New-York tribune., 1894-04-12
UONTCL1IKS TYPHOID EPIDEMIC.


epidemic of typhoid fever at Montclar, " j.
Forty five cases of the disease have been re-
ported to the Health Board. and there have
been two deaths from IT, Its progress now APP
pears to be checked. and there Is probably no
cause for further alarm among the residents
Of that pleasant and usually salubrious suburb.
The story Of the outbreak. however. rs told by
Dr. r. F. Francis. the health inspector Of the
town. is interesting. and worthy of careful
study as striking instance Of the easy com
municability Of the dreaded disease through Il
common and familiar channel.
About Il month ago ease of typhoid fever
occurred in the family of dairyman named
Could living I'm the nCighbOring village or
Verona and selling milk To some forty or fifty
families in Monclair. 4 representative of the
Montclair Health Board visited GouldS place
and reported upon it to the State Dairy Com
missioner. The latter functionay did not. how
ever. deem immediate action necessary. and
Could accordingly. kept on selling milk In
Montclair Not long aftcrward two cases of
typhoid fever were reported 10 the Health
Board Of that town. They were both in one
family and that family bought milk from
Gould The local Health Board thcrcupon for
bnde Gould 10 deliver any more milk In Mont
clair. and The State Commissioner ratified that
action But the mischief had already been
done. other cases II the disease were reported
daily. until at m" beginning Of the present
week the total numbt was forty "all oc-
curing" SAYS Or. Frn els. either in families
supplied 10y Gould. or in persons who had drank
Gould's milk" 1t may. he adds be positively
asserted that up 10 the present time no case has
occurred that cannot be traced directly to this
..,,rc, E,,,II's bueIness has hecu gtoDpcI. and
50 has that Of another Verona milkman who
had caught the disease from Gould's dairy a
close watch * being kept upon all other milk
men, and thus. II Is believed, III" disease VIII
soon be- stamped out.
This case strongly emphasizes anew the dan
ger of Infection through milk. and the urgent
need II the strlctcst watchfulncss 10 insure I'M
muity thcrcfrom. Milk is not only a food prod
net II universal use, bu; II is largely consumed
without cooking or any process that would de-
stroy noxious bacteria. Nor can II be clcanscd
and purified in any way by the consumer who
wishes 10 use II raw. Full dependence must
therefore be- placed In its wholcSomcneSS as
supplied by the vendor. Before the present In
stance many other outbreaks of typhoid and
scarlet fcvcrs have been traced indisputably
10 unsound milk supplies. and there are the
other diseases. especially including that most
dreaded and most fatal Of all, tuberculosis. are
propagatcd in the same way. There Is no IN
tentlon OF holding the unfortunate dairyman at
Verona culpable for the scourgc from which
Montclar is suffering. He doubtless reported
the Illness in his own family. did his best 10
keep the milk free from taint, ana stopped sell
Ing II rs soon as so hidden 10y the Health Board.
II does seem. however. as though the state
Dairy Commissioner erred in Judgment in not
at once qnarantIning the dairy. In such cases
Il Is better to be too strict than too lcnicnt.
II will not do 10 take chances. There Is evi-
IDENTIFY lust as much need of IN internal quar-
antIne and sanitary inspection system as there
Is Of one at our ports of entry. And since sup
plies OF milk and other food products subject
TO Infection are shipped from state to State.
and since cpdcmlcs recognize no civil boundary
lines. 1t would seem the part Of wisdom to
make such system uniform In its action and
National In It's scope. 1t Is rcgretable that the
bill introduced into Congress for this very pur
pose has not received more favorable consd-
Grafton.