The Vampire Disease

The Vampire Disease

Stories of Dracula and Vampires that rise after dark to stalk the innocent and drink their blood have been a part of popular folklore for centuries. The fascination with tales of supernatural beings never seems to wane and has spawned an entire genre of books and films. How did these legends come to be? Is it possible these myths are rooted in medical science? As the 20th century evolved, rational man turned to science to explain mythology that had pervaded for thousands of years. Several myths have been solved, but there are some out there that still elude people's rationality. How could a man be mistaken for a vampire? How could someone appear to have been the victim of a vampire attack? Science, in time, came back with answers that may surprise you.

The first disorder that was often mistaken for a symptom of a vampire attack is Anemia. Derived from the Greek word for "bloodlessness", anemia is a blood disease in which the red-cell count is unusually low. Red cells are the carriers of oxygen throughout the body. When a person suffers from anemia, their symptoms are caused by inadequate oxygen. These symptoms may include: a pale complexion, fatigue, fainting spells, shortness of breath, and digestive disorders.

There are three main causes of anemia: disease, heredity, and severe blood loss. Over the ages, a person suffering from these symptoms may have been under suspicion of a vampire attack. Although the victim may have contracted a disease or simply have inherited the blood disorder, society would have found it easy to believe that the symptoms resulted from a vampire attack, and these symptoms may even have suggested that the victim was beginning his own transition to a vampire, marked with a pale complexion and trouble eating food (Burnum, M.D. 1250-1251).

The next disorder, though much more rare than the first, is still very much to blame for the myth. Catalepsy is described by Harrison's Manual of Medicine as a disorder of the nervous system that causes a form of suspended animation. It causes a loss of voluntary motion, rigidity to the muscles, as well as decreased sensitivity to pain and heat. A person suffering from catalepsy can see and hear but cannot move. Their breathing, pulse, and other regulatory functions are slowed that to an untrained eye, it would seem as though they were dead. This condition can last from minutes to days. Before 20th century medicine came along, there were few diagnostic tests that could be done on a body to ensure that a person was in fact dead, and so it is likely that people suffering from catalepsy could have been declared dead prematurely. Embalming a corpse before burial has only been introduced in the last hundred years or so, making it very possible that these bodies were declared dead and buried while the person still lived. Upon recovering from their cataleptic state, the person would try to dig and claw their way to the surface, giving townsfolk the idea that these people where rising out of their graves from the dead. Many myths may have arisen from this single condition alone (988; vol 17).

Of all the disorders and diseases even loosely linked to vampirism, the most bizarre and unique must be porphyria. It has actually been nicknamed by many doctors as "Vampire's Disease." Porphyria, the Greek word for "purple", is distinctive due its discoloration of the urine, occasionally dark blue or purple in color. A victim of porphyria cannot produce heme, a major and vital component of red blood. Porphyria is a collection of rare, genetic blood disorders. Extreme cases of the disease can manifest gruesome symptoms where victims accumulate pigments called porphyrins in the skin, bones and teeth. While harmless in the dark, porphyrins become caustic, flesh eating toxins that can cause gruesome facial disfigurement when exposed to the ultraviolet rays of sunshine. Noses and ears can be eaten away with lips exhibiting a red, burned effect until they peel back from the gums that in turn recede, and exposing the