West-Nile encephalitis again

[jona]

Dear friends,The following article may be relevant: http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/EID/vol10no7/ ... _320.htmIt argues that "the time course and characteristic clinical features of West Nile encephalitis are inconsistent with the cause of Alexander the Great's death", and makes en passant some interesting points.I was surprised to learn that Alexander can not have been poisoned because "toxins are not accompanied by fever".Jona

[beausefaless]

As the article said, we will never know what caused Alexanders death.

Different poisons affect the body in different ways: they can take effect quickly or over time. Sweating, craving for cold things is symptoms for certain poisons and this could have been mistaken for fever due to Malaria or whatever in ancient times.

Therefore the range of symptoms is broad and varied. Poisoning should be considered as a cause if someone suddenly becomes ill for no apparent reason, or acts strangely. Symptoms of poisoning can include:

abdominal pain, vomiting, diarrhoea or nausea
dizziness, weakness or drowsiness,
fever,
chills (shivering)
loss of appetite
headache or irritability
pain on swallowing or production of more saliva than usual
skin rash
burns around the nose or mouth
double or blurred vision
muscle twitching
seizures (fits)
stupor or unconsciousness.

"I was surprised to learn that Alexander can not have been poisoned because "toxins are not accompanied by fever". This I totally disagree!

Andrew

[jona]

Thanks Andrew- although I am now confused. The article, written by two doctors, states that categorically that "toxins or poisons are not accompanied by fever" - but the doctors, writing for colleagues, do not explain why they say so. You state, just as boldly, that fever can be a symptom of poisoning, and this seems plausible as I remember an incident with foxglove from my very own youth.I've written to the Nederlandse Vereniging voor Toxicologie (Dutch association of toxicologists); and I'll keep you informed.Jona

[susan]

I think that the whole thing shows how easy it is to make the recorded facts fit a wide range of diseases and causes of death - see my last post about making the death from monkey's bite fit the facts.The original records and translations are imprecise and weren't written for doctors; aftr 2500 years and several translations I don't see that they can really be given the same status as modern diagnoses.
I've been working on a 19th century description of Alexander's death; the phrase 'yellow face' is used for 'pale face', which may mean very different things to doctors. Plus - Perdiccas or Eumenes probably went through the records censoring them; they didn't just turn up, they were published as part of the propaganda war.Susan

[beausefaless]

Thank you Jona,I look foward to any response you may receive from the Nederlandse Vereniging voor Toxicologie.
Take care,Andrew

[ruthaki]

I agree with Andrew. All of these causes are alleged anyways cause who really knows? He likely did have malaria and if his wine was mixed with tainted water (as one theory suggests) just to make sure he didn't rally and pull through, then the 'poison' theory works. For me, anyway. Ruth K.

[Link]

AKRATOS! (sp) That is how the MACEDONIANS drank their wine (unmixed). The GREEX mixed their wine with water. Your theoryist maybe confused and if the poison theory works for you, you can have it.

[marcus]

Oh come on! Just because the Macedonians usually drank their wine unmixed, it didn't mean they *always* did. Heck, I usually drink my gin unmixed, but occasionally splash a little tonic in it.If Alexander was already ill, even if he carried on drinking I can well imagine that he would have allowed a little water to be dashed in to make it weaker.All the bestMarcus

[jan]

I read by the author Arthur Weigall that he had suffered a stabbing pain in the back. That could suggest kidney problems, but this time Arthur did not include a footnote for available source.

[marcus]

Hi Jan,I have *no* idea where Weigall got that one from!On the other hand, is that perhaps a new theory ... rather than *poisoning* Alexander, Iollos (or whoever - the monkey perhaps?) just stabbed him... of course, it rather mocks ancient forensic science if they didn't notice... All the bestMarcus