A Treatise on Plague
Dealing with the Historical, Epidemiological, Clinical, Therapeutic and Preventive Aspects of the Disease

A comprehensive 1905 study of bubonic plague, charting its 3000-year history, and including data on diagnosis, treatment and prevention.

W. J. Simpson (Author)

9781108015899, Cambridge University Press

Paperback / softback, published 31 October 2010

518 pages, 14 b/w illus. 7 maps 33 tables
23.4 x 15.6 x 2.6 cm, 0.72 kg

The bubonic plague, in various forms, has been devastating human populations and affecting the very course of history for over 3000 years. This 1905 study by a renowned expert in the field represents the extent of early twentieth-century knowledge of a disease which was still killing millions at the time of first publication. Charting the history of the plague and its spread across the world, Simpson examines the causes of the disease, including the role of living conditions and poverty, as well as strategies for quarantine, prevention and treatment. Featuring autopsy reports, statistical data, photographs illustrating the symptoms and accounts of medical investigation of all aspects of the plague, this is a comprehensive and arresting overview of the disease. The book also features the full text of the 1903 International Sanitary Convention of Paris which was a response to the 1896 outbreak in India and China.

Preface
Part 1. History and Distribution of Plague: 1. Plague from the early centuries to the 19th century
2. Plague in India
3. The present pandemic
Part 2. Epidemiology of Plague: 4. Nature of infection
5. The relationship of epizootics to plague
6. Different views as regards the etiology of pandemics and epidemics of plague
7. Variation in powers of diffusion of epidemics, and the effect of seasonal influences on them
8. Variation in virulence of plague epidemics
9. Fostering conditions of endemicity and epidemicity
10. Diffusion and modes of dissemination
11. Modes of dissemination in an infected locality
Part 3. Plague in the Individual: 12. Morbid anatomy and pathology
13. Channels of infection
14. Clinical features
15. Diagnosis and prognosis
16. Treatment
Part 4. Measures for Prevention and Suppression of Plague: 17. Measures employed before the discovery of the bacillus
18. Existing measures against plague after discovery of bacillus
19. Measures to combat an outbreak of plague in a locality
20. Preventive inoculation
21. Conclusion
Appendix 1. Reported deaths from plague in India in 1904, extracted from the official weekly returns
Appendix 2. The International Sanitary Convention of Paris, 1903
Index.

Subject Areas: Infectious & contagious diseases [MJCJ]