NEW YORK, Feb 11 (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."
