The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1894-12-12
CONSUMPTION.

CONSUMPTlUN,
The most Dangerous Of all the DIS
eases fs Injections - The Deadly
Dust-The Houses which are Full
of Fatal Germs-Necessity for Great
Care.
To the Editor OF the News and Courier
Since have been practicing medicine In Ibis
community. about six years. there nave 9een
twenty grown negroes and as many cnlldIen
that have died OF consumption, at least five
times as many as have died from all other dis
eases put together. In fact, IN this western
Edgefeld we have mad an epaemlS Ine ats %,
the disease not. however, in the strict sense
OF contagion, because contagion means the
transmission OF disease oy ai1ees or hn1 s
comes in contact with the bacillus, either BY
swallowing or inhallng the germ, said person
is liable TO take consumption.
Such has been the terrible mortality from
this dread disease In this community that our
most prominent citizens have insisted that !,
through the medium Of your public spirited
journal, hoping that our legislators Will take
some steps or adopt some laws looking TO the
Improvement Of public sanitation, and de.
wise some means whereby we may cneck u
not stop the ravages OF the disease.
Permit nee to relate some Of the expert
ences, showing that healthy negroes have
taken the disease simply by moving lnto
ILLUSTRATIVE CASES.
In 1892 Ben w. and his daughter. both
healthy looking, moved into house IN which
Ettie G. had died OF tu6erculosis. IN snor,
and they both died in about five months o.
acute tuberculosis. The same year, Susan T.
. moved into q tenant house near by, IN which
Al. I<~FH aArvrfN hod N.
sumption, fingered about q year and died. A
little child was brought to me with general
tuberculosis and found upon inquiry that
the child had been sleeping with Its grand
mother, who had consumption.
I might go on multiplying instances, but
time and space forbid.
sPUTUM THE MEDIUM OF INFECTION.
Ever since the all.impartant work of Car.
nett, the opinion Of medical men has prevail
ed that injection occurs In the vast majority
OF casesF If not in all cases, OF pulmonary
tuberculosis from the inhalation Of the dried
sputnm of phthisical patients. 1t matters
not how careful phthisical patients are they
: will spit sometimes where they do not intend
70, and the bacillus being very tenacious OF
life, after the sputuIn dries in sweeping the
germ gets In the atmosphere and Is breathed
by the parties sweeping, and II the germ finds
favorable soil consumption is developed.
DANGER OF DUST.
In order to ascertain the virulence of the
tubercle bacilli when mixed with road dust
Feltz conducted the following experiments
Sputup was mixed with common road aust
and e2posed TO the variations OF atmospheric
Temperature for various periods Of time.
When guinea pigs were inoculated with this
mixture 1t was found that the virulence last
ed little more than two months.
Shirner has contributed the following inter
esting observation: On rlnsing the water
I! from some grapes he noticed the water BE-
came quite dirty. Ten cubic centimeters tWo
korf a ntr oN nff 40 yryof tor ywa n
jected into the peritoneal cavity of three
nye ana iorty-elgat Gays lesPecuv9S .o,ioo;s
moYsem sAaninatlon G IevSeu eu,otSon tUo enS in
origina.ug a. & LUG sue Iva aar w;,b snail de.
p ~ !, te iuns. -. tnharnI, DO acilii He
a1s 1n ttsnsia t Ibds s"nrcs ~ janper. the
ni,,i au n nrasnns dn the dnst or the
streets andb clown about, lodging on iruit' eto''
bsa,ssnV,n H. ' ino.,,otod on;neo MOS with the
scrapings obtained from railway coaches on
4 tne nne irom beri!n 10 Msran, iine maSn .Sa
used Dy conspmpuVes he !ounu tnat tne
scraping OF hVe coaches contained tupercte
bacilli.
o,,,,,,, ,,,,>,,e, az, ,,,r,,or,oS
ofhEH NUDES of iNf
Invasion of this awful disease may be by
COWS. or by the skin. as reported by Du6reuiI.
le and Curche, They say that robust young
I; woman was fnocniated upon the finger by
Washing the handkerchtef' of q tuberculous
patient. as was proved by inocuIatlng guinea
pigs with pns nom the affected finger.
More people die ANNUALLY from consump-
tion than any other or perhaps all other dis
eases together and / think have quoted
enough authorities to prove that this morbific
agent. the baciiIus is carried from one TO an.
ofher and there ono ht To he some steps taken
by our Goyernment To limit. If not stop, the
! spread of the disease.
r,,o, o.>,,,,,o> nv ,,r,r
49, pprr,.S
90 49,
ooor,,n, % rhor,. o,a 1.ndhoro oe q re-
s,,1, noiis ~ " hattare, ,uhItn Sanitntion tho
a..aIit VI tSu PuS.io ~ 5.nIonS ord
kW, LahS Hon pnGnisls pss ~ Sns .so on,moi
maiss nas oSSn @ [euuSSo iroiH ine hnhi
aeata rae, I,TS es, sS 20 ISoS per iiion d,rios
ISe, 90 ourins loofoo' anu i''oz " A''1i uuine
2 ios4oo.
AN oI1Scr oE pnEvrNr1oN WORTH porrND
-. ,0N'1 80.
of cokE.
wecon 90 med;ca, man and as lepislators.
do $500 - % a,IaHSata sn fsar,na anJ coSnhat IN
ravsees oS The aSa1I Sastrovern hv fnteIIigent
nrnnSw,ox S VIC tbon nv h1 nnTsrfetinS ~ cnra the
disaos oSfar - hoe gyoinaS q fontSoId
Ever since the imnortant' work of Carnett.
ohovo oiInSod ~ whfch showeS the H oreet 40 NJ
aopvo asr of IN Ssct,on from inhaIat;on of dried
Snntnn Of nhthisical patienfs measures for
The prevention of infection have been almost
ent,reIv confined tn snch as will render the
sputnm of tubercuIous individuals harmless.
The Government Of prussia has taken no.