Vernon County censor. [volume] (Viroqua, Wis.) 1865-1955, 1900-10-31
PREVENT SPREAD or DANGEROUS DISEASE
DR.. Porter Writes on the Causes for and Manner of
Prev -nting -prsat Of ry shoic Fever.

Prev snting cprsad Of ry saoio Fever.
EDITOR CENsoR:--I am told there
| lave been some fifty cases OF typhoid
fever in tie vicinity of WestDy durIng
! the past three months, Or Suren on
| intCrnls me that fhetirst ca oTigina I'd
| Ia n n arwe ian ramily IL rom r
way. tie .:.cd THAI the ptoid a.
tienUs belor ed to u numt If farni IS
each having it's own indep lent W; sr
and milk supply; that tree afflicted
families lived in kind OF circle Sr
the center of which were . number Of
dead sheep which were allowed todecay
above ground
Here is an interesting condition Of
things for the laity as well rs for tae
doctors A quarter of a century aSo,
when sat at the feet of learned doctors,
they said: Typhoid fever is caused by
drinking water into which typhoid germs
have found their way" But the water
supply of Vernon county Is as good as
any in the world.
Nearly all our people use cistern
water from deep wells drilled through
many feet of stone And yet these peo-
pie have now and then case of typhoid
In their families.
Now we all want.to stop the spread of
that disease 1t benefits no one but the
doctors and they are always glad to aid
in preventing IL. 1t is honorable =
cure disease but noble to prevent It,
old Cicero said three centuries ago, and
medical men all over the world are daily
preventing disease and glorifying God
in so doing.
In this typhoid epidemic near Westby
it seems that the little flies played some
part in spreading the disease. That was
the ease with our SOLDIERS at Chicka-
manga couple of years ago. A soldier
took sick with typhoid. he did not get
1t from drinking water, for government
had provided pure water for the troops
He visited the camp privy during the
first few days he was i'll. In two weeks
a number cf soldiers were taken sick
with typhoid and soon the disease was
epidemic and many died of it. DR..
Vaughan. an eminent hygienist, who
was student and tutor in Michigan
university when | attended there, was
sent down to investigate the epidemic
at Chickamauga. He found that the
nasty house-fiy was visiting the privies
used by soldiers during the nrst days of
their illness with typhoid. and was load
ing its feet with the bacilli of that dis
ease. and was afterward found at the
tables of the soldiers, travelling over
their food. So at Westby, the doctors
believe the fly visited the first family
attacked, and perhaps afterward visited
the decaying sheep which might have
formed culture medium for the prop
agation of the bacillus typhosus in count
less numbers Then the flies from this
decaying mass went out-radiated as it
were from this hub OF infection--and
defiled the food on the tables of a dozen
prosperous farmers each having his own
supply Of pure milk aud pure'water.
have wondered If hose sheep might
not have died of typhoid; but ind ne
literature to show tina. sheep ever have
the disease. Calves have the disease
and eating the flesh of calves sick with
| t has been followed by typhoid fever
Elebs tells us thai the typhoid &c :
| may enter the system by the respira ri
! nassages as we'll as ny the alinfenbA- -v
canal. This Is the cause that ia some
cases Of typhoid almost no abdominaI
symptoms are present, but low form
of pneumonia
At a school at Clapham, England, 20
ont OF % bows were seized within three
hours with fever, vomiting. purging,
etc. and two died Poison ng was 81 3
peeted and a n igorous investi ltion MAJ
The only ca tse found wa a dra /
which had been checked al u man
years--was opened two day fore al
its contents spread on a galsit ad1ol-l-
ing the boys playground A most Of
fensive effinyium escaped from tA8
drain and the boys had watched the
workmen clean 1t out. The two ooys
died Of typhoid fever
But the privy on the farm and IN the
village is the institution about which 4
| started to write ! want to condemn
the deep vault that so lGany use in Yer
| non county. | want also 20 commend
| the use of road dust in the pivy. Let
| the man of the house save two nail kegs
| full of fine, dry road dust every summer
| to sprinkle in the privy daily and there
will be little danger of disease from this
source. If typhoid fever is TO be preva-
lent here it viii be necessary to have the
privy cleaned early in spring, and In
| August before the disease begins. and II
| will be necessary to have a fy-proof
| building and to use plenty of road dust
| every day Let the privy be built with
| a wall under thr9e sides and have q door
on the rear side for removal of matter
| collected thele. Choose dry time for
| cleaning; wheel a barrow full of dry
| dirt and mix with the matter; sprinkle
| the wheelbarrOw with dust, load it and
wheel upon the garden, spread and cover
with dry dirt; repeat the operation a
few times and your task is done and
You have made an artistic job of it and
| you arc higher up in the world; for the
condition of your privy is an index OF
your civilization. / hope have not con-
veyed the impression that dust kills the
germ of typhoid. 1t does not believe
| fine lime sprinkled into the privy daily,
when there is suspicion that the privy
is used by typhoid subjects, would kill
the bacilli but it evolves ammonia and
adds to the bad odor. The'stools of all
| patients suspected of having this disease
! should be disenfected every time, for
the germs live around privies, sunk
| drains and houses for several years.
| This may be done by using carbolic acid
| diluted with water in the proportion of
10 80 This solution may be used to
oak the linen in for several hours be-
| FORE 1t is washed. This is important, as
tbs laundrsss is in greater danger of
} contracting the disease than is the hos
/ pital attendant. C.y.P.
1
Banning a Cbeao camnaiou