One of the First People to Die of Diphtheria – Bella McFarlane

Photo – Lost Ottawa

Name:
Isabella McFarlane
Cemetery:
Merivale Pinecrest Public
Burial Place:
Carleton (incl. Ottawa), Ontario, Canada
Notes:
James McFarlane Died,May,10,1850 Aged,46,y’rs. Isabella McFarlane Died,Oct.11,1865 Aged,20,y’rs. Jennie McFarlane Died.Oct.28,1936 Aged,94,Y’rs.

What was it like to die of Diphtheria in those days? One of every ten children infected died from this disease sometimes called “Boulogne sore throat”. Symptoms ranged from severe sore throat to suffocation due to a ‘false membrane’ covering the larynx. Until treatment became widely available in the 1920s, the public viewed this disease as a death sentence.

Diphtheria vaccination first appeared in the 1890s, but only became widely used in the 1920s. During this interval medical scientists labored to create a safe and effective vaccine. Antitoxin introduced in 1890 provided immunity for only two weeks. Six years later, the toxin-antitoxin mixture came into general use, providing life-long immunity. Doctors used horses to generate this antitoxin serum. Thirty years after diphtheria antitoxin first became available, Béla Schick introduced the Schick test, a cutaneous test showing if a person needed immunization. This allowed for the use of toxin-antitoxin to become widespread.

The toxin-antitoxin mixture, for all its promise, posed significant risks because it involved injecting live toxin. In 1924, Gaston Ramon developed the toxoid, a neutralized form of the toxin that would still impart permanent immunity. The toxoid-antitoxin mixtures eventually developed into the TDAP vaccine that is still in use today.

One way to help patients was removing pseudomembranes from throat by sucking through a tube or pipe. This procedure could lead to occupationally acquired infection, as seen in cases from the 1900th century presented here.

In 1860s, a child was brought to a local infirmary where Professor Syme had first performed tracheostomy. However, the ‘poisonous stuff had accumulated so much’, the child died. In 1890, it was discovered that serum made from the blood of immunized animals contained an “antitoxin” which, when injected, cured patients suffering from diphtheria.

CLIPPED FROM
Ottawa Daily Citizen
Ottawa, Ontario, Canada31 Jan 1863, Sat  •  Page 1

This advertisement ran every few days in the local papers-
CLIPPED FROM
Ottawa Daily Citizen
Ottawa, Ontario, Canada12 Oct 1866, Fri  •  Page 4  Hôpital de la Miséricorde ( check out those same sisters in the ad below)

Today, the building is abandoned by the living – but certainly not the dead! Considered a paranormal hotspot by ghost-hunting experts, there are many stories of disembodied children’s voices crying, sounds of clanging and abuse, not to mention the spirits of angry nuns and a fearful young mother. Click here

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The Ottawa Journal
Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
01 May 1899, Mon  •  Page 7

The diphtheria bacterium was first identified in the 1880s and in the 1890s diphtheria antitoxin was developed in Germany to treat victims of the disease. The antitoxin is prepared after horses are injected with increasingly large doses of diphtheria toxin.

The board of health will probably report to-night ( May 1, 1899) whether due precautions were taken to secure immunity from the diphtheria case reported at Beckwith. It is believed here that Beckwith township may have a board of health, but it is not in a strong healthy condition at present .

The similarity in a name and location of residence in Beckwith, where there has recently been a death from diphtheria is said to be a misguided rumour and that it should be contradicted. It is not at the home of Mr. William Duff of Lakeside Dairy that the disease appeared, neither are the families related, nor is there any intermingling between them. Mr. Lewis Duff, of the Lakeside Dairy, has fully recovered from a severe case of pneumonia

Since the sickness occurred in the unfortunate family of Mr. W. H. Duff, and for some time previous, there has been no association in any way between any members of the two households. It is in this general interest that it should be made known that the dispenser of milk or other commodities, who are around town dally in their usual avocations, are entirely free from the slightest prejudicial taint la sanitary matters.

There is much sympathy for the family of Mr. W. H. Duff, of Beckwith, in which two more of the children have been laid up with diphtheria. Doctors reported the next morning that they were recovering. The Beckwith board of health will probably report tomorrow whether due precautions are being taken to secure immunity from diphtheria infection for the rest of Beckwith. A doctor has stated that diphtheria is six times as fatal to school children between the ages of five, and ten years as any other disease.

An outbreak of diphtheria is threatened in the local school and within the past thirty days eight cases have devoid amongst the pupils. The trustees and school authorities are at a loss to account for the outbreak of the dreaded disease, and they are positive that the sanitary arrangements or the school building are not accountable for it. Precautions are being taken to prevent the further spread of the disease.

–

The Ottawa Journal
Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
24 Jan 1900, Wed  •  Page 3

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Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
18 Oct 1901, Fri  •  Page 7

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Carleton Place Herald 1897:  Strange as it may appear, the false report that “diphtheria had broken out in Carleton Place” was only corrected when a man named McCaffery of Drummond about 15 miles from Carleton Place, drove into town with a boy named Jones, son of John Jones of Eganville, who said he was suffering from a sore throat.

He was taken to Dr. McFarlane’s office and after examination Dr. McFarlane pronounced the disease diphtheria and advised the man to remove the boy as soon as possible and gave him the necessary medical advice.  The man left muttering something about leaving him in the hands of authorities and virtually abandoned him to the mercies of the doctor and the town of Carleton Place.

The former notified the Board of Health who – naturally feeling indignant abut the matter—took action at once, securing a vacant house on the outskirts of town which was converted into a hospital, secured a trained nurse and now after a week—we are pleased to inform our readers the little patient is doing well.  It is rather unfortunate that the town should be made to shoulder a case of this kind from the outside.

Clipped from

1. Ottawa Daily Citizen,
2. 16 Aug 1897, Mon,
3. Page 7

Sulphur Candles for fumigating infected rooms and clothing in times of cholera, diphtheria, typhoid and scarlet fevers and all contagious diseases. The most powerful disinfectant known. Kills all insects. Destroys noxious vapours. When you wish to fumigate with sulphur, use these; no danger of fire, easily lighted, burns steadily. A most convenient article to have. Price 2 for 16 cents.

Information where you can buy all Linda Seccaspina’s books-You can also read Linda in The Townships Sun and the Sherbrooke Record and and Screamin’ Mamas (USA

Come and visit the Lanark County Genealogical Society Facebook page– what’s there? Cool old photos–and lots of things interesting to read. Also check out The Tales of Carleton Place. Tales of Almonte and Arnprior Then and Now

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Diphtheria in Carleton Place

 

Until the late 19th century, diphtheria was a gruesome killer with no known cause and many ineffective treatments. The disease was highly contagious and it came in the formation of a thick gray membrane in a child’s throat making it difficult to breathe. Fever and weakness also accompanied the growth and quite often resulted in death. In the spring of 1913, Behring developed a vaccine against diphtheria. On May 15, 1914, a short article reported that the French newspaper Le Matin had declared the serum one of “the Seven Wonders of the modern world.”

Carleton Place Herald 1897:  Strange as it may appear, the false report that “diphtheria had broken out in Carleton Place” was only corrected when a man named McCaffery of Drummond about 15 miles from Carleton Place, drove into town with a boy named Jones, son of John Jones of Eganville, who said he was suffering from a sore throat.

He was taken to Dr. McFarlane’s office and after examination Dr. McFarlane pronounced the disease diphtheria and advised the man to remove the boy as soon as possible and gave him the necessary medical advice.  The man left muttering something about leaving him in the hands of authorities and virtually abandoned him to the mercies of the doctor and the town of Carleton Place.

The former notified the Board of Health who – naturally feeling indignant abut the matter—took action at once, securing a vacant house on the outskirts of town which was converted into a hospital, secured a trained nurse and now after a week—we are pleased to inform our readers the little patient is doing well.  It is rather unfortunate that the town should be made to shoulder a case of this kind from the outside.

 

Daily Mail and Empire – May 7, 1897

Almonte Gazette December 1897

The three-year-old daughter of Mr. Wm. Watchorn, jr., (on the Bellamy Road) died of diphtheria on Tuesday. Two other children, down with the same dread trouble, are progressing favorably.

—An outbreak of diphtheria has occurred at Combermere. Nine families are down with the disease.

Photo- Google Image

Some believed open drains, dirt roads and streets strewn with manure caused the diphtheria epidemics

Read the Almonte Gazette here

Ottawa Daily Citizen
Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
16 Aug 1897, Mon  •  Page 7

Ottawa Daily Citizen
Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
06 Aug 1897, Fri  •  Page 5

ttawa, Ontario, Canada
16 Aug 1897, Mon  •  Page 7