Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1883-10-26
DIPHTHERIA NABLIND ASYLUM
Malignant Form of the Disease APP
pears in the Batavia Institution.

AfltfAcet-
Five members Of the Board of Trustees
of the State Institution for the Blind held
a meeting at the institution this morning.
owing to the alarming prevalence of ma
lignant diphtheria, which broke out
among the pupils on Friday, when How
ard Parsons, 10 yeals old, a pupil, whose
parents live in Palermo, OsWego county,
was discovered to be suffering from sore
throat. His throat was only slightly con-
gested, but it rapidly became worse, and
the boy died Yesterday noon. The at
tending physician pronounced the disease
dIphtherIa in its most malignant form.
owing to the serious nature of the maladv
the boys body was buried here yesterday
afternoon, and the utmost precautions
were taken to prevent the disease from
spreading. During the afternoon, how
ever, two other pupils were found to be
suffering from the same cause, and later
another was attacked. One of them is
dangerously ill, while the symptoms of
the others have not yet fully developed. 1t
is singular fact that all the victims are
boys. DR.. NJ. w. Townsend, of Bergen,
one of the trustees, who was called i'm
consultation with the institution physi-
clan, DR.. d. L. Mcnamara, arrived about
O'Clock this morning, and finding
the condition Of affairs alarming, called
NJ. II. Peck, Jr., 5. Masse, Nelson
y
reside in Batavia, to the institution to de-
termine what course should be taken.
They were in session two hours, and in
quired fully into the particulars. They
came to the conclusion that the wisest
course would be to close the school until
all danger had been passed. They direct
ed the Superintendent to send home all
pupils who have homes to go to and to
place the few who are homeless in a re-
mote part of the building. The Superm-
tendent was also instructed to learn the
condition OF each pupil two weeks hence,
and have all those who wish to do so re-
turn.
There have been 40 pupils in the insti-
tuition, and this afternoon there was an
exodus of the greater part of them. They
belong all over this section of the State,
most of them coming from counties east
of here. For their accommodation a
special car was provided. The parents of
each pupil were telegraphed to. The
breaking out of the malady created a
great deal of excitement about town,
deaths among the blind pupils having
heretofore been comparatively few, and
none having occurred from any cOntagi-
GUS disease. A large number of deaths
from diphtheria have occurred in the viii
lage, which is wretchedly drained. The
day before young Parsons was attacked,
he nearly died in commissions, brought on
by being hit on the head acct
dentally in a collision with another
pupil in the hall. His blindness was
caused by fall three years ago, by which
his skull was fractured, and since then
he has been subject to commissions.
Whether the commissions caused the at
tack of diphtheria is not known, but DR..
Townsend gives it as his opinion that the
cause of the diphtheritic cases was de-
fective sewerage, as he found foul gases
arising from nearly all the pipes empty
ing into the main sewer, which runs to a
swamp back of the building. The build
ing is on the highest ground in town. The
drinking water is said to be impure and
the sanitary arrangements not good. The
trustees Will do all that is possible to
remedy the evil during the absence of the
pupils, and it is hoped they will succeed
in removing the cause of the disease