Is there such a thing as quinine fever?

Quinine

Q. Is there such a thing as quinine fever?

A. Half a century ago, the pioneer settlers of Michigan, Indiana and other states, which then constituted the West, suffered greatly from malarial infection, and sometimes not finding relief from quinine, successfully adopted a plan of wearing out the disease. These vet­erans in the warfare with one of the most terrible parasites which has ever afflicted the human race, learned by experience that paroxysms of chill and fever sometimes followed the use of quinine, a fact which gave rise to the phrase, then current, "quinine chills." Modern studies of the effects of quinine upon the human organism have explained these puzzling facts. It has long been known that quinine is a protoplasmic poison. It weakens the parasites, but at the same time weakens the white blood cells. This has been shown by numerous observers, among others Binz, Baxter, Martin, Jerusalimsky, and Cohnheim. Hare showed that one part of quinine in twenty thousand parts of  blood arrests amceboid movements and hence renders the leu­cocyte incapable of capturing the malarial plas­modium. Professors Koch, Rivet and others have reported cases in which malarial paroxysm has occurred as a result of the administration of quinine and on examination of the blood showed the presence of parasites. In a case reported by the London Lancet some years ago (Sept. 22, 1906), doses of quinine ranging from three-fourths of a grain to twenty grains were on four different occasions within two weeks followed by severe malarial paroxysms. Potter calls attention to this fact in his work on "Materia Medica," stating that malarial par­oxysms have been produced by quinine in many well authenticated instances, noting the fact that quinine never produced such effects except in malarial subjects.

Jacobson finds the explanation of these inter­esting observations in the fact that quinine paralyzes the white cells of the blood to such an extent that they are not able to recover them­selves before the parasites hiding away in the tissues when the quinine is present, return to the attack after its elimination. Being thus left defenseless, the body is at the mercy of the parasites. Thus, quinine instead of affect­ing a cure actually produces an aggravation of the disease by lessening the natural defenses. It cannot be denied that quinine renders valuable service in the treatment of malarial fever, but it is important that the possible evil effects which arise from its use should also be recog­nized and especially that the important fact should be borne in mind that the real cure of malarial fever, whether with or without the use of quinine, is accomplished by the natural powers of the body, especially by the leucocytes whereby the plasmodium is captured and destroyed.