New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1881-02-11
THE SPREAD or SMALL-POX. IRE.

Duling the last year there has been IN un
doubled increase IN the spread AMI vlrulcnce
n CONTAGIOUS diseases throughout the country.
The present reign OF smallpox il rapidly
extending outside of the Large cities To tue
nciglboring towns and villages. An interest
ING article in our local columns describes
the methods employed by our 30 I'd of
Health to deal with this dreaded disease. Scarlet
fever has been more than ordinarily fatal. aud
d,phthcria has almost invariably followed il.
Even the comparatively harmless aimcpt of
measles has phi on an unwontc maignancy, and
in some of the inland cities has literally swept
down the whole population, proving fatal i'll II
laIec percentage ot cases
The reason of this Increased malignaucy
probably may partly be found in mfavoIable
climatic cond tons, hut the principal cause is
undoubtedly the criminal carclcssness in the
handling of individual cases by both nurses
and physicians. feeble effort made recently
by our municipal authorities to prevent attend
| an,e at the funerals of persons dead OF small
pox scarlet fever, or diphthera il the only step
made in the right direction. The law enforc-
| ing isolation even in the first disease Is ovaded
both by physicians and the families in which
| the cases occur; tho patients (each one OF
| whom il for the time death breeding cenlTe)
| are permitted not only to remain in the middle
of healthy communities, but the communities
are not warned. Families are suffered to
nurse malignant cases OF smallpox and scarlet
| fever in one room of small house, aud III
| others to sell cgats or newspapers, or TO 20 To
and fro carrying the germs of contagiOn with
them. The fatal effect of such individual lg-
| uorance and cNrelessneSS In this matter was
shown in Philadelphia II few years ago. n
single case of smallpox occurred in crowded
| suburb; the bed on which the patient died was
| burncd in the street on 4 heavy, toggy night
Forty cases resulted in one block, aud thence
the disease spread over the city until 3,OOO
Jcoths in one winter were the fatal fruit of that
single act. There can be no doubt that to
! isolato a case of contagious disease Or even 10
uroclaim the fact OF its presence, Is am
! cult and dlsagroeable experience to private
! family. and even sometimes the cause OF great
| necrniary loss. Hence both authorities anu
nhvsiclans wink al the d0dgng OF sanitary
regulations The patient is hidden III Il back
! room, turned ont a. soon IA possible. neither
! bon,e nor clothing is disinicctrd, ard every
body hopes the disease VIII mclciluliy 10 no
| further.
Nothing can be easier than to put STOP to
thc wholesale SLAUGHTER by this class of diseases.
With zymoic dIs'ase which lies hidden i'll
certain subtle conditions of the atmosphere it
is dilcult, sometimes impossible, for us to
grappe. Eu. to check scarlet fever oI smallpox
requires that it be checked snort in each in-
diyidual case that the poison he killed by
scrupulous care and those disinfecting pro-
cesses which are so cheap rs to be within the
reach of the poorest. 1t is SO troublesome to dc
this that ii only will be done when legally en-
| forced here rs il is in England.
Another means OF putting u stop to the
march of these destrovers would be the ostab