In late 18th century Britain, typhus fever plagued the mass mobilisation of soldiers and posed a significant challenge to physicians of the time. Epidemic typhus was spread through highly infectious faeces of infected lice and carried a high mortality in patients and healthcare staff alike. Physicians James Carmichael Smyth (1741–1821) and Archibald Menzies (1754–1842) theorized that typhus fever was caused by infection of human exhalation. They trialled the use of vapourised nitrous acid to fumigate patients, their clothes and their bedspace, with apparent success. Despite this, typhus fever continued to ravage deployments of soldiers into the early 19th century, stimulating the continuing evolution of the understanding of typhus and its treatment.

在 18 世纪后期的英国，斑疹伤寒困扰着士兵的大规模动员，并对当时的医生构成了重大挑战。流行性斑疹伤寒通过受感染虱子的高传染性粪便传播，患者和医护人员的死亡率都很高。内科医生詹姆斯·卡迈克尔·史密斯（James Carmichael Smyth，1741-1821 年）和阿奇博尔德·孟席斯（Archibald Menzies，1754-1842 年）提出斑疹伤寒是由人体呼气感染引起的理论。他们尝试使用汽化亚硝酸来熏蒸病人、他们的衣服和床位，并取得了明显的成功。尽管如此，直到 19 世纪初，斑疹伤寒继续肆虐士兵的部署，刺激了对斑疹伤寒及其治疗的理解的持续发展。