-
- NEW YORK (Reuters
Health) -- Archived statements from composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's
doctor and family plus historical accounts of 18th century epidemics in
Europe suggest that Mozart died of rheumatic fever, according to Dr. Faith
T. Fitzgerald of the University of California, Davis.
-
- Rheumatic fever is an inflammatory disease involving
the joints and heart. It occurs when the immune system strongly reacts
to infection with strep bacteria.
-
- ``About 118 diagnoses have been proposed since Mozart's
death,'' Fitzgerald said, including poisoning, murder, syphilis, and kidney
failure. She presented her diagnosis Friday at the Sixth Annual Clinical
Pathologic Conference in Baltimore, Maryland.
-
- Late in 1791, during a fever epidemic, Mozart suddenly
developed a high fever, headache, sweats, and severe swelling and pain
in his hands and feet, Fitzgerald told Reuters Health in an interview.
-
- Two weeks later Mozart's entire body swelled and he developed
nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, and a persistent rash. Fifteen days after becoming
ill, Mozart convulsed, went into a coma, and died, Fitzgerald explained.
-
- Her investigation revealed that Mozart had at least two
bouts with rheumatic fever as a child. This medical history and ''recurrent
sore throats and tonsillitis indicate he may have had recurring streptococcus
infections, which creates a major predisposition to heart failure,'' she
told Reuters Health.
-
- ``If Mozart's body swelling was caused by heart failure
then he had carditis,'' or inflammation of the heart, Fitzgerald said.
Taking into account Mozart's symptoms and prior illnesses, Fitzgerald noted
that Mozart met most of the criteria for a diagnosis of rheumatic fever.
-
- ``And finally, there's Mozart's sudden distaste for the
singing of his pet canary. Irritability is a classic symptoms of rheumatic
fever,'' she noted in a statement.
-
- ``Because Mozart was a great and famous man, we tend
to look for an extraordinary cause of death,'' Fitzgerald added. ``In fact,
the clues point to an illness that was a common killer in Mozart's time.''
-
- The professor noted that the availability of antibiotics
has made rheumatic fever rare in the US, but ``it continues to be a threat
in underdeveloped countries.''
-
- There is no way to definitively know exactly what caused
Mozart's death, Fitzgerald said. Clinical pathological conferences are
a common way to teach clinical thinking. Examining notorious cases of the
past ``is extremely valuable for doctors, medical students, and the general
public because it teaches skeptical inquiry and it's fun,'' she told Reuters
Health.
-
- ``Who knows of what Mozart died,'' Fitzgerald said. ``Maybe
the celestial choir just wanted someone of merit to match their glory.''
-
- SIGHTINGS HOMEPAGE
- This
Site Served by TheHostPros
|