The Sunday tatler and Jersey City express. (Jersey City, N.J.) 1883-1886, 1885-12-20

DINGRR IN VACCINATION.

Instances In which InOcculation is Thought
to Have Made Death Certain.
A TATTLER reporter had recently cas-
ual little talk with County Physician Con-
verse, who is one of the most experienced,
as he is enc of the best -ead physicians in
the county, on the subject of smallpox
that developed some interesting irforma-
ton concerning the smallpox. Up to
this time, the Doctor said, there had
been but few cases of small pox but the
presence of the disease as an epidemic
on the Canadian front threatens the
whole of this country more or less. The
Health Board, he said, is invested, how
ever, with sufficient power to save the
community as far as rigid enforcement
of quarantine and sanitary regulations
can save it. The county has erected an
hospital that is as clean and neat and COM
fortablea building as the county owns. To
this institution all who are attacked by
disease are expected to GO The health
authorities will not, in fact cannot, insist
upon the removal to the hospital of patients
whose families live in house by them
selves. In such cases the patient may be
isolated on one of the upper floors, and Sc
cluded from contact with the healthy.
But the county authorities can act in case
of the appearance of the disease in tene-
ment houses Formerly nothing could
be done, even in case the disease broke out
in a thickly tenahted house, except to per-
suade the family to consent to the suffer-
er's removal to the hospital. Four or five
years ago Congressman McAdoo, then coun-
sci to the Board of Health, was persuaded to
prepare and introduce into the Legislature
i,, kbo md
BILE removal of tenement house sufferers.
Mr.. McAdoo subsequently ascertained that
the bill was regarded as making distinc-
ton between the poor and the rich, AMI he
refused to press its passage. The next
year it was leiAtroduced and put through
as a ssrider' to another bill. Under it the
Health Board can forcibly remove patients
from boarding and tenement houses in
which two or more families reside. The
Board has not had occasion to use force in
any case yet. The fact that it can be used
helps unwilling patients to the conclusion
that they had best make virtue of neces-
sity by yielding.
Just now prevention is regarded as the
best cure and the doctor goes around
armed with vaccine ''points" to be used
whenever occasion or opportunity offers.
The doctor says that vaccinated person
is seldom attacked-or never attacked by
the disease, unless the seed of the disease
were in the system before the incubation
was done. In that case the do ,tor thinks
that it may add materially tojthe yirulence
of the attack.
81 have two cases in mind illustrating
this" he said. ga young servant girl was
taken sick while out at service. Her mis-
tress and the physician attending her
thought she had small pox. and she was
sent to the smallpox Hospital for treat
ment 1t was soon learned that she was
not suffering from smallpox, and was
ysccinated and sent away. A short time
afterwards she was brought back, suffering
from an undoubted case of smallpox. She
had evidently contracted it while in the
hospital; and her vaccination had increased
the violence Of the disease. We found it
impossible to save her life and she died.
At another time, I remember, q man was
attacked. A family, with four children in
it, had taken him in for care-or he board
ed with them, have forgotten which. We
learned of the case, and ordered him re-
moved to the Hospital. We burned his
bedding, fumigatsd the apartments, and
vaccinated the members of the family. In
few days they were all down with sma l.
pox of the worst type. The children suf-
fered, with special intensity, and every one
of them died. In these instances l suspect
that vaccination helped TO make death
more certain "