The Columbia herald. [volume] (Columbia, Tenn.) 1850-1873, 1872-09-13
TYPHOID FEVER.
From the Independent.

tcoufS 30 Oi Our cUuutry. ~ ATTACKS Cn0
high and low, the rich and poor, the
of the country, village and
city. The family Of the most humble
and 1Owly seems NO more liable to It
than the family Of the most exalted In
wealth and rank. It has no more re-
spect for the royal family Of England
than for the poorest PEASANTS house
hold. Prince Albert fell victim to It,
and to-day the heir apparent is pros.
trated under its remorseless grasp.
We may gain some idea of the va
harvest of sickness and death which
this reaper annually gathers from the
following facts. 1t is estimated that |
from 100000 to $50. 900 people annually |
suffer from this disease in England |
alone.
The causation of typhoid fever,
though long enveloped in obecurity, is
now well known. IT is one of the go
called filth diseases of modern sani-
tary writer's. Its most ordinary excit.
ing cause il air or drinking water be-
fnuled with excremeDtal matters. It
is also quite certain that . person suf-
fering from this fever may himself in
feet the air of his room or the water
which receives his excreta with germs
Of The disease SO rs to transmit it to
others. A single case may thus be
the fruitful source of widespread cpl
demic.
The facts illustrating the origin IF
typhoids from excremeDtaI matters in
drinking wafer are now very numerous
and very instructive. Every expe-
rienced physician can give striking ex.
amples occurring under his own ot@eT.
walton. 1t not unfrequently happens
that the sctual source af the disease Is
very obscure, and can only be discov-
cred by the most persistent and intelli-
gent inquiry; but the scientific student
is generally rewarded with complete
success. The following examples will
illustrate the methods of cOmmlinica-
ting the fever
In small German settlement i'm the
upper part of the city there was n
severe outbreak Of dysentery and ty-
phoid fever. A physician, called to at
tend some of the cases, set tn work to
find out the cause. On inquiry as to
the wafer supply, he was directed to a
spring on low ground in the midst of
the settlement, so situated as tO receive
the surface drainage. The water was
pure and sparkling to the sight and
to the taste, and was loudly praised by
owner of the spring. A quantity put
in bottle and allowed to stand few
hours threw down thick sediment of
most offensive matter. The people
ceased To Use this water, and the cpl
demic ceased at once.
In neigbboring village typhoid fe-
yer broke out, and prevailed with great
violence in a given locality. Search
| was made for the cause by the attend
ing physician, but i'm vain. They ap-
pealed to the health authorities of New
York, and an expert officer examined
the history of the outbreak and the To-
cality, and predicted that a certain by.
drant, which supplied the victims with
drinking water, communicated ut some
| point with house drains or the street
sewer. The water pipe was examined,
and at distance from the hyarant u
house drain was found leaking into it
at point where they traversed each
other. The repair of these pipes was
cure of the epidemic.
| While visiting in an interior town.
! ship of his State, famous for healthful-
ness and the beauty of the scenery, I
became interested in the history of q
family which was suffering from ty.
phoid fever. Of eight members five
had persisted, and one was then fatally
sick. On visiting the locslity the house
was found situated on an elevation,
and all its surroundings Were admira-
bly, arranged for health. One could
readily believe thestatement that there
had not been case of sickness i'm the
house for twelve years. The following
history of the present sickDess was
given: A few weeks before the fever
appeared the pump in the well broke,
and the farmer, being driven with his
work, neglected to have it repaired.
Meantime the servant brought the wa
ter from a spring at the foot of the bill,
which soon became low, owing to the
drought. He then resOrted to q small
brook, aid from this source the family
was supplied for two or three weeks.
This stream higher up. ran through
several farm yards and received the
surfare drainage. The first symptom
ofpOisOn ny this water was slight nau-
sea and mild diarrb9a after several
days typhoid fever in its first form was
ushered in. OF the entire family but
two escaped an attack, and they did
not use the water. An examination of
this water revealed a sediment of ex-
cremental matters.
The death of Price Albert by typhoid
fever gave rise to much discussion as
to the source of the poison. Expert
sanitarians contended that he had been
exposed TO sewer gases, or their equiv
aleDt. Court physicians denied that
there was any possibility of such expo
sure at Windsor Castle, where Ee had
spent several weeks proceeding the at
tack. a careful search was made of
the drains. sewers, DC, of the Castle
hut no leakage or possible escape of
gases could be discovered. At length
an old sewer map of the dist let was
consulted, and it was found that before
the Castle was built an old sewer IAN
across the grounds, draining an ada
cent settlement. This sewer was now
exploded, and ut a point directly I'M
der the library, where the Prince spent |
much of his time, there was q break, |
allowing the escape of sewer-gasses di- |
rectly into the library.
One of the most important lessons for |
households to learn is that excremental |
matters poIluting the air they breathe,
or the water they drink, will
cause typhoid fever. It should he call
ed excrement fever" so that when
the name is spoken every one is re-
minded of its cause. Far too little at
tention is given to this most fruitful
source of sickness and death in cities,
towns, villages, and by country resi-
dents. ExcremeDtal matter should be
at once dispoeed of, SO that they can
not by any possibility faint the air We
breathe, or the water we drink. This
may readily be affected by disinfectants
of which the best is dry earth. Drink
ing water should always be taken from
wells or springs situated above the lev
el Of human habitatiOns, or 40 deeply,
~ artesian wells, that they cannot re-
ceive surface drainage.
THE sum of two hundred and fifty
thousand dollars was appropriated at
the last session of Congress for the en-
largement of the signal service. The
chief signal officer of the division of
"telcgrams and reports for the benefit
of commerce and agriculture" has ad-
dressed circular TO the different
boards of trade aud chambers of COM
merce and agriculture, inviting sug-
gestions which will help to perfect the
system now established.
. MAJOR Campbell Wallace, i'm hav-
ing the south and north railroad bridge
built over the Alabama river, used
thirty car loads of stone from Stone
Maintain nnn ,,,o,S <,f col;I v.,nl- |