Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1900-11-03
STATE BOARDS WORK
Necessity for Retaining Old
Health Officers.
The Decrease Of Pulmonary Tubercu-
losis in Recent Years.
Observation-Disclosures Of Using Forma Idehyde
as Milk Preseryasive.

Maine. He brings out the tiDapoi,,
side of the latter by stating that dur
ing the SIN years from 1892 to 1898 500
people died from pulmonary tubercu-
lcsls. ana placing the value of each life
AT S5oo. the state is a looser OF Sc 600 :
ooo through the disease during that
period.
The report is of unusual interest as
II takes up in detail the work of the
board and in addition to that gives in
teresting history of the smallpox of
1899. in which he brings out certain
facts that were known only to a few
at the time of the outbreak and the
difficulties with which the board had to
contend.
me arrangement of the subject mat
ter is ideal In the first place there is
table OF contents furnishing an ex-
cellent guide TO what the book con
tains and after that has been read any
part or paper may be readily found by
consulting the alphabetical index. 1t
contains great many papers of more
than the usual interest. Among them
are the papers giving the results Of the
researches of DIR. Young on pulmonary
tuberculosis. and that of Dr. c. d.
Smith, president Of the board. on
Vaccination and Vaccine Lymph"
DR.. F. \. Whittier Of Bowdoin Col
lege. has paper on Experiments
with Disinfectants."
To the physician the report is in
valuable and to the iayman il is of
more than the usual interest. while TO
the student it will furnish abundant
food for thought.
In Introducing the work Of The board
the report says: None of the out
breaks of infectious diseases. save that
of smallpox. has been deemed worthy
of a special place While the ideal
sanitary regime would be that under
the hands of professional experts in
preventive medicine, it still remains
true that much excellent work can be
done, and is done. by executive officers
Of local boards of health who are not
professional men. The too frequent
loss from the public health service of
the conscientious local officer who has
carefully Informed himself regarding
the duties of his office and has done
them we'll. The value of the work of
such a man is so great that a town
should. at any reasonable cost, retain
such service when il is evident that
the right man for the place has been
found. The reason for many of these
unfortunate changes and the appoint
ment Of unsuitable members, is. in
many instances due TO the want. on
the part of the municipal officers, of
full appreciation of the Importance of
having the right kind of men for the
MI 10 ic rho 1nnninf
ment Of persons as members of local
boards of health is sometimes made
for some other reason than that they
are men who are fitted to conserve the
interests of the town from both the
financial and public health point of
view. The best men in the town are
none too good to look out for the in
terests of life and health. and TO do it
ecOnomically,-the more likely TO be
done economically when it is done
promptly and rightly"
Among the special papers in this re-
port. that on Vaccination and Vac
cine Lymph" is valuable one. 1t
furnishes the answers 10 many ques-
tons relating to the nature Of the
vaccine virus. its modern improved
methods Of propagation and prcscrVa-
ton. and its protective power which
should be available to all classes of
persons. DR.. Smith is the special
committee of one of the board on this
subject and in writing on it has the
advantage of having made careful
and continued investigation Of the
methods which are in use in the prin-
| cipal vaccine laboratories and by the
tlthnIiricG
this country and abroad.
Concerning the work of the board in
abating nuisances and doing other SINH
| lar work for the health of the commu-
nifty the following is given:
Nuisances-In 1898 the number Of
| local boards of health to which COM
plants of nuisances were made was
| 1-5. and the number which received no
reports of nuisances was 2S6. The
whole number of nuisances abated or
| improved under the action of local
boards Of health was 1857.
| In 1892 1877 local boards of health re-
| ceiyed complaints of nuisanceS, and
! 219 report no nuisances. The total
number of nuisances abated by the
| local boards of health was LIES.
Diphthera.-In 1898 the reports OF
the local boards of health indicate that
diphtheria occurred in 81 towns, and
that $40 towns had no outbreak OF this
disease. The total number of cases OF
diphtheria reported was oSl. Forty OF
the 50 local boards reporting outbreaks
of diphtheria state that antitoXln was
used
In 1899 Il local boards of health re-
mort the occurrence of cases Of diph
iberia. and in 376 towns no outbreaks
of diphtheria are reported. The tota
number of cases of diphtheria reported
nv the boards for 1899 was 4l6-
Scarlet Fever.-In 1898 in III towns
scarlet fever made its appearance, an'
$40 local boards report no scarlet fever
The total number of cases OF SCARE
fever in the State was LIS.
In 1899. scarlet fever occurred IN l6
towns. ana in 2S7 towns it did no
come 10 the notice Of the local boards
In ALL 1.7O6 cases of scarlet fever DC
Cured in the State.
Typhoid Fever.-1n 1898. from Ia
towns typhoid fever is reported. anC
from 2S3 no cases of typhoid fever arr
ranorted Thewhole number of cases o
|. ( fo,-ar rapordpd bV the lOca