MUZZLING AND HYDROPHOBIA.
LTO THE EDITOR OF THE "SPECTATOR."]
SIE,—I observe that attention has been directed in the Spectator to a letter upon "Hydrophobia and Muzzling," by " F.R.S.," which appeared in the Times, but of which no notice has been taken except in your journal, obviously because it is but a repetition of misrepresentations which have been so often refuted as to have lost their power to blind any but a very small section of the public. The statement of as to rabies having come to an end spontaneously in 1885, just when the muzzle was applied, is absolutely disproved by the Police Records, which show that in that year the deaths in London created an alarm precisely for the reason that they had become so numerous as to constitute an epidemic of the disease, and they only gradually sank to zero in 1886 under the use of the muzzle. This is but one example of the general character for accuracy of " F.R.S.'s " letter, the last paragraph of which (in which he sums up his previous remarks) bristles with misrepresentations. It is tedious work constantly refuting statements which a few minutes' reference to a text-book or manual would show to be as absurd as they are false, and for this reason I can do no more than touch in passing upon Mr. Warrington's letter, which he has founded upon that of " F.R.S." I would, however, ask him what ground he has for stating that "it is admitted by most, and not denied by any, of the medical profession," that the symptoms of hydrophobia are produced by other forms of blood-poisoning than the transmission of rabic virus; and I should also like to ask him whether he wishes to convey the impression to your readers that it is not possible to diagnose hydrophobia.
With regard to your own observations on the subject, I note that you make a statement as though you thought that the disease had been stamped out in Vienna by a "system of
registration." Permit me to direct your attention to page 254 of the Report of the Select Committee of the House of Lords on Rabies, and to a lecture recently published by Mr. Frank Kerslake on hydrophobia. From those documents, you will see that registration prevails throughout Austria ; but it was only adopted after rabies had been reduced in Vienna to zero by
stringent muzzling for eighteen months. The registration thus introduced to replace the muzzle, failed during the next twelve months, so that, a fresh outbreak having occurred, the autho- rities in 1887 again ordered the muzzle to be applied, the veteri- nary experts having stated that it was the only way to get rid of the disease. So much for registration in -Vienna. That you should have been misinformed on the point is not extra- ordinary, the facts on this subject having been so constantly misstated by the opponents of the muzzle, especially in the Standard, which has systematically suppressed all letters thoroughly exposing its errors, and is consequently responsible for many other such mistakes as that into which you have inadvertently been led.—I am, Sir, &c.,
VICTOR HORSLEY.
80 Park Street, Grosvenor Square, January 25th.
(Mr. Horsley is very masterful in his statements ; but master- fulness in statement does not alter fact. The "splendid result" which followed from the muzzling order of December 10th, 1885, could not possibly include the dwindling away of cases of hydrophobia in the December of that year to one, and one 'which must have originated in the time before the order was issued. If no order had been issued, there could not well have been any further case in December, as the issue of an order on December 10th was too late to prevent any bite which could have caused hydrophobia before the end of the month. And Mr. Horsley makes no reference to the fact that the number of cases of hydrophobia in 1884, when there was no muzzling order in force, was precisely the same as that in 1886, when there was. Mr. Horsley says that "F.R.S." stated that rabies had come to an end spontaneously in the end of 1885. " F.R.S." said nothing of rabies ; what he said was that hydrophobia had come to an end spontaneously then. The difference is important, because the number of cases of rabies is taken from police records, which are, as scientific statistics, quite worthless, the police having no real knowledge of the proper tokens of rabies. On the other hand, the statistics of hydrophobia are more or less trust- worthy. We are not responsible for Mr. Warrington's view, and do not profess to have any opinion of our own on the matter ; but an eminent physician who has studied the sub- ject, assures us that a malady having all the characteristics of hydrophobia, does occur and may end in death, without its being possible to trace any connection with the bite of a rabid animal. No doubt Mr. Horsley will think this a perfectly mistaken opinion, but it is at least a matter on which scientific men are divided. If muzzling is the only safeguard against hydrophobia, it is perfectly obvious that the exemption of packs of hounds is utterly indefensible.—En. Spectator.]
Previous page
