- - - PANUM ON MEASLES IN THE FAROE ISLANDS

Friday, 29th of March 2013

PANUM ON MEASLES IN THE FAROE ISLANDS

Peter Panum's classic Observations Made During The Epidemic of Measles on The Faroe Islands inThe Year 1846describes in detail a virgin soil outbreak of the kind often seen as late as the 20th century, absent vaccination, in islands and archipelagos. Panum calculated the incubation period and estimated the case fatality rate (just under 2 percent). He also showed, notably, that virgin soil epidemics of measles infect nearly all susceptibles, and that natural infection confers lifelong immunity. He showed that measles struck all age groups. Of the 7864 population, 6100 contracted the disease, and 170 died, for a case fatality of 2.8 percent. Panum’s precise observations permitted him to determine the incubation period of measles.

The miasma theory was still popular in the 19th century. Here is Panum’s observation.

‘Experience in regard to the fact that measles is not miasmatic but purely contagious in character has been so dearly bought on the Faroe Islands that the people there will probably agree with us hereafter that it is correct, at least in practice, to consider measles as a contagious and not as a miasmatic nor miasmatic-contagious disease. It is another question whether measles can arise spontaneously. This did not happen on the Faroes, and although from a theoretical point of view, in analogy with typhus and the like, the possibility cannot be denied, yet with respect to regulations that might be instituted against the spread of the disease, especially under conditions such as those on the Fame Islands, Iceland, and other isolated places, if spontaneous origin ever occurs, the occasions are so rare that they cannot he taken into consideration.’

Full text with tables is at http://www.deltaomega.org/PanumFaroeIslands.pdf