The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1897-10-27
ANTl-TOXINE DID 1T.
Great Resul. from Its Use in the Diphthe-
ria Cases at Fort Kent-The Disease
Thoroughly Stamped Out.
(Kennebec Journal.)

(Kennebec Journal.)
From the north hills of Maine, from
the waves of the boundary river, comes
the praise song of people who testify to
the wonderful properties of anti-toxine.
Two weeks ago the people of the vicinity
OF Fort Kent were stricken with fearful
epidemic of diphtheria. DR.. Young,
Secretary of the State Board of Health,
acted at once
2 He enlisted the services of DIR. W. john
son, OF Augusta, and the morning Pull
man of that Sunday. saw the last named
gentleman on his way to the afflicted
county. Travelling all day, he reached
Caribou at night, and the next morning
he drove by team the remaining AZ miles
to Fort Kent. Caribou is the northern
terminus of the railroad and the distance
between that Gown and Fort Kent is
made by team over good road DR..
johnson made the distance in one day
He found things in state OF chaos as
far as the local Board of Health was con-
cerned. They could not cope with the
epidemic. 1t was fast getting away from
them. There were rs cases at the time
and there had been rs deaths. The visit
ing representative of the State Board of
Health saw at once that two cases must
go the way that had been taken by the
other 25, but he took his coat off and
went to work with will.
He turned to anti-toxine as the lever by
which he hoped to turn the tide Did it
work? Well, the two cases that DR.. john
or col 1rcffl 10 Il -. IL
there has not been death, and when the
doctor came away there were but two
cases in Fort Kent. To use the DOCTORS
own words: sit was not any merit of
mine that brought this about, but rather
anti-toxine
The people in that section had no re-
spect for the law as laid down by the To-
cal Board of Health; they did just as they
wanted to, and great was the fruit there
of. They travelled among their neigh
bors, extending sympathy and coincidence
in the distress of disease and in death,
and thought they were doing their duty
by their fellowmen. DIR. johnson saw at
once that this must be overcome, and he
proceeded in the only effectual way to
put stop to it.
There was one woman up there who
had rather more of the travelling about
to do than most of the other people. She
is known in that section as woman
jockey, and as she gave the physician
more trouble than the others, DR.. John
son determined to make an example of
her, for, as the doctor told the people who
had to do with the case, "If these people
Will not obey the law. they must be made
to respect it." 1t is evident that 'these
people" came to the conclusion that DR..
johnson did not intend to stay up in that
section all winter, for they gave him no
further trouble.
The local Board of Health and the Sc
lectmen of the town took hold of the
work with will. The chairman of the
Board of Health, A. g. Fenalson, took his
team and drove around with DIR. john
son to visit those who were suffering, and
did, they must have been on the board
greater part of the time. DIR. Sirosis, the
local health officer, joined drives with
the representative of the State Board, as
also did DR.. Archam beault. l. b. Bur
goyne, member of the Board Of Health,
Selectman Theriault, Customs Officer
John Nadeau and Rev. Father Burque
gave DR.. johnson material assistance in
the work
Anti-toxine was the remedy and it was
administered to every patient that showed
tne least indication of diphther1a 1n1ec-
non. DR.. johnson found that the remedy
had been injected at the thigh but the de.
sired effect was not Immediately reached
and SO he caused the injection to be made
IN the side in the region of the bowels.
he seldom had to repeat the dose. In
some instances the dose was repeated in
"a hours, but those cases were very few.
In all the doctors used five dozens OF bot
Ties OF the remedy10o0 units to the bottle.
ihey used from $50 to 1000 units to pa
tlent. In cases where the disease or sore
throat first showed the remedy was used
and In tweny-four hours the patient
would be up and around the house.
Inere are no cases at New Canada or
Waliagrass the only two cases were those
at Fort Kent when Dr. johnson came
away Disinfection is still being carried
on py the local Board of Health in the
most thorough manner, and there is no
reason TO suppose that the disease has
any hold anywhere in that section at the
present day.
what would have happened if the State
Board OF Health had not sent its repre-
sentative to that section is hard to tell
now Tor the epidemic had got way be-
YONG the control of the physicians, the
Board OF Health and everything else but
the state Board. The energetic manner
IN Whlch Dr. johnson pursued his work,
with It's attendant results, is great vic
Tory lor the State Board of Health and
Ine remedy anti-toxine, and a credit to
DIR. johnson himself,