What Really Killed William Henry Harrison?

Summary:

William Henry Harrison was the ninth President of the United States. Unfortunately he did just a month after he elected into office on April 4, 1841. His doctor, Thomas Miller, said his death was caused by "pneumonia of the lower lobe of the right lung, complicated by congestion of the liver." Miller thought Harrison could have caught the pneumonia on his inauguration day, when he did not dress according to the weather. But as scientists look back on his death, they think it was caused by something entirely different, enteric fever. They came to this conclusion from the notes that the doctor took as Harrison was dying. It stated that he had cold, blue extremities and had a sinking pulse which are effects of septic shock. This hypothesis was backed up by the fact that back in the 1840's the White House had no sewer system, which meant the contaminated water could seep into the clean water supply. It was also known that Harrison had a history of dyspepsia (indigestion). And to top it off the medicine Miller was distributing, opium and enemas, were aiding the gastrointestinal pathogens kill Harrison. Opium disrupts the intestine's ability to rid microbial pathogens and enemas produce S. typhi and S. paratyphi allowing bacteria to escape from the small intestine to the bloodstream. These three factors is what ultimately led to President Harrison's death.

Connection:

This article connects back to the digestive system which we are learning about now. In specific it is the small intestine, that was effected. Dyspepsia was mentioned as a disease Harrison had. It effects the gastrointestinal organs, the stomach and upper part of the small intestine. It causes upper abdominal pain, nausea, and abdominal bloating but has no life threatening side effects. This disease connects back to our term project, the different diseases on the different systems, along with the disease enteric fever. Enteric fever causes a systemic fever, severe headache, nausea, and loss of appetite. These factors are not life threatening, but if the disease is not cured it can be. Now a days if you are treated for enteric fever there is a 99% rate of survival. This brings up the point of how science has greatly improved over the years in diagnosis and treatment and cleanliness in general.

Author: Jane McHugh and Philip A. Mackowiak
Website: The New York Times
Link: http://www.nytimes.com/2014/04/01/science/what-really-killed-william-henry-harrison.html
Date: March 31, 2014