A Medical Moment

A Medical Moment           “The One Who Walks Groping Her Way”

     On July 14, the Church commemorated the Feast Day of a then little known, deceased (1680) daughter of a truly terrifying cannibalistic Mohawk chief ^[i].  Her parents and brother succumbed to Smallpox.  Following this outbreak, the whole tribe resettled, and the young woman was left with a marked decline in eyesight and light intolerance.  There was no ocular trauma.  It certainly is likely, but microbial science was not at a point where this could be a “documented” Smallpox complication.  Dr Jenner’s (1797) pending discovery of a ‘Pox’ vaccination would give hope to ending the death of ~400,000 people yearly^[ii]!  

     With a recently diagnosed potential case of Monkeypox in Texas,^[iii] interest in the Pox (double-stranded DNA) viruses has spiked.  In general, they are marked by a ~10 day incubation period, skin rashes and an acute febrile illness.  The fatality rate of Smallpox prior to its official eradication (1980) was approximately 30%.^[iv]

     In the setting of poor nutrition, and no medical or even local/tribal care, Smallpox can cause corneal scarring and a chronic iritis.  Patients have a subsequent permanent reduction in visual acuity, with light sensitivity.

     Kateri Tekakwitha (“The one who walks groping her way”), died at age 23.  May her example and intercession serve as pure fire for us!

^[i]1)             The Marian Spirituality of Saint Kateri Tekakwitha (1656-1680): Iroquois Virgin and Patroness of the United States Association of Consecrated Virgins (udayton.edu)

 2)            Proc (Bayl Univ Med Cent). 2005 Jan; 18(1): 21–25.

doi: 10.1080/08998280.2005.11928028 Edward Jenner and the history of smallpox and vaccination,Stefan Riedel, MD, PhD1

3)              https://www.cbsnews.com/news/monkeypox-virus-texas-first-patient-2003/

4)              https://www.cdc.gov/poxvirus/index.html

Contributed by Dr. Joseph Clemente

Categorised in: Education