Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1897-02-22
THE MANY ILLS
10 Which Man Is Subject,
Scientifically Treated.
Ia the Report Of Secretary Of the
State Board Of Health.
Valuable and interesting Work on Progress
Of Investigations.

The ninth annual report of the sec
rotary of the State board of health, DR.
A. G. Young, is now ready for distri.
button. 1t is an unusually interesting
number. Throughout the report tn,
painstaking care foraccuracy and com
pleteness that characterizes Secretar,
Houng's work, is seen, and the value OF
the information collected and compiled
is such as ought to assure a quite
general reading CT the report
The report indicates "A prevalence of TIL,
principal infectious diseases for the year.
nary. a large number of the reports
from local boards State that no cases Of
diphthera. of scarlet fever, or of typhoid
fever were known to the board. In 9
large proportion of the outbreaks Of
those diseases they appear to have beer
confined to the first cases or at least te
the first houses.
The board. continuing in Il special line
| OF work began some years ago. has per-
sistently taught the righteousness OF
pulmonary tubsrculosis. and the en-. en-
worst pest of civilized countries is pre-
Nentable. The report says:
or all the diseases propagated by in
lection. tuberculosis is by far the most
destructive. What smallpox cholera
and the plague have done amid reigns OF
terror. tuberculosis does insidiously. but
too surely. IN this State pulmonary tu-
berculosiS destroys more than 1900 lives
every year. the value of which in dollars
| mounts above the million mark. the time
| or labor which it wastes is another loss
| burden of sorrow. misery. widowhood. or
phanage. and poverty is quite immeasur-
able by monetary standards.
Imposing such Il burden upon the
State as tuberculosis does. ali practicabl
| methods which hold forth reasonable
| lYpe of checking the spread of the dis
| else or of .arresting it in its incipiency
legislators and the cordial support OF
| every citizen.
! 1T was in 1882 that Koch announced
the results of his remarkable inveStiga-
ton into the cause of tuberculosis. that
! it is due to the presence and action OF
| the bacillus tuberculosis. Since then he
/ and other workers have determined
pretty definitely the biology of the ba-
| cllus, the avenues through which it is in
| tfoduced into the system. the pathways
through which local infection may be
converted into q general infection. the
| eXcretionS or discharges through which
the infection leaves the infected body
| the significance of the physical condi-
| tious CT moisture or of dryness Of tuber-
culous sputum as regards its power for
evil. the effect upon the bacillus of heat
| and of cold of light and of darkness, the
practical germicidal value of various
| chemical and other agents when applied
| to this germ in iact the life history o!
the bacterial cause Of tuberculosis has
been SO well and so widely studied that il
| is quite within bounds to affirm that only
ignorance and the incubus of old-time
| Impressions of the inevitable stand in the
| way of putting those measures into gen.
eral use which would affect a very
| marked dimunition in the. tuberculosis
death-rate of the State within Il decade.
| Such necessary measures even wher
judged by strict scientific requirements.
| need not be harsh in the least degree
! They would be eminently humane and
kindly to the patient himself in prevent
| ing him from continually reinfeetine
| other members of the family in guardinH
| them from infection by meaps of pre-
cautions few in number: but which re-
| quire intelligent supervision.
The infectivity of tuberculosis is tn,
! most encouraging Geological discovery o.
| modern times. 1t establishes the fact
| that the most destructive of the causes
| OF the death Is a preventable disease
| Reference is made to Circular No. 5;
it is reproduced in the report. Our board
was the first State board of health Il
issue q circular on this, subject for the
instruction of the people. 1t has bee
! printed in large editions and has been
distributed through the hands of local
boards of health. physicians. clergymen
| teachers and others in numbers ranging
| from a few copies to Il thousand or NOR
| according to the number of families il
the area of distribution.
After the massage of the legislative. ac;
/! notifiable disease the State board
| health issued a circular instructing To-
cal boards to assure themselves that q
COPY Of Circular No. 81 is placed in the
| hands of some member of every house
hold in which cases of consumption are
present. either through the medium o.
/ the attending physician, or otherwise.
| A summary of the teachings of the cir
GUAR ION the Prevention of Consump-
ton is: tuberculosis is an infectious
disease. The breath of the consumptiye
! patient IS not infectious. The sputum il
| harmless so long as 1t remains moist
Tuberculous infection Is produced. in tht
| great majority Of cases by the inhala-
ton of dried and puveriZed tuberculOus
| sputum. J. ,
| In t,a .,,t,rn of $50, tho hoard 70.
IN the autumn o. 1879, me poaro re-
| quested ProI. hooinsoh' 70 carry On II
ms iaDorator! IN tne Searfes Science
| Hutlullle; eApe!lnentsal Work LOT !ne puL
! pose OF aetelniinins lot the poalu wH9 ~,
81 IoTnlc aile sas l? an eli.iieli us
"" ~ ~ ne ees yeneratinn of formi1
apparatus lof lne semei at,ul u IN, ~! ma'
aInenyus sas Oh u .'FsJ sc".v. na SCI;
| orator invented oX the professor
SHOWN py Two exceilehL cuts. n!s eNni ,,n
iioh a. .nt inee.nH o. ."t natoIa, az
Nc fieaIln Associt.iof " ~ 49,, ~ g.,
stfumeht n,S peem pur my ~ t ne i ia a;, a.
y NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS. ,Ii.,, epe. ~ nio,.;niomnn
public henith oTicers a.n pacte pnfa
IapoEatories. .. ane Mofh o. u ! .ois'So y,
hopinson was slroisiS cU ;a i., sny;. VI
me Iavoraplc resuits 9p.init go i e,,
me pToiesscr collciuS.uus I'LL a;, fn, I'LL
aIuehyue Is ~ tr1su nwty u,n,iiiec''''''
ana one OF great pIactical Willie; u.oe
ah, ropof IN pt thie s,h aMc one read he
f hoo'1 ts VI, an pnhlc Health Asso
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