Sacramento daily record-union., 1889-06-12
ENJOYING GOOD HEALTH.
THE COMMONWEALTH FREE FROM ANY
SERIOUS DISEASE,
Some Interesting Facts Cleaned From
the Monthly Report of the State
Board of Health For May.

D.. Gerard G. Tyrrell, Secretary of the
State Board of Health, in his monthly cir
cular for May, regarding the health of the
State says:
Reports received from seventy eight
towns, with an estimated population of
725,450, give total mortality of SS5, which
is percentage of 1.22 per thousand in the
month, or an annual mortality of IA 64,
which is an indication of the continued
absence OF any serious or epidemic disease
within the State. The towns reporting no
deaths were Alturas, Calico, Colfax, Elsi-
more, Elk Grove, Fort Bidwell, Livermore,
Lincoln, Monterey, Needles, Sequel, True
kee, Wheatland and Williams. Reports
received from eighty different localities
give evidence that the excess of humidity
that prevailed during the earlier part of the
past month and the increased temperature
during the latter half, had the effect of de-
velOping malarial and other fevers in quite
large number of localities that, up to this
time, had been completely free from them.
Bronchitis, in a mild form, is mentioned
in reports from Lockeford, Downey, Le-
moore, Anderson, Lakeport, Monterey, Col
lege City, Elsinore, Oakdale, lone. Hollister
Igo, Redding, Cottonwood, Williams
Fresno and San Francisco.
Whooping- cough is reported in Locke
ford, Knights Ferry, Mariposa, Williams,
Lodi, Lemoore, Angels Camp, Oakdale,
Elsinore, Hollister. Santa Cruz, Merced,
Fresno, Woodland, Oakland and San
Francisco. 1t has been remarked this dis
ease seems to progress hand in hand with
measles, and is apparently influenced by
the temperature. As the disease is highly
infectious, children suffering from it should
not be allowed into schools, or crowded
| assemblies, or wherever other children are
congregated.
Measles is quite prevalent. We notice it
mentioned in reports from Lockeford, Col
lege City, Downey, Williams, Lodi, Angels
| Camp, Oakdale, Monterey, Alturas, Ena
Mills, Santa Cruz, Fresno, San Francisco
| and Oakland. The evidence grows stronger
every day that measles, like scarlet fever,
| is the result of a specific germ, and conse.
| quently is preventable. Ii is, however, SO
| intensely contagious that the difficulty of
| doing this is proportionately great. The
| unfortunate results that so often follow
| measles justites US in recommending the
| placing of unprotected persons beyond its
influence. The sick should be isolated,
and none but attendants allowed to enter
| the room. All soiled linen should be
soaked in disinfectant solutions and boiled
separately. The body of the patient should
| be anointed daily to restrain the dissent
NATION of the contagiOn as much as pos
slble. After the desqUamation of the skin
| has taken place, a warm bath should be
administered, which will probably remove
any contagious principle. Children with
| measles should not be allowed out of
doors or permitted to mingle with healthy
children until qdite recovered.
Scarlet fever, although mentioned in re-
ports from Sacramento, Reddipg, Calico,
Los Angeles, Salinas, San Francisco, Elk
Grove, Antioch, Jackson, Fresno, Chico
| and Oakland, does not seem to assume an
epidemic character or any malignancy.
Diphtheria and Group were noticed dur
ing the month in Downey, Igo, Anderson,
Truckee, Los Angeles, Monterey, Salinas,
Benicia, Elk Grove, Colfax Gold Run,
Grass Valley, Healdsburg, Oakland San
Francisco and Santa Barbara. In Gold
Run the disease has been particularly
severe, twenty-one cases having occurred
within the past four months. DIR. Miner
writes that the sanitary condition of the
place is not good. The reservoirs and
bitches are filled with decaying vegetable
and organic matter, and the wells, sunk be-
low these ditches, are contaminated by the
seepage water. There is no local Board of
Health, and consequently no effort made
to improve the sanitary condition of the
place or disinfect the contaminated dwell
ings. Until Boards of Health are organ
| lzed or efficient Health Officers appointed
| IN every town, we must expect this need
less sickness and sacrifice of life to con-
tinue.
Three cases of smallpox appeared in
San Francisco, one case in Lodi, and one
case in Stockton, during the month of
May. All are now convalescing, without
any cases being reported. Typhoid fever
| Is mentioned by very few observers. Ty-
pho-malarial fever was more prevalent
| than typhoid, being noticed in a larger
number of places. The fatality was very
| limited. nemittent fever prevailed to
some extent and cerebral fever was OBJ
served in sporadic form. Cholera inlan-
| tum is mentioned in reports from a num-
Der of towns.
Dysentery is quite prevalent in many
| parts of the State. Through the kindness
of DR.. w. H. Miller of Hanford, this
Board has received q very graphic descrip-
| tion of the disease, together with the re.
suits of post-morlem examination, which
| indicated very severe form of infamma-
| tory disorder of the bowels, extending, in
| the cases narrated, to the brain. This
severe and fatal form OF attack seems con-
| fined to children, no deaths among adults
| being observed. The opinion is daily gain
ing credence that the excretions in dysen-
teric attacks should be Immediately disin-
| fected and buried, as it is generally believed
that the disease depends upon a living
germ taken into the stomach either with
| the food or through the impurity of the
water imbibed. Indeed, so many diseases
can be produced from impure water that
| for prudential reasons all water should be
boiled before being used for drinking pur-
poses, especially during the summer
| months