Asheville daily citizen., 1894-03-02
SMALLPOX PATIENTS.
How They Are Handled in tho Big
City of Chicago.
The Unenviable Job of the Men Whs
Transfer the Victims OF the Dread
Disease from Their Homes to
the Pest House.

When the electric call bell rings it Il.
for no pleasure drive on which the Off
GERS of the health department are
about to embark. 1t is ono of grca,
danger. Every precaution has to he
taken to prevent the disease from
which the patient they are called upon
to remove is suffering from scizing
themselves. At the ambulance barn
are two suits of clothes-one for each
man-which they don preparatory t.
sallying forth on their duty. Each
suit has first to be thoroughly disin.
fected that no trace of single small.
pox microbc may be found in the folds
of the garments. The same is true OF
the van. That must also have beer
made perfectly free from any infectious
matter.
1t is quite an easy matter, says the
Chicago Herald for a person attacked
with smallpox to be removed to the
hospital before the disease has reached
It's continent stage. In that case moth
ing is necessary but that the patient
shall put on his warmest clothes and
step into the van, where he will take Il
seat on chair in which he will be en-.
sconccd until he arrives at the hos
pital, where he is turned over to the
doctors and nurses. oavoid any dan.
ger of infection or the carrying about
with them of disease germs the driver
and attendant disinfect themselves
and change their clothes.
When the case is a continent one the
arrangements necessary become of a
more complicated nature and the two
officials concerned have Il much harder
task before them. The patient has tc
be dressed, a great difficulty in many
cases, for the attendant has, as far as
possible, to avoid touching an exposed
part. The patient, too, is usually per
fectly helpless, a state of affairs that
it is difficult to contend with All this
done, there is still the getting out OF
the patient to the ambulance, and that
is done on the strctchcr.
The greatest trouble is caused by de.
lirous patients who constantly kick of
their shoes and make breaks for the
door of the van. The attendant, who
always travels inside the vehicle Ia
look after its pa ticnts. has then hard
time of it. lie cannot knock his charge
on the head or resort to any kind of
force except to seize him by his clothes
and forcibly hold him down on the
stretcher. Sometimes, too, he is quiet
ly humorous in his conduct while in a
delirium.
The gloves are useful in more eases
than one. If the boxer wears them to
protect his knucklcs, SO does the
person who attends to the burial of
the corpse Of a person who has died of
smallpox. The very worst cases are
scarcely ever removed alive from the
home to the hospital. Neither are
those of persons who to can afford pro-
vide for them in their own houses
where they can be thoroughly isolated.
Should the medical inspector of the
health department pronounce recovery
impossible the sufferer is isolated, the
house carded and none but the regular
attendants Of the sufferer are allowed
on the premises.
When death occurs outside the pest
house the attendants put on their
gloves to pay call. The gloves are OF
heavy leather and tho call Is upon the
dead and not upon the living. 1t Is
not with desire to pay their respects
to anyone that it is made, but it is that
the living and otherwise healthy mil.
lions Of the city may not have plague
spot in thir midst an hour longer than
is absolutely necessary. The two men
carry with them plentiful supply of
carbolic acid, for the corpse must be
we'll sponged with that. Every tissue
Of the body is saturated with the pow
erful chemical, and as far as possible
every trace of the dread disease which
caused death is removed.
Even when the body has thus been
treated sufficient care has not been
taken to prevent the disease from
spreading, and the body has to be
wrapped in clothes provided by the de-
ceased's friends all saturated with car
bolic acid, and on the top of every
thing Is put sheet saturated with
carbolic acid. In the meantime the
measurements haye been taken and II
coffin provided either by the city or by
the relatives. The corpse having been
nlaced Ia this. it Is then inclosed iu .