The Indiana State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis) 1868-1895, 1888-05-30
DIPHTHERlA.
Several Startling Instances of It's Com
municatiOn.


DR.. Young, secretary of the Maine state
board of health, says there is a mlsappre-
hension in the public mind regarding the
contagiousness OF diphtheria. The direct
communication of the disease is shown by
q young lady who came home sick with
diphtheria in mild form, and on her ar
rival her brothers and sisters embraced
her They were all attacked with malig-
nant type OF diphtheria, and one died.
The same young lady visited her aunt IN
another family where there were four
children who took the disease, and one
died. No other cases in the vicinity.
Another instance: At the death OF q
child from diphtheria two women helped
in laying it out. One of them, who was
ffty-three years of age, was attacked IN q
few days, and died in three more, and the
other took the disease in mild form and
recovered. Another case is that OF a boy
who had diphtheria in Boston. He came
TO this state to visit relatives. In few
DAYS after his arrival his aunt washed
some of his clothing, and was taken with
diphtheria the next week, and 1t went
through the family, four cases. Before
the aunt was taken sick the boy went to
another place and played with unother
boy, who took the diphtheria and gave 1t
to two other persons in that family.
The doctor reports a sad case as follows:
An only child was taken sick with diph-
liberia and died on the fourth day. Inc
young mother in her grief kissed the child
and took the disease. Within week she
was buried beside her child.
In a neighborhood where no diphtheria
had existed for four years, school-teach-
er visited city-a notorious hotbed oil
fliplathario cor,fractaI u-haf he
called slight sore throat. He returned
home with this still upon him and opened
school in less than a week six were lying
sick with diphtheria and the school was
closed. The result was FIVE deaths, three
OF which were adults.
In one family three children died OF
this disease in the crOupous form. The
nurse believed it was not possible to carry
the disease in clothing, and would not
change her dress upon leaving the house,
and was not afraid to take her children in
her lap upon going home. She was adj
mOnished against such a foolhardy course.
Ten DAYS after she LETT the infected house
the physician was called and found her
family i'll with diphtheria OF the most fatal
form. One child died in thirty-six hours
after it was attacked. Another case, a
woman died of diphtheriain Lynn, Mass.
f1ef son brought ner clOtneS ana DeuulnS
home. His wife washed them, took the
disease, and died in less than week.
The doctor says that cases like these,
which Enthusiastically show the contagious
nature of diphtheria, are innumerable,
and at the same time there are endless in
stances in which diphtheria has not been
communicated to others exposed to 1t.
This does not prove that the disease is not
contagious. All persons ale not susceptl-
BILE to the infection. He says another
thing which makes the infection of diph-
liberia doubly dangerous is its persistent
vitality Unless care in disinfecting be
taken, the infection will survive to start
mysteriously another epidemic at some
future time, months, or perhaps years,
afterward, like the following: A boy Wis
tied a family in Eastport where there was
a case of diphtheria. He took the disease
in light form and recovered. Upon his
return home his sister, aged sixteen, took
the disease and died n three days. Six
months afterward 3rOther sister came
home from Massachusetts and occupied
the room which had been the sick room.
She took the diphtheria and died after five
weeks illness.