Modern medicine does not stand still, and in our time, people can be cured of almost any disease. However, in medieval times, medicine was powerless against many, even entirely innocent diseases. Epidemics claimed tens of thousands of lives, more than wars and famines. One of these insidious diseases was quarter fever. A close study of its causes and symptoms is essential to eliminate the occurrence of the disease further.
Quartan fever is one of the four types of malaria that people can acquire. Descriptions of this disease occurring with characteristic febrile attacks are contained in the medical literature since the Middle Ages. The immune response against quartan fever develops slowly and is characterized by low efficiency, and practically does not protect from catching the disease again. Acquired immunity develops after several diseases over several years.
The disease causes an irregular and slow pulse with intervals and difficulty feeling it. When the disease passes, the pulse remains sluggish, inadequate, and infrequent. An “inadequate” pulse is one that goes from fast to slow and vice versa. The pulse is “sluggish” when it flows in its course with a stagnant movement (Wallis and Stoffregen 1967, 40). Besides, in those infected with the disease, the urine appeared to have different shades, particularly pale and dark, as if the body fails to digest everything. Furthermore, early signs of quadriplegic infection include sore spots, scars, hives, and burning skin.
Quartan fever is considered a less severe form of malarial fever that can be treated with antimalarial drugs, and prevention methods can be used to avoid infection. It should be noted that the disease, as a form of malaria, still exists nowadays. Methods that are used to prevent the spread of the fever or to protect against it include preventive medicines, mosquito eradication, and means to prevent mosquito bites. At the moment, there is no vaccine against the disease, but active research is underway to create it.
Reference
Wallis, Faith, and Malte Stoffregen. 1976. Eine frühmittelalterliche lateinische Übersetzung des byzantinischen Puls- und Urintraktats des Alexandros. Berlin: Freie universität Berlin. 40