Deadly Affect of Water Impurity. -- according to the late Dr. William Budd, it also appears to be highly probable that, the poison of typhoid fever enters the system by drinking water, infection is more certain than when it is disseminated by the hair and is breathed into the lungs. It's part of the statement, he instances an outbreak which occurred in Wales, where out of ninety or a hundred persons who attended a ball, fully one third was shortly afterward laid up with fever. Although the water was not examined, there was satisfactory reason to believe it was polluted with sewage.
Even in public places where you would expect the aristocracy or at least the rich people together, water impurity was such a problem that sewage could be mixed into the drinking water supply at a ball. Clearly this highlights the fact that discovering this problem was still relatively new compared to attempt to deal with the problem effectively. This was such a new problem, that they were literally dying from it because they could act fast enough, and maybe they didn't even know that they were supposed to act fast. For all we know looking at this account, replacing their Movado watches might have been of higher importance than investing money in improving their drinking water supply.
Additional Articles from the Book of Medicine:
- Cholera Due to Impure Water
Cholera Due to Impure Water. — among the remarkable outbreaks which goes to prove that this mode of cholera propagation is not at all uncommon, maybe mention the following, condensed from Mr. Simons eighth report as medical officer of the English privy Council, during the prevalence of cholera in England in 1865: A gentleman and his wife in the village of Theydon-Bois, and Essex, have been lodging at the town of Weymouth for two or three weeks, and returned home towards the end of
September. On their way home they pass through Dorchester, where the gentleman was seized with diarrhea, vomiting and cramps, which continued more or less during the next day in the day following, when he reached his own home. During the journey to wife also began complaining of pains in the abdomen, which was followed by diarrhea and eventually by cholera, from which she died.Here’s the first paragraph from Wikipedia on Cholera which I’m providing just as a simple contrast in the information level known now versus 100 years ago…
Cholera, sometimes known as Asiatic cholera or epidemic cholera, is an infectious gastroenteritis caused by the bacterium Vibrio cholerae.[1][2] Transmission to humans occurs through ingesting food or water that is contaminated with cholera vibrios. The major reservoir for cholera was long assumed to be humans themselves, but considerable evidence exists that aquatic environments can serve as reservoirs of the bacteria. Vibrio cholerae is a Gram-negative bacterium that produces cholera toxin, an enterotoxin, whose action on the mucosal epithelium lining of the small intestine is responsible for the characteristic massive diarrhea of the disease.[1] In its most severe forms, cholera is one of the most rapidly fatal illnesses known, and a healthy person may become hypotensive within an hour of the onset of symptoms; infected patients may die within three hours if medical treatment is not provided.[1] In a common scenario, the disease progresses from the first liquid stool to shock in 4 to 12 hours, with death following in 18 hours to several days, unless oral rehydration therapy is provided.
That contrast in detail and accuracy is pretty amazing in and of it self. We live in an age where modern marvels in medical advancement such as the evolution from glasses to contact lenses to lasik corrective surgery demonstrate evolutionary and revolutionary change 3 times over. So it is no wonder that even when they were on the right track with a topic 100 years ago, the level of understanding was still exceptionally rudimentary.
- Modern Science Gives us Vision
One of the things that the Great Workman (see my last post) do not give us as people is universal good vision. When I was in fifth grade my vision went south and I had start wearing glasses. A few years later when I went in the eighth grade I tried wearing contacts. They were hard contacts and I remember walking out of the doctors office being amazed that I could see the leaves on the trees.
Since they were hard contacts I stopped wearing them within about two weeks.
A few years later disposable contacts came out and I bought my first box of disposable contact lenses for about $100 a box, that included about six contacts in each box and I needed two boxes one for each eye.
The work contact lenses for the next 10 years and the prices really went down and I started to purchase my contact lenses online. I haven’t worn any contact lenses since 2001 I have LASIK surgery.
I was amazed today to see just how cheap contact lenses have become. I was looking through a contact lenses site and noticed the prices of the contacts I used to purchase were now down to about $10 a box.
Notice the price of the Acuvue 2 lenses!
When I decided to have LASIK, I partially made my decision based on how much it would cost to keep buying contacts and glasses over the next 10 years.Prices of drop dramatically and my choice probably would’ve been different if I had made that decision today.
- How Mosquitoes Develop
How mosquitoes develop.-A Female mosquito lays from 200 to 300 eggs at a time and always in standing water, as the eggs must have still water and no matter how filthy the water, it will not destroy the eggs or prevent their development.
This is such a basic description that it is almost not worth the ink it is printed with. But if you take a look at Wikipedia, you might get just a simple sense of how much our knowledge has grown. Below is what constitutes a basic reference on the biology of Mosquito from Wikipedia. Where are previous knowledge of a mosquito could be measured in a couple dozen bits, it might now take a few megs of ram to contain our knowledge.
Anatomy
The mosquito is composed of a head, thorax, and abdomen. The head contains two compound eyes and proboscis. The proboscis is a piercing mouthpart used to suck blood from its prey. The mosquito’s head is mostly eye. Each eye is made up of many tiny lenses forming a compound eye. This type of eye allows a very big field of vision that easily detects movement. Next is the thorax. The thorax has one pair of wings and one pair of halteres. The thorax also has markings that are used in the identification of the mosquito. The abdomen, or gut, expands as it ingests its prey’s blood. The abdomen also has many markings that are used to identify the mosquito species.
[edit] Life cycle and feeding habits
Culex mosquito larvae
In its life cycle the mosquito undergoes complete metamorphosis, going through four distinct stages: egg, larva, pupa, and adult, first described by the Greek philosopher Aristotle.[28]
[edit] Egg
Female mosquitoes lay their eggs one at a time or together in rafts of fifty or more eggs on the surface in fresh or any stagnant water. Anopheles and Aedes mosquitoes do not make egg rafts but lay their eggs separately. Culex, Culiseta, and Anopheles lay their eggs on water while Aedes lay their eggs on damp soil that is periodically flooded by water. Most eggs hatch into larvae in about 48 hours. A female mosquito may lay a raft of eggs every third night during its life span if it can find enough blood to develop the eggs.
[edit] Larval stage
The hatching eggs turn into larvae that live in the water, coming to the surface to breathe. The first larval stage is known as the first instar. As they grow, they shed or moult their skin about four times, growing larger after each moulting. After the first molt they are second instars, then third, then fourth. Most larvae use siphon tubes going to the water surface for breathing and hang on or near the water surface. Anopheles larvae do not have a siphon and typically lie parallel to the water surface. The larvae eat micro-organisms and organic matter in the water for food. Mosquito larvae, commonly called “wigglers” or “wrigglers”, must live in water from 7 to 14 days depending on the water’s temperature. At their last moult they may be up to 1 cm or 1/2 inch long. In each stage they may be eaten by other insects or fish. Mosquito larvae in the genus Toxorhynchites eat other mosquito larvae.
The length of the first three stages (or instars) is dependent on the species and temperature, with lower temperatures increasing the length of the development stage.[29] Culex tarsalis may complete its life cycle in 14 days at 20 C (68 F) and only ten days at 25 C (77 F). Some species have a life cycle of as little as four days, whereas in other species some adult females can live through the winter, laying their eggs in the spring. Many species of mosquito live their adult stage in roughly two weeks to two months. The larvae are the “wrigglers” found in puddles or water-filled containers. These breathe air through a siphon at the tail end. The pupae, or “tumblers”, are nearly as active as the larvae, but breathe through thoracic “horns” attached to the thoracic spiracles. Most larvae feed on micro-organisms, but a few are predatory on other mosquito larvae. Some mosquito larvae, such as those of Wyeomyia live in unusual situations. These mosquito wigglers live either in the water collected in epiphytic bromeliads or inside water stored in carnivorous pitcher plants. Larvae of the genus Deinocerites live in crab holes along the edge of the ocean. On the fourth molt the larva changes into a pupa.
[edit] Pupa
The pupae are lighter than water and float on the surface as the mosquito larva metamorphoses (changes) into an adult mosquito in about two days. Pupae do not have mouths and therefore do not feed. This is important to know from a larviciding point of view because most larvicide has to be ingested by the mosquito. A surface oil or mmf (monomolecular film) should be applied to the breeding site as a means of suffocating the pupa.
[edit] Adult
The newly emerged adult must rest on the surface of the water for a short time to allow itself to dry and all its parts to harden before it can fly. This requires still water: mosquitoes do not breed in fast-moving water.
The total time to go through all four stages depends on the temperature and the type of mosquito, but typically takes 14 days or less in warmer weather. In various species the time varies from 4 to 30 days.
Most mosquito species outside of the tropics overwinter as eggs, but many overwinter as larvae or adults. Mosquitoes of the genus Culex (a vector for St. Louis encephalitis) overwinter as mated adult females.
Most mosquitoes stay fairly close to the ground and do not range too far from where they were born, but may be dispersed long distances by wind. Mosquitoes are not strong flyers, making only 1-2 km/h (1-1.5 mph); therefore, an electric fan may suffice as an effective mosquito screen. They feed mostly in the mornings and evenings and occasionally at night, avoiding the heat of the day. During the day they usually find somewhere cool to rest. Mosquitoes can tend to live over puddled water or grassy areas.
Mosquito biting finger
Only female mosquitoes bite animals to get blood needed to produce eggs. Male mosquitoes do not bite, but both the male and female feed on the nectar of flowers for food. In most female mosquitoes, the mouth parts form a long proboscis for piercing the skin of mammals (or in some cases birds or even reptiles and amphibians) to suck their blood. As opposed to a syringe’s typically smooth needle, the mosquito proboscis is highly serrated, which leaves a minimal number of points of contact with the skin being pierced — this reduces nerve stimulation to the point where the “bite” is typically not felt at all. (See the Mosquitoes and health section below for an explanation on the swelling). The females require protein for egg development and laying, and since the normal mosquito diet consists of nectar and fruit juice, which has no protein, most females must drink blood to lay eggs. Males differ from females, with mouth parts not suitable for blood-sucking.
The female mosquitoes locate their next blood donor victims primarily through scent. They are extremely sensitive to the carbon dioxide in exhaled breath, as well as to substances found in sweat and various body odours such as 1-octen-3-ol. They are believed to be able to track potential prey for tens of meters. Some people attract more mosquitoes than others, apparently based on how they “smell” to a mosquito. Mosquitoes can also detect heat, so they can find warm-blooded mammals and birds very easily once they get close enough. Repellents like DEET work by disorienting the mosquito as it gets close to its potential next meal but do not kill mosquitoes. Surprisingly this works about 95% of the time.[citation needed]
Male mosquitoes may tend to be smaller than females, with features such as feathered antennae and conspicuous external genitalia.
