Rabies in Eighteenth-Century England and English North America John Douglas Blaisdell Iowa State University

Iowa State University Capstones, Theses and Retrospective Theses and Dissertations Dissertations 1995 A frightful, but not necessarily fatal, madness: rabies in eighteenth-century England and English North America John Douglas Blaisdell Iowa State University Follow this and additional works at: https://lib.dr.iastate.edu/rtd Part of the European History Commons, History of Science, Technology, and Medicine Commons, United States History Commons, and the Veterinary Medicine Commons Recommended Citation Blaisdell, John Douglas, "A frightful, but not necessarily fatal, madness: rabies in eighteenth-century England and English North America " (1995). Retrospective Theses and Dissertations. 11041. https://lib.dr.iastate.edu/rtd/11041 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Iowa State University Capstones, Theses and Dissertations at Iowa State University Digital Repository. 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Ml 48106-1346 USA 313.'76l-4700 800/521-0600 A frightful~but not necessarily fatal—madness: Rabies in eighteenth-century England and English North America by John Douglas Blaisdell A Dissertation Submitted to the Graduate Faculty in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY Department: Histoiy Major: History of Technology and Science Approved: Members of the Committee: Signature was redacted for privacy. Signature was redacted for privacy. Signature was redacted for privacy. Signature was redacted for privacy. Charge/f Klaj ork Signature was redacted for privacy. Signature was redacted for privacy. ForMmonDepartmei Signature was redacted for privacy. For the G«t llege Iowa State University Ames, Iowa 1995 Copyright © John Douglas Blaisdell, 1995. All rights reserved UMI Number: 9610942 Copyright 1996 by Blaisdell, John E>ouglas All rights reserved. OMI Microform 9610942 Copyright 1996, by DHI Company. All rights reserved. This microform edition is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code. 300 North Zeeb Road Ann Arbor, HI 48103 ii TABLE OF CONTENTS Page CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION 1 CHAPTER 2: EARLY HISTORY OF RABIES 9 CHAPTER 3; BELIEFS AND THEORIES OF RABIES IN THE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY 34 CHAPTER 4: THE DIAGNOSIS OF RABIES IN THE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY: DOMESTIC CARNIVORES 58 CHAPTER 5: THE DIAGNOSIS OF RABIES IN THE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY: HUMANS 82 CHAPTER 6: THE TREATMENT OF RABIES IN THE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY: THE ANIMALS 97 CHAPTER?: THE TREATMENT OF RABIES IN HUMANS IN THE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY 112 CHAPTERS: THE PROBLEM OF PREVENTION OF RABIES IN THE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY 142 CHAPTER 9: POSTSCRIPT: INTO THE NINETEENTH CENTURY 172 CHAPTER 10: CONCLUSION 207 BIBLIOGRAPHY 210 1 CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION For John Neale it all started in 1741 the Thursday before Michaelmass.' Neale, who was a London dogleech^, was called upon to treat a sick dog. Unfortunately in the process of giving the animal some medicine Neale was bitten on the thumb.^ The next day the animal in question refused all food and became very lethagic ; it eventually died that night. The dog's death was attributed to an affliction that caused both alarm and horror in the eighteenth-century world—hydrophobia or rabies."^ Neale was sufficiently alarmed by the circumstances surrounding the dog's sickness and eventual death to proceed directly to St. George's Hospital for medical assistance.^ There his wound was bled and cauterized and he was directed to take a cold bath and to use a medicine known as Pulvis Antilyssus. For the next two weeks Neale experienced little or no problem with his health. Then during the full of the moon Neale began to experience a numbness in the bite wound which quickly spread throughout his hand and arm. His condition very quickly began to deteriorate. He began to exhibit psychological dysfunction, characterized in part by an absolute terror of dogs. He was also deeply concerned he might go mad, so much so that he had himself tied to his bed in order to protect the other patients. ' Michaelmass, or the feast of St. Michael, is held on September 29. 2 An eighteenth century version of a veterinary practitioner who specializes in dogs as patients. 3 This particular case was documented in 1744 in the Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society. See: Charles Peters, M. D., "The Case of A Person Bit by A Mad Dog," Philosophical Transactions of The Royal Society 43 (1744): 257-62. ^ Classical authors, such as Galen, recognized rabies and hydrophobia to be generally the same. Rabies was the name given the form of disease that attacked the dog while hydrophobia was the name for the affliction in humans. Since most eighteenth-century authors followed the classical pattem and because most medical literature involved humans hydrophobia was the term most commonly seen. Throughout this work I will use these terms interchangeably, since they are simply terms for the same disease. 5 In 1741 St. George's Hospital, which bordered on Hyde Park, was considered one of the best of the London Charity Hospitals. There is a certain irony, then, that the building built in the 1720s to treat the ailing London poor is today a high class London Hotel, charging better than £ 100 a night for a room. 2 Neale also complained of excruciating headaches and a difficulty in swallowing. In time this last symptom took precedent over the others. In fact so serious was this problem that simply swallowing a piece of bread or a small amount of ale caused Neale to be seized with violent abdominal spasms and a feeling of strangulation. Interestingly, despite these severe reactions Neale's ability to take nourishment remained generally unimpaired. The attending physicians, Doctors Hoadly, Baily and Peters, quickly concluded this condition was the result of an inflammatory fever and treated it accordingly. For the next two weeks Neale was subjected to the full regimen of eighteenth-century medical therapeutics. This included not only medicines that were considered efficacious against the specific ailment of hydrophobia but also treatments used to counteract general inflammatory conditions. Neale was copiously bled-once nearly sixteen ounces was removed at one time-and received numerous enemas, blisters and cooling laxatives. He also received boluses-large pills~of Nitre Mithridate and Thebiac. These treatments seemed to be effective for at the end of the two weeks Neale's condition had so improved that his treatment now consisted simply of cold baths. In time Neale was restored to near normal health-he still had some minor symptoms during periods of new and full moons—and he was able to return to work. This experience, though, left him with such a dread of dogs that he gave up his practice and became a green grocer instead.^ The case of John Neale is a reflection of many, if not most, of the problems, concerns, and general pratfalls that were seen with rabies in the eighteenth century English-speaking world. As a rule rabies is not that serious a disease, epidemiologically. It mainly affects wildlife and companion animals, creatures whose economic value is minimal. While the disease can be spread to humans, the means of contagion, through infected body fluids, establishes that the incidence of infection is generally low.'^ Despite this rabies is still considered one of the most frightful of the afflictions that attack humans and animals. This heightened concern, exceeding any true public health threat, is due to a number of factors that have been present also since rabies first made its appearance as an affliction. Historical studies of rabies have as of late been less than satisfactory. The first comprehensive examination was written in 1872 by a British veterinarian named George Fleming. His work. Rabies and Hydrophobia, attempted to examine the ^ Peters, 262. ' Harriet Ritvo, The Animal Estate (Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press,1987) 167. 3 disease from every aspect, including an historical one. For all

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