The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1899-12-03
BY DR.. RICHARD H. LEWIS
WELL WATER FOUND TO BE
CONTAMINATED.
THE SEWERAGE SYSTEM ALSO DETECTIVE
President Mcver Entirely Hlameless, Experts
Say, For the Outbreak. Lessons to
Be Drawn From the Nor
mails Experience.

Normal and Industrial College al
Greensboro has excited in the hearts
or the people of the whole State Tho
deepest sympathy and concern. The
greatest interest in the origin of the
epidemic is naturally and properly felt
by all. Rumors have been started, hav
ing no basis III fact. To correct any
misapprehensions and for the informa-
ton Of the people Of the State, the
Board of Directors, at d meeting held al
the College on November Both, request
ed me, as Secretary Of the State Board
of Health. to prepare and give to the
press an official statement of the facts
as ascertained to date. | was instruct
ed to be perfectly frank, concealing
nothing. If, therefore, anything of inn
portance should happen to be omitted
from this statement the reader may rest
assured that it was not intentional. but
the result of a poor memory or the
hurry that very busy men cannot always
escape.
Learning Friday night NOV. 24thl,
that the Board of Directors of the Col
lege would meet on Monday, and know
ing that the committee of the Board
of Health which made an inyestiga-
ton early in the week would not be
able to get in their formal report in
time. / felt it my duty, as the executive
member of the Board of Health, to
make a personal investigation and be
prepared, as far as possible, to enlighten
and advise the directors If desired by
them.
Accordingly | repaired to Greensboro
early Saturday morning, and remained
there until Tuesday morning, spending
the whole time from breakfast TO bed
time, except Sunday morning, at the col
lege.
After talking over the whole matter
with President McIyer, my first inquiry
was
THE nature of the fever. - Request
ing an interview with the physician in
charge, it was promptly accorded, and I
had d very full and satisfactory CONFER
ence with DIR. Cove, the resident physi-
clan, and DR. ". r. Beall, the chief
ccnsultant. which convinced me beyond
doubt that the first cases, about sixty
of the total number of one hundred
eases, beginning about October 25th,
were malarial in character. For the
benefit Of the medical reader. | will
state that this conclusion was based
upon the description Of the attack given
by the doctors, the presence of the
pladosium malaliae III the blood, of ali
the eight cases whose blood was exam
ined miscroscopieally. I verified this
by a personal examination of two specl-
mems that had been kept,) and recovery
iii from / to 10 days under quinine.
The remaining forty cases, in round
numbers, were clearly typhoid fever.
OF this number about ten seemed to
have been the subjects of double in
lection. with both malaria aud typhoid.
and the remainder rincomplicated ty-
pheid, typical in character. | was also
informed that the sickness was strictly
limited to students who ate and slept
in the college.
Having satisfied myself rs to the ma
ture Of the sickness, my next step was
to ascertain, If possible, the cause or
causes Of both We will first consider
The nlalarial fevers-Tshe only thing
about the premises / could find at alt
Likely to produce malaria was Il narrow
marshy valley, carrying a very small,
sluggish stream, so small as to be
scarcely perceptible in places, immedi-
ateIy in the rear Of buildings composed
of the presidents house, the wooden
dorlnitory. the infirmary and the horse
stable. Upon inquiry, / also learned
that mosquitoes had been very abundant
But in this connection it should be
said that maarial diseases have been
unusually prevalent this season in the
hill country Of the State. The reports
from the county superintendent OF
health for September, published in the
Monthly Bulletin Of the State Board
of Health for October, showed nlalarial
fever present Tin all parts of Ala
nance, CabarrHs, Caswell, Davidson.
GWlford, Mecklenburg and Rowan. Tt
is fair. therefore, to assume that some
Of the students brought the malaria
with them from home, but others, per-
haps many, were unnuesti0nably infect
ed ut Greensboro, as ut least two girls
from the mountains had naiarial fever
1t should not be forgotten that this has
been an exceptional year for malaria in
middle section OF the State, and not
likely TO be repeated i'll the near fu-
ture, certainly.
The typhoid feyer-it's camse.-Iy-
phoid fever is essentially filth disease,
the germ Of which is known as the
bacillus typhocus, a metile, water borne
baeterium, which once introduced into
water or milk or moist filth reproduces
itself with fearful ranidity by fission or
splitting in half The media Of trans
mission Of this germ are in the order
Of their Importance, water, milk, insecfs
lhies) and air %. While many high
authorities. chiefly English, believe III
the aerial transmission, the weight OF
opinion is against il. But all agree
that in an immense majority Of cases
it is conveyed by contaminated water,
or milk infected by such water used in
adulterating it, or in washing the cams
or the Udder Of the COW. or by tine
hands Of 4 not-oyer cleanly mixer. who
either has j walking" case or tile dis
ease himself, Or has infected his hands
in nursing 4 ease
Bearing these principles in mind, |
made d personal inspection Of the prem