Remedy for Yellow Fever

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We have seen it stated in a number of oui exchanges that a remedy for yellow fever has been discovered at Angostura, Venezuela.— The remedy is the plant vervain or verbena, which grows abundantly in that region.— The expressed juice of the leaves given ir. small doses three times a day, with an enema of the same every two hours, is stated to be a perfect cure for the yellow fever and black vomit, even in their most threatening stages, All the physicians of Angostura have adopted this treatment of the disease, and they state that hardly any deaths occur under its influence. This information is furnished by Mr. Mathison, the British Vice-Consul at the above place. The varieties of the verbena growing in the warm and temperate regions of the Western world are numerous. The particular species referred to above, is that known to botanists by the name of " verbena jamaicensis." It is a native of the West India Islands, as well as of the continent. There are two kinds ot it, the male and the female; the latter is the one used as above. It has long been known to the Creole population of Spanish America for its medicinal virtues. They have used it as a lebrifuge and an unfailing specific in cases of dysentery. It is generally given to children as a tea, mixed with sugar and milk, and is by ao means a disagreeable beverage. The expressed juice of the plant forms a cooling purge for children in fevers. The vervain is likewise a remedy of particular note in sundry maladies that defy ordinary medicines. Sloane says it is a powerful deob-struent; according to Barham, it is likewise an excellent vermifuge. And, having now been discovered as a cure for yellow fever, the shrub must in future rank as a still more valuable addition to the pharmacopeia.

Scientific American Magazine Vol 8 Issue 49This article was published with the title “Remedy for Yellow Fever” in Scientific American Magazine Vol. 8 No. 49 (), p. 392
doi:10.1038/scientificamerican08201853-392

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