The Paducah sun. [volume] (Paducah, Ky.) 1898-1906, 1903-02-05
Smallpox in the Raglaud and Tyler
Sections Of the County.
The Disesse viii Likely Not Spread
Because the Quarantine Regula-
lions Are Being Enforced.
HEALTH BOARDS ADDRESS

There are Ave new cases Of smallpox
reported in the county but all houses
have been quarantined and little fear
Of spread IL shown.
Yesterday new cases were reported
In the Pugh family at Ragland and
two cases were reported today at Ty-
Ter, a small station few miles south
of the city on the Benton road. There
mas boon smallpox in the Pugh family
for several weeks, Mrs. Pugh taking
the disease first. Her husband was
next taken with IL and now her son
and young man visiting at the house
are i'll OF the same malsdy.
At Tyler a Mr.. MoDearman and
MIR. Koerner have small pox and the
houses were tagged to day There
was some talk of tagging the whole
section but this was not done. There
l. little fear Of spread Of the disease
Il the people will closely observe and
follow the quarantine laws. At Tyler
the residents are wrought up over the
appearance Of the disease as this is the
first reported in that section. At Rag
land the Word family has been dis
charged as cured Of smallpox and the
house thoroughly fumigated and dis
infected. There were seven cases in
this family.
Secretary Mccormack, Of the state
board OF health, has Just issued a gen
eral circular to the people Of Ken
lucky. in which, among other things, 1t
is said;
ut Ia the duty Of this board to again
warn you OF the danger OF a wide.
spread epidemic OF smallpox. Al.
though stamped out over and over
again, IL has been almost constantly
imported from other states where less
care was observed, and, because so
many OF our more ignorant people are
unprotected by vaccination, and so
many fiscal courts have failed to pro.
vide hospitals for the proper isolation
and management Of first cases, the
disease now exists in many widely sep
srated counties. and everywhere shows
disposition to break over control and
assume an epidemic form.
business people, afflicted families
and others, for obvious reasons, often
attempt to make the impression that
the disease is so mild AS TO be unim.
portant, but 1t is due that the public
should know that this is not true. II
is gradually growing more severe. too,
and deaths from 1t are often concealed
or attributed to other causes. II should
be known also that there are no such
diseases as Elephant Itch, African
Itch" or Cuban Itch" and that ev-
cry case investigated by this board in
the past five years which had been so
diagnosed by ignorant physicians and
people was found to be genuine small
pox.
"Aa q large, ignorant element of
our population, white and black, will
delay or evade vaccination, fiscal
courts and county health officials are
urged to provide eruptive hospitals
where those afflicted with the disease
may be humanely cared for with safe
ty to the community, and with the
least possible interference with bust.
ness. The sntiquated method Of quar-
antining an entire family because one
of its members has smallpox is almost
inhuman, besides being the worst form
of false economy, and yet the parsimo-
ny Of many of our fiscal courts has left
their health authorities no other alter
native"
This morning an investigation in
other families about Tyler was made /
and another case of smallpox was dis
covered in the Wenick family. This
hnnna too has ham Aagood