Yellow or malignant bilious fever in the vicinity of South Street wharf, Philadelphia, 1853 : read before the College of Physicians Aug. 3 and Sept. 7, 1853 : with an appendix / by Wilson Jewell.

  • Jewell, Wilson, 1800-1867.
Date:
1853
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Yellow or malignant bilious fever in the vicinity of South Street wharf, Philadelphia, 1853 : read before the College of Physicians Aug. 3 and Sept. 7, 1853 : with an appendix / by Wilson Jewell. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by the National Library of Medicine (U.S.), through the Medical Heritage Library. The original may be consulted at the National Library of Medicine (U.S.)

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    the bedding of the crew aired, and their clothing washed; she was detained an entire day; and, before being allowed to proceed to the city, all on board were separately and minutely examined; all hands were on duty, and apparently free from disease. The cap- tain spent a portion of the day on shore, and before being per- mitted up, declared on oath that 'all on board were in good health,' and that no sickness, except that resulting in the death of the two seamen, had occurred during the voyage. On the evening of the 13th, the Mandarin reached the city, and came to at South Street Wharf. On the 16th she was hauled up to the lower side of the first pier below Lombard Street, where she discharged her cargo. The crew having been previously discharged, the captain and mate remained by her, sleeping on board. On Wednesday morning, July 20, seven days after her arrival, she dropped down to the lower side of the first pier above Almond Street (her several positions being designated in the accompanying diagram), where she remained until the 26th, when she was removed by order of the Board of Health to the cove below the Navy Yard, from whence, on the 28th, she was re- manded to the Lazaretto, in order to undergo a more rigid and thorough purification. There was no development of disease of a malignant type in the vicinity of where this vessel lay, as far as has been ascertained (and the strictest inquiry has been instituted by Dr. Gilbert, the Port Physician, to whose politeness we are indebted for many of the facts here recorded), either before or during the time of dis- charging her cargo, and it is still to be made known that any Of her sailors, or any of the laborers employed in removing her cargo, have since been sick. There appears to have been no cause for alarm until the cargo was out of the vessel, when it was noticed that a very offensive smell proceeded from her hold. After she dropped down to the pier at Almond Street Wharf, on Wednesday morning, the 20th, the stench became intolerable, especially whenever the pumps agitated the bilge-water, contained under the limber planks or flooring of the hold. The first case of suspicious fever which occurred in the neigh- borhood was on Tuesday, the L9th of July, the day before the Mandarin left her position at Lombard Street lor Almond Street