The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1900-02-24

q
owIng to the reported prevalence OF
-" 80, In the interior OF lie state.th6
imailI,oN ~ z ~. &. s,,,.,,
following auiIlFeple paper. az" e,'..a
I'VE Control Variola?" read by Dr. 3. u.
80, health ofiicer OF this city, at
Jep7o'. ,,nuol ,,aot,np ~ the
the hIucN --'s.'4st
American Medical Aasoclatioh' hela ~
roiurnbus, Ohio, June go, 1889, con-
- ,,,o,,v Suppestiona Of value 10 the
ialIlS i,''i"' ~. .,.,,,,,,, - .s,,,,..,.
authorities WIZ 9ie Tying " sOl'FO1
iha disease:
,r-,rous sanitation applied at the
We -. "a T., tbo r,cht ,,ov y,tI, A..
right Tune anu 40 .--s ~ ~.
ways prevent an epidemic OF sulalIpo&.
M acute infectious disease Is 90 easily
....o,,od hecause. First. Il manifesto
cO"'l'''.1 a., 80 .Lo,,,d 1880 i.
Itself eAteTllail5 sA"e s19Stu 70
mistaken for any other dlseases Sec
and Il is greatly dreaded, and hence
49, oro ne a r,Ie carefult h, avoid
peopl' ~, q
II: InIu, 10 has.o ~ s,ao.. a., e :,
ed. Fourth, we nave IN VacS.ltl+SLlol IN
absolutely certalli p9ie.isl l ~
statement may Oe ulsPuIe ~ ~ t ll,s
exceptions hre 50 very E1Es IliSV LINK
better to ignore then, 4....
My experience US . sei'ls 10y, Cl l.lS'sE
has brought 70 nsnt y very kE lsa
amount OF preJuulCS as S Ha - ~
tion. inns ~ IoIS Deu vi SnS ~
densest ighoTanSe' DuL MOI = sLIlAli PlES
Of II IS que 10 tne many NAN pau "
caused not Ply impure NlLus, put py
vicious methods OF INTRODUCTION or
neglect by physicians OF me commons
est nntiseptic preeauti9n44;; s4Altns a[e
seldom cleaned prloF t0; tne opeLAtlon'
Not rarely aosorpent eottohSoF COT
ton rag IS pouna ugnlIy1- over me
arm; ana III Ieast Two physIclaIlb WnUn
know apply eaneslve PlaSLer atter
the inseruOn OF the VIZ ail9WlnB ~
10 remain during the aeVel2pmsht OF
the vcsicle. Inc result - broken We
sicle or pustuie, an Imperfect protec-'
ton, often an injected ana consequent.
" very sore arm with eonsutuIional
disturbances; ana, worse than all
growing prejudice against THIS most
benehcent OF all known preVenuVes OF
disease.
The past year has given several DEM
Onstrltions OF the careIessness, lgnor-
ance. or perversity o. physicians that
are By no means creditable 10 our pro-
fession. In the very enlightened states
OF Ohio and pennsylvania have errors
been made In the diagnosis OF varlola
and persistently adhered to unit! the
disease spread far beyond the limits OF
Its origin. no man Is infallible, ana
some unusual forms OF Variola, as the
malignant, the hemorrhagic, ana some
cases greatly modified by vaccination,
may mislead for time the most e&-
perienced. But to persist In error In
opposition to more enlightened and ex-
pert opinions, and thus allow a disense
10 spread which ruins the business Of
q community and entails upon il a
large expenditure Of money, to say
nothing Of the resulting inconvenience,
suffering, Disagreement, and death, is
little short OF criminal.
When disease is so widely preva-
lent as smallpox has been for several
years past, physicians should keep 1t in
mind. and when called to strangers or
those who may have been In an infect
ed locality, they would do well to ask
themselves the question:: rs this a
case Of smallpox" Until this question
can be definitely answered in the neg
alive, let the case be isolated and ev-
cry sanitary precautlO1 be taken. Bet
ter quarantine hundred cases OF var
icella than to run any risk Of starting
a smallpox epidemic.
Little less culpable than persistent
errors in diagnosis are long delays In
diagnosis, unless the strictest
precautions are observed while
awaiting developments. Some physi-
clans never report a case Of variola,
even when 1t is prevailing in a commu-
nifty, until the second or third day OF
the eruption, free intercourse with the
patient being allowed in the meantime.
with the result OF communicating the
disease to one or more persons who.
under proper management, would have
escaped u. While such practice Is
absolutely without excuse, personal ex-
perience mas taught me that 1t Is by
no means uncommon.
The Iacts mere recited lead me to Inn
press THESE suggestions on the general
practltloner:
l. hslbt on Beneral vaccination ana
use your llnuenee IN having the pest
virus inserted with an antisepue pre-
cautions use the Biycerinlzed IN
closed glass TUBES
z. Try 70 avoid errors IN diagnosis,
II In douDt' cal 10 your ala the proper
health oTlcer OF some one more tamil-
Jar th3n yourseH Win smallpox. 10
not tenaclousIy adhere 10 an opinion
tnat uhe case ID Varlcella II an ADVERSE
opinion Is eXpTesseu oy physician OF