Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1902-09-10
NO SERIOUS ALARM
A Physicians Views of the
Typhoid Fever Cases.
MOST ARE IMPORTED
THAT IS, THEY WERE CONTRACT
ED OUTSIDE THE CITY.
Potomac Water Need Not Bear the
Blame, Nor the Local
Ice Supply.

said prominent physician to Star re-
porter this morning, need not cause any
serious general apprehension, they have
fortunately proved to have been in most
cases of mild type
! with regard to their origin, as their
number is unusual, 1 wish to say that I
believe that the opinion expressed by pa
| tents and some of the profession that the
cause of the outbreak at this time may be
attributed to local causes is erroneous.
Il do not believe that our water is in any
better or worse condition this fall than it
usually is, and l do not think that our
| typhoid cases necessarily entirely come
| from that source, as Is sometimes ascribed.
believe that great majority of our cases,
Ii they could be accurately traced, would
be shown to have had their inception at
the seashore. mountains or in the country,
| and only their development occurred here
| after the usual period after the patients
had returned to their homes in this city.
| Apart from medical reasons, base this
| belief upon the fact that in most Of the
| large cities along the eastern seaboard they
are at present, and have been more or less
| all summer, suffering from epidemics of
| typhoid. The same complaint which arises
| from Philadelphia and New York and other
cities Is such as to lead me to the conclu-
| sion that this year may be termed 'ty-
| phoid year as frequently happens.
| OF communication.
Potomac water has enough sins visited
upon it without imposing any which it does
| not deserve. The outbreak in this city
reached its maximum at about time when
our residents were returning in great num-
bers from their vacations. While 1 am
! willing to drink Potomac water In Wash
| ington, 1 do not drink water nor eat ice
Willie at the seashore IN the country in
! discriminatory.
! c a
| disease that If a person took all of the pre-
cautions which may be suggested to safe
guard him he would do little else during the
| day. AS partial list of precautions there
would have to be eschewed milk, unboled
| water, ice cream, soda water ice cream,
! butter iced tea, high balls, and any food
| or drink in which the germs may Turk or
| be brought in contact with. Most of the male
persuasion, | fancy, will! continue to run the
! risk of catching any disease from typhoid
| to smallpox rather than give up the fasci-
! ma ting high ball and other stimulating
| summer mixtures which contain a little
ice, a little water and a little red liquid
| with large percentage. of alcohol, even II
| the water be living with typhoid germs
For instance. one of the worst ep!demics
| in the country in recent years occurred In
New England city and was caused by
miikman rins!ng his empty cans with the
water taken from a well in his barnyard,
| which was found to be infected with the
/ germs of typhoid If the few drops of wa
| ter remaining in an empty milk can, subse-
quently filled with milk, can spread the dis
| ease in due time among several hundred
persons, it will be seen that the task of
| lodging the germ will make a person both
! agile and gray headed
| "One may religi0usly boil water and take
! other precautionary steps and then contract
| the disease in the most unexpected and I'M
! thought-of manner, as from eating water
| cress taken from an infected brook, or
| fresh edible vegetables which have
been sprinkled with water which contains
the germs.
Washinton's Ice Supply Good.
ice enters so largely into the everyday
life of the residents of cities that in one way
! or another it finds its way in liquid form into
the stomach, although the patient congratu-
lates himself that he does not drink ice
water and runs no risk on that score Ice
supplied in country and seaside resorts is
usually not only of a poor quality, but is
largely taken from nearby polluted small
streams and ponds. the latter very often
stagnant during a good portion of the year.
The supply of ice furnished Washington,
! on the contrary, may be said to be extra
good in general terms, in that it is either
manufactured here of clear artesian water
or brought down from the fresh clear rivers
| Of Maine by sea in schooners. This is a
| very important point when 1t is considered
| how careessly and in what a dirty manner
| ice is usually handled in the streets, public
| places and in restaurants and dwellings.
| The ice consumed in Washington that comes
from nearby pOnQS ana streams is so little
| that it is not worthy of notice. AS COM
modify Maine ice is as good a quality of
| stored ice can be furnished any city,
| and it comes to us comparatively clean, while
| our manufactured ice Is consumed as fast
made.
1.-The water supply Of a city is usually
| directly attacked in the event Of cpl
demic Of typhoid but 1 feel like making
| the same remark as regards the present
epidemic and it's relation to the Potomac
| water supply as was made by city Of
| fetal in Philadelphia few days past, when
| taken to task for the quality Of water from
| the Schuyikill river. He said:
| with over 100000 people drinking the
| Schuylkill water and only a few hundred
| cases of typhoid in the city. you will have
| to guess again as to the source OF Infection
Percentage Of Cases and Population.
with over 100000 people drinking Po-
tomac water the number Of cases Of typhoid
| in the city, while large, cannot be said to
| be alarmingiy excessive and look for
| very perceptible falling Off in a few weeks.
| 1T is. however to be greatly regretted
| that our filtration plant is not completed,
| so that We could avail ourselves Of its use
| this winter. While filtration will not COM
| pletely eradicate typhoid, 1T has been proved
| in cities the Ohio and Merrimac rivers,
| where plants have been long enough in op-
| Grafton to have accurate observations and
comparisons made, that filtered water
largely tends to diminish the disease. 1t
|
| been in operation five years to compare re-
| suits with the five years preceding its in
| stallation, and the day of it's completion
| should be fastened rapidly possible.
| make the prediction that cases Of typhoid
| will be greatly lessened, and OF those oc
| curing it will be shown, In the present
| instance, that many will come from outside
| contamination to be developed here, or are,
| as call them, imported cases.
Il will tell you of an interesting instance
| Of the vitality Of the typhoid organism A
| Pennsylvania town taking Its water from
| river suffered a very severe epidemic OF
| typhoid. The source Of the contamination
could not be traced until 1t was decided to
| trace the outflow of a small mountain
stream which disappeared In the side of the
mountain. On the banks of the mountain
stream family had had typhoid during
| the preceding winter. Oh was thrown into
this stream and subsequently discovered in
| the river water furnishing the city supply
The typhoid organisms from this family
| had lain dormant in the snow and Ice all
| winter, entered the mountain torrent in the
| spring. passed through the mountain into
| the river below, and thus was the mystic
rious source of the epidemic discovered.
! This case Illustrates what might happen