The Mount Holly news. [volume] (Mount Holly, Burlington Co., N.J.) 1891-1942, 1901-09-03
The Increase of Smallpox.

Under the above heading the Philadel
phia Ledger contained the following:
''The continued steady growth of small
pox during the past week, when thirty one
cases were known to exist, is not, as the
Bureau of Health asserts, no cause for
alarm, but should prove the strongest in
centive to the most stringent measures of
restriction, which require the cooperation
of physicians and of the general public, if
they are to be effective The Chief of the
Bureau of Health, speaking of last weeks
smallpox record said that the principal
obstacle in fighting the spread of the dis
ease has been the difficulty in quarantin-
ing persons who have been in contact with
smallpox patients before the cases have
been reported to the Board of Health.
He added:
For example, case was reported to
this office yesterday by the attending ply
stefan, when ne had been called in to see
the case Saturday last. No fewer than
six persons are known to have been in
close contact with this patient since the
eruption was visible, which was the
second day of the physicians attendance.
This is, of course, an exceptional case, as
most physicians report these cases
promptly.
The most energetic discipline should be
exercised against physicians who thus
violate the law and knowingly place the
community in jeopardy through criminal
carelessness and negligence. With the APP
proach of fall and indoor life the danger
from smallpox contagion increases greatly.
When dwellings are closed the fetid air of
the sick room becomes the atmosphere OF
the house. and closed cars and places of
business add to the danger. With the
opening of the schools and the return OF
thousands of citizens from vacations the
peril of transmitting the disease increases
considerably. Smallpox is so loathsomt
and so dangerous disease that no pre-
caution and no effort should be spared il
stamping out and restricting it.
Nearly all the cases that have developed
thus far have shown lack of vaccination
, and such patients as had been vaccinatet
were visited with only mild cases of var
ioloid. These observations simply con
firm the soundness of the belief in vaccin
alton as an efficacious safe guard agains
7 smallpox epidemics, and the advice give
by the Health Bureau, that parents SHOULD
$ have their children vaccinated or re-vac
cinated if the existing vaccine mark seem
to have lost it's efficacy through age
@ should be needed If the disease con
tinues to increase, it would seem tina
e vigorous measures should be undertake.
to enforce rigidly vaccination of children
in school who are exposed to infection an
also are likely to spread the disease. An
: all citizens, for their own protection, a
: well as for the general good, should tax
. advantage of the safeguard which is pro
o vided by so simple precaution as vaccin
v alton.
: The above is especially timely on tn
eve of opening our public schools. Tn
value of vaccination is too well admitte
: to permit of any controversy on the sui
! iect, nor, in fact, will there be an.
n Children who have not been vaccinate
need not expect to get seat when scho'
IS opens next Tuesday.