The herald., 1893-02-27
TYRnuS FEVER.
There is ,LittIe Danger of It's Spreading
beyond Now York Oity.

There is Littlo Danger of It's Spreading
beyond New York City.
[Special Correspondence
NEwARk, n. j., ian. 16s-JThe eagerness
with which newspaper readers haveifol'
lowed the accounts OF The typhus fever
epidemic ip Nsw York haakes it likely that
afew words about what typhus is may be
interesting at THIS time.
The word tyyhds Is Greek, meaning mist
or smoke ard refers to the stupor which
oveTcornss patterits attacked by the disease.
The Other nan1es--ship foyer. jail fever,
hospital tevsr, etc.--sefer to the fact that the
disease almost always appears 10 places that
are ogHfteow1E9, and especially where pow
ertys fltA and bad surroundings prevail
80 We notiHs that the present epidemic has
been cunfpe6 mnsay to the cheap lodging
houses On fhHfast siae Of the city and to
the tribe of vito gaAat unxashed" that oc-
ct1pies them.
Typhus ise, highly Contagious continual
fever which iasts about fnirrteen dsys, and
is characterized By great prosfrati0n, So
we're ueryoussT gnas and a peculiar erup-
ton on Che sffa. The contagdnn is cornmu-
nicated bY e4Aalafions given of from the
bodies of the;zick directly TO those In at
tendance ppUn fhtm or occupying the sa1ne
room, end Is taken INTO the system by
meansof Ghe cir breat1lsd into the lungs In
this respect typhus dIffers from typhoid,
which IA fps contagfpas, but is communi-
Gated for the. most part through drinking
water which has been contaminated by
drainpipes and cesspools.
Typhns.also differs from typhoid in the
manner oil its onset, which is sudden, while
that Of typhoid is slow and insidions. In
typhus also there Is much more profound
exhaustion and muscular prostration. The
nervonssyrtpto 1oo--headache, delirium
and the H4e-are far more intense than in
typhoid The fever in typhus reaches fts
highest point st the end OF the second day;
in typhoIa not until the end Of the first
week. The eruption of typhus appears
more or less over fhe whole body; that of
Typhoid mostly upon the abdomen. The
special Characteristic of typhoid is an ulcer
alton Of the bowels. This does not exist at
all in typhus.
The most important factor for the treat
ment and prevention Of the spread of typhus
Is fresh air, which has the power to neutral
ize the poison. A typhus patient who was
apparently overwhelmed with the disease,
when hrohght from crowded tenement
house and rfaced In o tent where he could
innate pie4ty Of fresh air, has been known
to rally wffhfn four or I'VE hours. Again,
place such patient In tent where an
abundaure Of 6eah air can circulate about
him, and IL is almqst Impossible for him to
communicate the disease to another.
Typhns epiderdies are much less preva
lent than In fDfner years, owing to the i'm
proved sanitary condition of our large
cities. Even after the disease has made
considerable progress the health authorities
are so pro1npS In removing the cases as soon
as discovered and quarsntfrfng houses
where they have orrurred, that there is
very littledaneef Of It's spreading to any
extent
| A stricter enforcement Of the laws regu-
lating the ndnnber Of people to be accom-
rnodated in lodging houses would lessen
the chances the disease even now has Of OBJ
| tanning foethold.
JOHEPH M WooDHrrpP M n