o's, epidemics of erysipelas, sometimes with high mortality, were stillreported from Illinois and Minnesota."Cholera, in its worldwide wanderings during the 19th Century, struck theMidwest four times: in 1832-34, 1849-55, 1865-68 and 1871-73."There were smallpox epidemics, e.g., among Michigan Indians, in 1703, 1732,1783, 1832, and Illinois Indians in 1837. Neidier these nor the smallpox epidemicsamong early settlers are particularly surprising. But that smallpox should remaina major public health problem in our region well into the 20th Century, due tothe unwillingness of many natives and immigrants to become vaccinated, is arather amazing feature. ... As late as 1903, Illinois had a smallpox epidemic with1664 cases; and this after having had at least every ten years since the 1840*5, alarge epidemic, that of 1894 being still so extensive that 'pesthouscs' all over thestate had to be opened."Milk sickness or 'sick stomach,' produced by the milk of cattle poisoned withthe white snake root . . . was predominantly a disease of the Middle West. Duringthe first half of the 19th Century it proved so deadly and widespread that againit provoked prophecies in the 1830's that the country infested with milk sicknesscould never be permanently settled. ... In 1838, an Ohio farmer, John Rowe,Fayette County, showed through animal experiments that Eupatorium urtaeoifoliumwas the cause. ... It took science almost a hundred years to accept Rowe'spoint of view, shared by many farmers and doctors of the period."The first medical records on epidemic meningitis in our region date from the1840's. Illinois experienced an epidemic in 1845. Many more were to follow inabout 10-year intervals."BIBLIOGRAPHY1. Ackerknecht, E. W.: Diseases of the Middle West, D. J. Davis Lecture, Universityof Illinois, 1952.2. Black, C. E.: Medical practice in Illinois before hard roads, Bull. Soc. Med.Hist. 5:401, 1946.3. Bonner, T. N.: N. S. Davis and the growth of Chicago, Bull. Soc. Med. Hist.26:360, 1952.4. Davis, D. J.: Pertinent comments on the practice of medicine a century ago,///. Med. J. 103:263, 1953.5. Fitz, R.: The rise of the practice of internal medicine as a specialty, NewEngland J. Med., 242:569, 1950.