The Donaldsonville chief. [volume] (Donaldsonville, La.) 1871-current, 1884-04-12
Proceedings Of the Parish Board Of
Health.

Pierre Klopman, G. 2. Blouin. Ben Gibson,
Matt. Rodriguez.
| AbseDt-H. c. Braud.
| published.
| REPORT OF HEALTH OFFICER.
| DoNAIDsoNvILLE, April 8, 1884.
| To the Honorable Preaident and Members of
| the Board of Health, Parish OF Ascension:
Since the last report of your health officer
made on February 8. there has been a marked
decrease in the number of cases Of small pox in
the villages Of Port Barrow and Smoke Bend.
| This favorable change is in q great measure due
/ to the faithfnlness md activity OF DR.. John D.
! Hanson. deputy health officer for that part of
| the parish. AS result of the conditions. both
social and sanitary. that exist in such localities
and the difficulty of enforcing measures for the
arrest of contagious or infectious diseases the
task Of suppressing small pox was one that
promised little of success. But for several
weeks a supply Of reliable vaccine virus has
been available. and the abatement in the dis
| ease may be attributed to the many successful
vaccinations performed in and around the in
! fected localities. For further details respect
! ing the work of the Board in that part Of the
parish you are respectfully referred to the re-
port Of DR.. Hanson.
| REPORT OF DE-. HANSON.
To the Board OF Health. Parish of Ascension:
The following is respectfully submitted as
| brief exhibit OF the status Of small pox matters
| on the right bank of the river in the parish of
| Ascension outside Of Donaldsonville:
Iota! number Of cases up to date. .135
! NumDer Of deaths. -...,................ 40
| Number of recOyerles Observation-Disclosures. 81
! Tie disease confines itself mostly to the col
being attacked. Vaccination has been vigor.
ously pushed. anda very large proportion of
Of the INHABITANTS Of Port Barrow and Smoke
tack. No CASE of small po1 following recent vac
cinatioH has as yet been observed. This fact, in
1 view of the large number vaccinated and the
BEING n ~ way equal to that Of the u
| vacfnated, must be looked upon as something
| more than coincidence. It forces upon us the
Conviction that the vaccination and immunity
| from the disease stand in the relation of cause
and effect to each other, and confirms US IN the
wisdom of Its employment rs the only sure
fully. J. p. HANSON. NJ. ..
Dep. Health Officer, Ascension.
In the fifth and sixth wards of the parish
small pox has appeared on Houmas. Leblanc,
Linwood and Mt. Houmas plantations.
In all of the six cases on Houmas plantation,
included in tho report Of February 8, there were
recoveries, and the plantation has since been
free of the disease.
| On February 10, a case ON the Mt. Houmas
plantation which was brought from New Or
leans. terminated fatally.
On February II. case on Linwood plantation
| in which the disease was contracted FROM la
borers on the Mississippi Valley railroad made
| a recovery. There has been no later appearance
of the disease in either of those localities.
| About March Is two cases were reported on
Leblanc plantation, situated just above OAR
| rowville. General vaccination was promptly
practiced, but in two families several cases de-
ve1oped before time was allowed for the vac
cirations to become protective To date there
have been nine cases, six Of which have re-
| covered and the remaining three are considered
| convalescent. The sick are isolated and in the
| past two weeks no new cases have occurred.
| Your health officers have on every appearance
| of small poe endeavored to vaccinate all per-
sons living in and contiguous to the infected
| localities, but to such degree has vaccination
| been neglected and SO much material does the
| parish contain to feed the disease that at the
present rate of progress it will require years to
reach, by the existing system of vaccination, the
end desired-the prevention of small pox cpl
| denies. The lines Of railroad traversing the
parish, as well as the river with its daily
packets. afford means OF importation. and un-
| less proper preventive measures are enforced,
there will be occasional repetition of such cpl
denies as that which has visited us in the past
year.
| In all the cases reported the patients were
| colored. The general neglect OF vaccination by
| this race renders many of them victims to small
pox. Among no class of people has vaccination
| been SO little practiced as among Negro chill
| tiren brought up under the new regime. In
| towns and villages where colored people are
property owners or renters and on plantations
where the proprietors do not provide for the
| proper vaccination of children, this import
| ant sanitary measure is. as a rule. altogether
! neglected. Under such condition of things.
when case of small pox develops in family
all the occupants of the house are ex posed be-
| fore the danger is realized and as respects
them it is then too late for vaccination to be
| made protective. So the first case is usually
| followed by others. This condition of things
| might be in a measure improved if the Board of
| Health would provide for the vaccination of
| all unvaccinated children who attend the public
schools.
! It may be we'll to state that in the past two
months more than 1000 people have been vac
cinated in this parish. and in the great majority
| of cases hnmanized lymph scabs were en-
ployed. yet there has not been reported q sim
+! gle case OF spurious vaccination or transmitted
| disease.
In many localities throughout the parish
measles prevails. butt is of such benignant
type that little, if any, mortality attends IT. Re-
spectfully submitted, A. c. LOVE, NJ. D.,
Health Officer, Parish of Ascension.
On motion of Mr.. Klopman the following
ordinance was adopted:
Be it ordained, That the President of this
Board be authorized to provide for the proper
vaccination of all unyaccinated children at
tending the public schools of the parish.
On motion of Mr.. Mccall the following ordi-
| nance was adopted:
Be it ordained, That from aud after this date
the Health Officers of this Board shall only vac
calities as are infected with small pox and
where cases of the disease cannot be isola ted,
such as Port Barrow. Smoke Bend. Darrowville
or other aggregations of people in villages
Any or all vaccinations it done on plantations
shall be done at the expense of the proprietors
of said plantations.
There being no further business for transac-
ton the Board adjourned. r. T. HANSON.
A true copy: President.
II. PROSPER LANDRY,
Secretary.