The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1896-02-19
Doctors Ford and Fields Seri-
ously Disagree Over a
Case.
sCARLATINA SIGN TORN DOWN.
DR.. Lovelace Agrees With Dr.. Field
and Says No Scarlet Fever
Symptoms Exist.

DIR. Campbell Ford has prepared letter
Department. Yesterday morning he for
warded one copy of this letter to Mayor
Sutro and another to the Board of Health.
The letter reads as follows:
SAN FRANCISCO, Call Feb. 10, 1896.
TO the Hon. Il. SutrO. Chairman, and Members
Of the Board Of Health Of San Francisco-DEAR
s1Rs: l wish respectfully to inform you that
at my office, 73415 Broadway, and requested
called at 1903 Dupont street.
/ found the child, aged years, had during
the previous week hurt its knee by falling
downstairs. From the angry appearance of
the knee. and as Mr.. Beverly's brother-in-law
was i'll in the house with erysipelas, l sus-
pected that the knee had been infected with
erysipelas and so informed him. In addition
the child was covered from head TO foot with
scarlet rash. l ordered the child isolated
and under treatment its improvement was de-
cided by the next day, and by the 18th the
rash had disappeared and the skin commenced
to desquamate, completely confirming the
diagnosis OF scarlet fever. ordered the child
| Amounted with oil and bathed.
On the following morning, February ID,
addressed communication to the Health Of
flee, informing them there was scarlet fever at
1903 Dupont street.
I did not call the following day, the child be-
ing convalescent. | called on the 18th and
noticed the house had not been quarantined.
called again in the afternoon. accompanied
by DR.. j. G. Stinson, and was met by Mr.. Bev-
erly, who Indignantly informed us that man
called with "hls little pots and pans," went in,
looked at the child and said that 1t did not
have scarlet fever and departed without quar-
antining the house.
l Immediately called on DR.. Lovelace, in
forming him OF the facts. l also interviewed
the inspector, who admitted that he had
ceived my notice, called at the house and failed
to put 1t in quarantine; he gave as an excuse
that he saw the child In the bed playing with
It's toys, and that the woman who opened the
door told him that the child did not have scar
let fever.
This seems to me fragrant, gross criminal
neglect of duty not to quarantine this house;
not only on account of the serious nature of
the disease, but because Mr.. Beverly, father
Dairy, which daily distributes its milk
throughout the CITY, furnishing q means of
readily carrying the contagion for and wide.
l call your attention to the fact that the most
common way OF spreading this dread disease,
which Is estimated TO have caused one-twen-
tieth of the entire mortality of England and
with which the germ life OF scar
let fever multiplies in a suitable
medium, such as milk, is well known.
One scale OF the millions that are thrown off
from the skin will, if dropped into milk. make
a solid mass of culture the size of a teacup
within four hours. Cattle and calves are also
susceptible to the disease, and in that way viii
increase the contagion. 1t is well known that
the disease is increasing in virulence, and in
have carried scarlet fever to half the families
to which il had been delivered, although it
had not been touched by the milkman or other
member OF the infected family. 1t is my firm
belief that not only the house, but also the
dairy should be quarantined until all danger
of contagion Is past, and all articles subject to
! the liability OF infection have been thoroughly
| disinfected
This letter. said DR.. Ford yesterday,
| CLEARLY sets forth the whole matter.
"The seriousness of the case, owing to
the fact that the father OF the child is
dairyman who personally attends to the
n IA Of h IL In
not be enough emphasized.
milk is the most favorable medium for
propagating the disease known. I have
learned that last Monday Mr.. Beverly was
| granted a license to sell milk. This shows
conclusively that the case has been &C
corded very little notice by the Health
officers.
cit is more directly the fault of the in
spector. His duty is simply to go to the
! house men toned as infected and to tack
| placard upon the door. 1t seems that this
! Inspector, a Mr.. Fay, entered the house
and, deciding that the child did not
have the disease, went away without pay
| ing any more attention to the matter.
The case demands thorough investi-
| CATION.
How did the disease get into the fam
! lily? 1T might have been carried to the
ervslpelaS can be carried through the milk
in the same way. This disease is nearly
as virulent as scarlet fever.
"The dairy should be quarantined until it
| has been definitely settled by microscopic
examination of the milk to whether or
not scarlet fever germs exist in 1t"
| Health Officer DR.. Lovelace said:
"There has beena great deal OF unneces-
sary talk about this matter. In the first
place, on receiving the notice from DR.
! Ford, l sent Inspector Fay to the house.
! He returned and said that since the visit
of DIR. Ford to the child the family had
had DR.. a. NJ. Fields examine its condi-
ton. and he found the child showing no
symptoms of scarlet fever whatever.
There has been no negligence" contin-
ued DR.. Lovelace. ut is simply a dis
agreement between two physicians.
II went to the house and examined the
child myself. | found not the slightest
symptom of scarlet fever, nor OF erysipe-
las. The child was simply suffering from
an abscess in the knee, induced by fall.
II had Mr.. Fay tack a scarlet fever
| notice on the house yesterday, but after |
examined the child, as | say later tore
the placard down.
There is no necessity of posting up
such notice with simply sprained knee
in the house."
DIR. Fields examined the child Monday.
child's leg" said he. "There were no
child had some fever, but no more than
-"
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