Cassandra Hughes Final Exam Essay

How did Poe die? Many people who have known poe, also attributed that his cause of death is due to lethal amount of alcohol. The newspapers gave the cause of death as "congestion of the brain" or " cerbebra inflamation." Doctors diagonsed Poes condition as a brain inflamation, brought on by "exposure." The explanation may have been correct. Also they sya Poe may have become too drunk to care about protecting himself against the rain and wind.

A better argument was that Poe didnt die drunk, but rather with rabies. Poe was found in bar semi consious. The next day he was in the hospital he was hallucinating, and shouting at imaginary things. The next day he seemed better, but did not recall falling ill. On the fourth day he was in the hospital he was very angry and agressive then he quited down and died. The doctor said that, that is a classic case of rabies.

When Poe was awake and calm he refused alcohol and drank water with great diffulculty. Rabie victims usually gain fear of water because it is painful to swallow water. There was no evindence that Poe has gotten bittin by a rabid animal but in most cases of rabies the victem does not remenber. It can take a year before symtoms start to occur and when they do it may cause death withen a few days. They say that because he is so sensitive to alcohol a simple glass of wine can hospitalize him for a few days. Thats why they say he did not did of alcohol poisoning.

Poe was found outside a Baltimore saloon in an alcoholic stuper. He died four days later. Dr. Benitez admits the primary weakness of his theory was lack of evindence of a bite or scratch. Those days rabies was known to cause symtoms includes itchimg and other sensations that could effect the entire limb or side of the body.

Poe may have died of rabies encepnalitis. In the past 20 years ther have been 33 reported cases of rabies but only 24% of patients could recall an approprate history of animal exposure. A diagnosis is even though physicicians knew how rabies was transmitted the time of Poes death. Also at the time of Louis Paterurs's first use of rabies vaccine the causeitive agent, a rhabdorirus, was unknown. The best argument of the cause of Poes death is that he had died of rabies.