Keowee courier. [volume] (Pickens Court House, S.C.) 1849-current, 1881-09-08
NIAcoN,Alo.
Is Consumption Contagious?

II our nculcal J0urnulS were TO announce
tho steady approach to this country-say
from China-of an i'll understood, painful
and usually fatal malady, which if once
established umopg US would certainly kill
half million of Dur citizens every year
and ultimately carry of Que in every five
of tho ontire population, it is safe to pre-
sumo that the announcement would not bo
calmly received. as one mau, physicians
not lesJ strenuously than luymcn, We should
demand tho most rigorous quarantine
against the infected country. No effort
would be accounted too heroic, no precaus
tion too costly, to shisld our country from
so disastrous an invasion Aud if there
were any doubt as to the specific nature of
the threatened plague or Of tho mode of
its transmission or inception, neither our
medical aud sanitary societies nor tho gov.
ernmcnt would rest until competent com-
omissions we're sont to Investigate tho matter.
1t would be accounted criminal indifference
on the part of medical aud sanitary au-
thorities to neglect to mako Il concerted aud
persistent effort to discover the causes and
conditions OF the plague, and how to pro-
tcct the community from it Tavagcs or to
cure its victims when attacked.
Would tue urgency of the case be di-
minished 10 any respect By The circum
stance that tho supposed Invasion had al
ready become fact accomplished?
At first thought any Que would reply
Not in the least; rather the contrary; for
the evil iu the latter case would 10 actual,
not threatened merely, aud the loss or say
ing Of half u million lives a year is o
matter Of tho gravcst national Importance
Yet it is singular fact that while We
should be thrown into panic if half a
million lives were threatened by new dis
case, We accept as inevitable, almost with
indifference, tho certain killing of that
number of people every year By an old and
familiar mulady. And our medical au-
thorities tolls US, without a twingo Of pro
fessional pride, that they really do not
know positively how consumption is in
duced aud transmitted, or whether it is
communicable from tho sick to tho we'll or
or not; and worse yet, they confess without
bIushing .hat they do not contemplate any
speciul or general effort to have such mo-
lncn,ous questions critically invo,tigatcd
Whcp half million of disconton,cd
natives Of Europe throng TO our shores in
single ycar wc do not fail to appreciate tho
importance Of the gaio, both immediate aud
prospective. When larger number of
our own citize,s are cut off untinely by
disease which, while it destroys them,
transmits legacy Of sickness and too often
early death to their descendants, wo mourn
our individual losses, but make no adequate
effort to put an end to the national loss by
urging or aiding tho scientific determine
ton of it's conditions, causes and ramodies.
Already one iu every five Of our population
dies of consumption, anl tho Indications
arc that the conditions of our civilization
tend to increase the death rate from this
cause. If tho disease 10 infectious, as
many believe, the multiplication of cases
may sooner OF later reach pointif i!s
progress is unchcckc cd ut which a pcrpet-
uation of our ruce and the civilization do
vcIopcd by it will become impossible. Other
races and civilizations havo disappeared,
Leaving no explanation of the secret of
their decline. Others, we have good rca,
sons for believing, have been exterminatcd
by plaques peculiar to them, developed in
all probability by something peculiar to
their modes Of living.
That there is any imminent danger of
so disastrous result to our race!and civil
zntion from tho increase of consumption no
ono but an alarmist would suppose; still it
remains an impending possibility, more os-
pccialy it there is any error in the common
belief that tho discaso is DOT contagious or
infectious.
la tho current issue of tho Scientific
american Supplement valuable summary
of evidence supporting tho position that