The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1896-01-28
Is IT The WATER?
Startling Increase Of Infec-
tious Diseases Through
out the County.
TYPHOID ALARMIkGLY PREVALENT
Old Fourth District Of This City
Most Atiicted-Mr Rooney's
Figures.


There is a startling increase in the
number of cases of infectious diseases
in Hudson County and in Jersey City
especially during the past four months.
The peculiarly open season is supposed
to be responsible for this, more or less.
Why the old Fourth District should be
more unfortunate in this respect than
other parts of the city the doctors are
p1able to explain. That it is so, figures
clearly show.
Diphtaeria and membranous Group,
which differ very little in their symp-
toms and are sometimes included under
one head, are unusually prevalent. So,
too. are scarlet fever and typhoid fever.
Measles gives a strong object lesson.
This disease is of very rare occurrence.
Only two or three sporadic cases have
manifested themselves in the past
three years and more. Until December
10 none had been reported for 1895. For
the balance of that month lis cases. were
treated in this city and one death oc-
CURED from this disease. For the three
and a half weeks of January no less
than ga children were afflicted with it
and three little sufferers passed away as
a result of its ravages. OF these figures
seventy per cent. were from the old
Fourth District, less than twenty per
cent. from the Hill and less than ten
per cent. from the old First District. The
balance were scattered about the rest of
the city. In Kearny Township there was
but one case of measles and that result
ed fatally. These figures were obtained
from the Board of Health and Vital Sta
tistics of Hudson County.
The infectious diseases epidemic nave
attained such proportions, especially in
the neighborhood of the old Reservoir,
hat a reporter from The Jersey City
News called at the office of the Board
yesterday and procured a very complete
statement of the condition of affairs. The
fact that Tie trouble was on the increase
instead of decrease was made apparent
by these figures. Mr.. c. j. Rooney, Jr.,
the clerk of the Board. at no end of la
Dor to himself and vet so expeditely as
reflect great credit upon the system
which he has applied to the classical
tion of the reports of years, supplied the
That often fatal disease diphtheria.
allied with membranous Group, attack
ed 116 persons in Jersey City in October,
but in January to date 1874 were affected.
OF these u died in October. % in Novem-
Der, IA in December and % in January.
49, $500 1880 = 49, 49, LC y ~ ~
dying with it.
arst. 1s in the second, 6 in the third and
8 in the fourth of these months. Two
disd in November ard in December
fatal. in the entire time.
The town Of Union mad 2, 8, 9 and /
respectively II those months. One pa
tient died in December.
Union Township mad 9 In November. .
in December ara 3 in January. One
died in each Of the first two months and
North Bergen, where the county insti-
tutions are located. had 4 in october, ?
each in November and December and ]
Keerny had 4 in December and l IN
January. The latter was fatal, as was
Harrison had . cases and l death in
October. l case in December and 6 in
January.
OF the total of 11e cases in Jersey CITY
% 10 were erai in that ATS I%SoaaIi aga 81 q The the 4 Is d dsaths
f II N0 ! IN 5he 4 rh MsIs ! in in ta TT s samf ans
s. in the Second. OF the "A in December,
6 were in the Fourth. 4 in the Sixth, 8
ing this month that section still retains
is Dreadful majority, the Sixth is an
Indifferent second and the Third is third
The total for Jersey City when com
pared with those of the previous four
months show the awful increase inhdph-
116, 100. 1S and 1874, quite nyershadow the
&c cases OF June. the A Of July. the % of
august and the g of September. The
months OF '93 and '94 show so and 80 cases.
respectively, but little increase over the
rest of the year.
Scarlet fever made almost all it's raw
ages in this city. and the 2 deaths Of Oc-
tcber, the 8 Of Noyennber and the3 Of
December. were all in that same Fourth
district. There were N CAGES IN Jersey
City in October. II in Bayonne and / IN
North Bergen. Besides the two in Jer-
November. 80 in Jersey City. 3 in Bayonne
and 2 in West Hoboken was the record. In
December, So in Jersey City, 10 In Bayonne,
Union. 2 in Kearny. and l in Harrison.
swelled the total to So. The last mem
toned case was fatal.
cases in Jersey City. A deaths from the
disease IN Bayonne, l case in Weehaw-
the great gsa majority was n the Fourth
h chest figures.
The dread typho.d fevsr affected IS eiti-
IN. November. 10 caught the infection in
5 didd e Wifh, 4. One an d !es also aloori IN R slsarlr5
during that month.
In December az residents of the. city suf-
suffer long, for they persisted of the fever.
These were the only cases in the county
in December. January shows a startling
increase with 81 cases in jersey City and
l in Bayonne. Keeuing pace with these
large numbers are the q deaths in the
city and 2 in Kearn x Upon the Hin
trict. The Third and Fourth had Is
a piece. the Second II. and the Fifth, 9.
Mr.. Rooney explained these latter figures
in a manner which gave them a new re-
lationshp to each other. Quoting the es-
timated population of july. 1888. for each
of them. the following percentages were
enlced2Sick with typhoid fever in the
Fifth district. .cJt1 of total population: in
the Third. COOS: in the First and Sixth.
.0905: IN the Fourth. .o004. and in the Sec
end, .0oc35. St. Francis Hospital. in the
that district in its rat.ents. while the
city Hospital in the Fifth supplies a
case but rarely.
The averages number of cases of this
fever for fhe four months beginning Oc-
tbber l. 1923, ard ending January. 81.
l Msa t Tss a bat E F TSe tn Iast four Of .9i msnt5 g
average go cases each. Scarlet fever
averaged for those months of 1894, Is
eases. In the corresponding months of
'94-'a5. 80 were recorded. These months
Of '95 and '95 average 50 cases each.
were reported at an average of
and 3 per month in '94-'e5. From Decem-
her 10. '95. until January %. '96, 339 cases
are on the books.
The average number Of cases Of this
tents in the cifv during the current
month is about in number.
THE AIR-SHEP AS A NULLITIER
OF WAR.