New Ulm review. (New Ulm, Brown County, Minn.) 1892-1961, 1893-05-31
HEALTH OFFICERS REPORT.
Dr.. Fritsche Hands IN a Report to the
State Board that is Decided
Interesting.
He Reads Lecture 20 Certain Parties and
Hopes that they Have Gained Wisdom.

\ special report be Health Officer
Fritschc on the scarlet fever scourge here
last winter has lust been made public, a
l;r~" portion OF it having appeared in
the current journal of the State Board Of
Health. 1t is as followS:
Scarlet fevcrhasbeen prevalent to a small
extent in our city for many years. and
quite a number Of families were taken
with it during the winter Of 1892, but it
did not have the tendency to become
cpidcmical as it did when it reappeared
last September The reason for which |
am unable to explain. 1t may be that
the seasons have had some influence over
the thriving and multiplying of the
germs OF disease, as the summer was very
warm and moist, and was followed by q
general ,lroughth in the fall. This condi-
ton furthers the decomposition of ami
mai and ndvcyetablc2 c2mattcr. Admitting that
the sanitary condition Of the city is some
what fuu!ty. it is worth mentioning that
these factors may have been influential to
il certain extent.
Til" disease matie its temperance in
the same part Of the city where the last
cases during the spring Of 1892 were re-
ported. During the summer months
none came under the observation Of the
Board of Health. The first family to
take the disease lived within one square
Of where the last cases occurred during
the spring, and there is no doubt that the
contayion had lurked in this vicinity all
this time. The children in this neigh
borho0d associated with each other and
it is quite evident that, the predisposi-
ton being present, they came in contact
with some contaGion from these houses
and We're infected.
The attending physician failed to re-
port these cases 10 the Board OF Health,
whether on account OF the mildness of
their character, not decming it Of suiiici-
tnt Importance. or to protect the husi-
n".> Interests OF the parent, am unable
tn >nv. After few days the children
were allowed t. r"n at large, and per
,ni,t,,} to associate with the nrigEboring
children.
The Muhlir WAS not aware of the pres
enc. OF scarlet fever in the city until the
chic! OF Il family next door came down
with Il malignant form of the disease,
with Subsequent death.
From this focus 1t was sprcad, and
within five days four more families were
attacked, all of them living within three
squares and their source Of infection be-
1ng traced to this focus. This shows that
six families were already infected before
lhc Board of Health was notified.
Each house was consequently quaran-
tined as soon as u case was reported; but
rs all cases were of mild character, the
people hcrdc,i the warning of the Board
Of Health and the attending physicians
very little As will he seen later Oh, the
GREAT difficulty which the Board ofHealtl,
had 10 contend with, was that many peo-
pl" had not been taught to respect the
existing laws for the preservation of the
public health.
It may seem strange, but some regard
roI it as a disgrace to have a placard
posted on their dwelling and offered diff
fcrent EXCUSES to be exempted from the
same Often the cards would disappear
during the nj Ght.
During this time and for several weeks
afterwards. the Board Of HEALTH was
harshlv criticized for raising such fuss
H,!;, ut a little harmless scarlatina.
More families became infected, and
fearing that the red card might deposited
on their houses, if it became known, they
did not employ a physician or notify
the health officer, unless the severity of
the case demanded it. In consequence
of this state of affairs, a number of chill
dren infected with or having been ex-
posed to the disease attended schools and
other places of assembly.
The difficulty of ascertaining the gull
ty parties was partially overcome with
the kind assistance of the Superintendent
of the Public Schools; and the method
employed was rational one.
AS soon as case of contagious of in
fectious disease is reported to the Board
of Health, postal cards are sent by the
Secretary OF the Board to the principals
of the three schools, public and two pa
II