Knoxville daily chronicle. [volume] (Knoxville, Tenn.) 1870-1882, 1882-01-28
HOW TO PREVENT THE SPREAD OF
SMALLPOX.

The following from the New York
Sun, although little too severe on
the National Board of Health per
haps, contains some valuable sugges-
tons:
That fifth wheel to the coach, the
National Board of Health, as it is
called, finds it necessary to make a
great noise once in a while, else it's
existence would be forgotten by the
public. It magmfes its Office at
every opportunity, and doubtless
mourns that the opportunities are SO
few
The comparative frequency of
smallpox at present in different
parts of the Union has given this
board with big name and an insig-
nifcant performance, one of its Gov
eted chances to push itself into gen
eral notice. 1t has accordingly drawn
up a tremendous proclamation, de
claring the odious disease to be cpl
demic in the United States.
But what difference does it's appal-
ling announcement make? Wherever
smallspox appears it Is the business
of the local authorities to deal with
it. The duty is one so obvious, and
the demand that it should be fulfilled
is so general in every community,
that they are forced to give it atten,
ton. They need no prodding from
this board.
At all the quarantine stations
measures to prevent its introduction
from abroad, and to guard against its
spread when once the contagious dis
ease has been brought to our shores,
are already taken. The authorities
of cities and towns, for their own
individual protection, and to allay
the reasonable alarm of the in
habitants generally, are urging the
necessity for vaccination, and ply
sicians in private practice and those
employed by health boards are vac
cinating and vaccinating the people.
They do not require to be told Of
the necessity for that precaution by
a national concern. They are al
ready doing what they can to over
come prejudices against the process
and to make the resort to it univer
sal, well knowing that when the
people are all vaccinated thoroughly
the ravages of smallpox need not
be feared.
The proclamation of the preten-
tious National Board of Health
against smallpox is therefore use
less. The ink and paper expended
ON it were wasted, SO far as any pub
lie benefit it can produce is con-
cerned.
We must look to the vigilance of
the quarantine stations, the fidelity
to duty of the local health officers,
the activity of physicians. and the
good sense of the people generally,
to stay the progress of the disease
Medical science has not yet bound
preventives for other contagious
maladies, but against smallpox it
has given us safe guard, which ex-
perience has proved to be efficient in
warding of the contagion, or in
greatly decreasing its severity.
Moreover, smallpox cannot prop
erly be called epidemic in the United
States. It is true that there is much
more of it here at present than there
was two and three years ago. But
then the disease had been practically
banished from New York. Only two
or three deaths from it occurred
during whole year, and those cases
were imported. Elsewhere in the
country. also, there was little small
pox. When, therefore, after com.
parative exemption from the con>
tagion, it appears anew in many
regions, and a consideration number
of cases in each is reported, the
people are naturally alarmed, and
there is a tendency to magnify the
prevalence of the disease.
Yet there is enough smallspox
about to warn everybody of the
necessity for taking the precaution
against it found in vaccination, and
to sustain the present medical
theory regarding the need OF repeat
ing vaccination when several years