Daily Davenport Democrat. [volume] (Davenport, Iowa) 1864-1874, 1867-02-12

what has been Learned about
Cholera Ina New York ConCIu.
.iosss of the Board Of Health
Concerning the Visitation Of
ls6G-lts LESSONS.
DIR Harris, the Registrar of Vital Statis>
ties for the New York Board Of health, in
his first annual report, sums up briefly un
der the heading "was cholera generally epi>
,lcmic in 1862 all the important features
Of the visitation of that year. These con.
clusons, it may be assumed. form the gst
Of the information that was published dur
ing the whole season. and all that was learn
ed ~ the Board Of Health.
First-That true Asiatic cholera appear
ed in various places in the cities Of New
York aud Brooklyn, in scattered and widely
distant localities, for some time previous
to July 10, and that, as early as June q, 1t
manifested tendency to occur In groups
and as house epidemic, where there existed
no other discoverable cause than the sltu>
rated clothing and the undisinfected excvs.
mems Of the cholera sick, and that at an
early period in July there existed in New
York and Brooklyn certain well marked
cholera fields, in which the virtue Of the
endemic appears 10 have become, in some
manner, fixed in the soil or in the local at
mosphsre Of those neighborhoods.
Second-That neither the house cpl
demiL" nor the cholera fields were invari.
bly, those in which septic or common ''sum-
mer cholera" was most likely to occur, and
that the grouping Of cases. and the partic-
| ular places Of outbreak, could aos invaria
bly, be accounted for upon the hypothesis
Of local origin aud self produced or domes
tic causes, though the presence OF recog
nized collateral or localizing conditions that
favored the PROPAGATION CT the malady had
few exceptions; those exceptions were sig.
ni.cant and important.
| Third - That in houses and localities
where xell-marked first cases OF cholera
were not promptly treated by local cleans>
ing and specific disinfection. cholera soon
gained foo,hold IA local epidmic, and
that we have found no large group of fatal
cases in which this was not true; while in .
great number Of instances, where the disin-
lection was prompt and adequate, the arrest
Of cholera in The very worst localities, aud
the wort houses and population. was immc-
date and final.
| Fcurth-That in three hundred and sixty
two houses where individual persons or fans
lies were smittsn by cholera, but which
were promptly brought under full sanitary
control by diAinfecton and local publication,
the pcstilence did not extend beyond tho
family in which the first case occurred.
Fifth-That over'crowding, bad ventila-
ton, Gampness and filth Of apartments,
dwelling houses and blocks, together with
neglected water-closets, common privies.
domestic neglect, street filth and defective
drainage, were the chief localzing condi-
tons Of the epidemic wherever it spread
rapidly or remained obstinately.
SnTn-That about one>half Of Ill the VIC
Tins Of cholera who reached the cold stage
died, and that no method Of medical treats
msnt seemed to have any positively cura-
tive effect upon cholera in collapse.
Sevcnth-Thst every important outbreak
Of the epidemic affecting more than one per.
son OF one family, seems TO have been pre-
coded some days, or more than twenty four
hours, by first case or a small group Of
cases of cholera or choleraic diarrbn in the
house or the immediate locality.
Lighth-That in most instances where a
first case Of cholera was, from any cause,
left to contaminate n foul privy, damp
porous or filthy soil, or GRO wded and filthy
house, without thorough disintection soon
applied, ether cases followed
| - -