New-York tribune., 1902-12-08
TRAcHoMA RIFE ON THE EAST SIDE
DIR. Lester Says 0ne-half the Children Are
Afflicted.

DR.. John c. Lester. assistant surgeon of the
New-York Eye and Ear Inirmary and acting sur
geon of St Bartholomew's Clinic and Hospital
said yesterday to a Tribune reporter:
From 40 to so per cent of the children in the the
crowded districts of the East Side of town rrom
afflicted with trachora or 'graular Ids one OF OF
the most formidable Of the exIrnslc dlseass tb o
unhygienic conditions there, and the prevalence OF
rigid EXAMINATIONS of school inspectors of the
Board of Health. So large percentage OF Gnidren
they are afflicted with this disease that an o the
@ bas 4oo6eG with cases Probably i've thou
sand would be small estimate or the nulnpsI Od
has been such tremendous influx of cases at the
special hospitals where they can PS m n
handle them in operative sense, which is really
the only cure for & the a to have the city
pirate certain amount for the exc9SlvG & 90
naent OF these @ cases consfantiy on the increase
Smallpox is affecting the race more seriously 10 sly
eve itself becoming involved and the possibility or
future 0T6aesS 6a w9em s Eve and Ear Inray
making special efforts to cope with the epldeTiIff
i ing house for this purpose This has been brought
about by the efforts Of Dr Richard n DerDsr b bnG
of the consulting staff of President Ledere' Oh tne
what - are popularity known as granular lids
are due simply to eye strain whlch ma! , ne @ cU[
is an entirely different thing and it is so extremely
insidious that some of the worst cases present no
T6iI endemic ind is now extending to the
children OF the better 6e5fGr schoe for instance with
towels used by those afflicted or py contac' OF
the disease for all the other members Of the fam
y contract it, too HERETOFORE the bs fnT de
fective eyesight. and mostly by teachers navinS
this year however has been specially called by the
Board of Health to this disease and all me sfhoo e
troubled with defective eyesght. The only way to
get rid Of these sec, cases S rs is rG1s6 81 pfnviduav
Dr Lester added that historical evidence traced
trachora back at least 34O0 years. 1t was known
to the Egyptians. 1sraelites. Greeks and ROMANS
The FS1ropean infection with trachoma might be
attributed to Napoleon's soldiers. who contracted
the disease in Egypt a hundred years ago; There
had been decline in the disease since ls29 ana II
vas NOW s9d East Hpe u pr It's prevaienee IN
Eastern Prussia and Posen was due to poor ny
and alcoholism The disease was more prevalent
in this Gy too amRSn ths @ as
found among the native born Americans. the lrlsh
att IT has been asserted that trachoma found
in low countries only, and does not exist SIX nun
dred metres above the level as in Switzerland
and the Tyrol while others assert with equal posi-
tveness that the disease Is not s ftes
from one thousand to five thousand metres as on
being contagion and defective hygiene. DR.. Lester
said that corroborative of this statement as to the
the Hebrews of this city This was not due to any
racial predispositon as HenrewS OF Ine ottep tb
those of other nationales but ii was due TO their
lack of hygiene and to their Astattc habits
AS to the assertion that the negro race was prac-
ticalIy immune. and that negroes were only excep-
tfonallv affected. DR. Testers experience was that
among many hundreds of cases examined few had
been found among negroes. He recalled one case
in which the affection occurred in young negro
was limited to the left eye and was of the acute
tyne.
both contagious and infectious, and declared that
as one of the great for its spread was poor
hyeienfc surroundings. case of trachoma could
be successfully treated for which there was not
nroyfded at the outset a healthful environment
Tonics of course were indicated, and must be re-
sorted tc in nearly every The doctor EN-
nhasized the importance OF early recognition of
this disease by the average practitioner, so that
nroner treatment. might be instituted at once. as
the prognosis depended largely upon the prompt
and thorough application of remedial measures