The Newtown bee., 1879-01-21
SCARLET FEVER.
Some Facts ms to it's Orixia-Its Ax9ravn. ton and Prevention by Ordinary Pru deuce.

SCARLET FEVER.
 Some Facts to it's Orixia-Its Axsravn- ton and Prevention by Ordinary Pru- dence.
 I In view of the large number of cases
 of scarlet fever prevailing in New York,
 the World sent a reporter to one of the
 best-known physicians in the city, Dr. l FOrdyce Barker, from whom the fol- l lowing facts and opinions concerning the disease were gathered
 The reporter asked if scarlet fever l could be called a disease of modern times and was unknown to the ancients.
 If was first described by Sydenham in the seventeenth century," answered Professor Barker, Gas a distinct dis ease.n
 (" Are there great differences in the severity of such epidemics f'' s'Very great differences; some epi- demfcs being mild and some attended with severe and dangerous cases. But there are always mild cases during the most severe epidemics."
 "What are the causes of scarlet fever ?''
 "The specific cause is infection by a specific poison which is communicated by direct contact either with the exhala- tions from the lungs of patients, with their skin, or by means of clothing or various substances with which the patients have come in contact. Scarlet fever is said to have been communicated by milk, or even by letter. Taylor, an eminent English writer, reports the beginning of one epidemic as being in the family of milkman who delivered milk to twelve families. Of these fami- lies six had scarlet fever as consequence. A certain individual predisposition must exist, as 1t is frequently found that one child in family may take the disease, while others of the children who have frequently been exposed in the same de- gree do not get it.
 "Are individuals who have had the second attack ?"
 "I should say not. On the contrary, those who have a constitutional predilec- tion to the disease are more liable to second attack. Ordinarily one at tack secures immunity from a second, but there are many exceptions to this. It is very rare that patients die from 8 second attack. In fact not more than three or four cases of this kind have been reported in medical literature"
 How long does the, poison retain its activity in clothing, furniture, rooms, etc. ?"
 "This IS very uncertain. There is conclusive evidence that 1t has been re- tained in clothing sometimes for months. For example, lady assisted in nursing the children of sister in the country in the month of August. In the follow ing February one of her own children was attacked with the disease and sub- sequently two others. 1t was then found that this laoy had put on dress ing gown she had worn at her sisters the previous August, and had taken in her lap the first of her own children which was attacked at the time she put on this gown again for the first time. In another case, nurse who had been in attendance on scarlet-fever patients four months before seems to have con- municated the disease to lady whom she was attending who had young in- fant. Another case was that of lady who had moved into house where there had been scarlet fever some months before. Three of her children were attacked with the disease who had not been exposed to infection from any other source, and no other cases were prevailing at the time that could be heard of by the lady's physician.
 "How soon is the disease developed after infection?"
 Trousseau reports 8 case in which the disease was manifested in twenty four hours after exposure, and similar cases | are reported but usually the period of l development is from three to ten or l twelve days after exposure. This is prob ably due to the difference in the sus- ceptibility of the patients.
 "At what period of the disease, and | how long is it infectiousa
 "It is infectious throughout it's whole 1 course. It is believed to be most in l tensely so during the period of desqua-
 nation, or when the skin is peeling off; ] but so long as there is any evidence of disturbance of the system from the localization of the poison in any organ, l 1t is not safe to assume that the disease l is not communicable.
 a What is the comparative suscepti-
 bility to and danger from the disease at I different ages ?"
 "The most susceptible period of life is l from one to fifteen years. Murchison, 8 l very high authority, states from the
 statistics of nearly 150, 900 cases that about sixty four per cent. of deaths from scarlet fever are under five years, and nearly ninety per cent. under ten years; ninety-five and 8 half per cent under fifteen years, and only one and 1 three-fourths per cent. over twenty-five years. Scarlet fever is very rare in | young infants. Only one-ninetieth of l all the deaths are under one year, and one- fifteenth between one and two years"
 ssHow can scarlet fever be prevented and alleviated ?"
 "To prevent scarlet fever, complete isolation of the patients is absolutely essential, as we'll as the prevention of all contact with those in attendance on the diseased persons. It is essential also that the house should be thoroughly
 ventilated, so that the poison which
 may escape may be as diluted as possi- l ble. All clothing should be thoroughly disinfected, and even the soiled linen of the sick should not be mingled with l that of the other members of the house | hold. The relief of the patients pertains to the medical treatment. After the disease is recovered from, the sick-room
 should be thoroughly disinfected, as we'll as the bedding, the furniture, the carpets, and even tue walls. It is found
 that dry heat to the point of 212 degrees, l kept up for some hours. effectually de stroys the poison; and this, perhaps, is
 as good method as any of disinfectine l the bedding of those who cannot afford I to have it destroyed"
 When the reporter referred to the
 published statement that the household
 of the Princess Alice, grand duchess ol Darmstadt, were made more susceptible q to the contaeion of diphtheria by the
 habit of kissing among it's inmates, and asked Professor Barker whether inhal