The Yakima herald. [volume] (North Yakima, W.T. [Wash.]) 1889-1914, 1903-01-11

harm as good, but how can they explain
the fact of the marvellous decrease of
smallpox in the countries where so svs-
tematc vaccination is carried on. We
all know that the German army at one
time was very much crippled by the ter
rlble scourge of smallpox that swept
over it year by year, and that Germany,
realizing that something must be done,
enforced the most rigid system of vac
cination in the world and has reduced
its smallpox death rate for 1859 to
less than one in two millions of the
population. England and America suf-
fer from smallpox more than Germany,
because a portion of a community is al
lowed to neglect this simple prophylac-
tic. The general death rate of that
dreaded disease diphtheria, has also
been reduced to third of what it was
by timely use of anti-toxin which has
become perfected through the process of
the German, Behring and the French
man Roux. But | am going to quote
at length on the topic of typhoid fever
which so nearly concerns us here in our
little town. DR.. William Budd, to
whom more than to any other individ-
ual is due the arousing of public inter
est in regard to sanitary matters, writes
as follows: "There are few things
which concern the people of this coun-
try more deeply than to know the exact
truth touching the mode in which this
fatal fever is disseminated amongst
them. Every year on the average
take the United Kingdom through
some $1,000 or more of their number
perish prematurely by it; population
equal to that of considerable city ev-
cry year swept into grave. AS nine or
ten recover for every ten who die, |, 400
persons, or more, must pass every year
through its protracted miseries." Yet
as DR.. Budd believed, this was a per-
fectly preventable plague. 1t was his
privilege to show, what is accepted by
all sanitarians today, first, that every
case of typhoid fever arises by direct or
indirect contact with previous case of
the same disease, and second, that "the
contagious element by which it is main
ly propagated is contained in the spec
life discharges from the diseased intes-
tine" The contagious element" or
a M .,
body in every case with some article of
food or drink contaminated by an ear
lier victim Under unclean conditions
the infection may be communicated di-
rectly to the food by the fingers of per-
son who has been in attendance upon
the sufferer; sometimes the carriers of
the pestilence may be flies which have
passed from the unsavory places they
infect to a neighboring dinner-table.
Usually, however, typhoid fever is
transmitted in a more roundabout fash
ion by such vehicles as water, milk and
raw shell fish
OF the typhoid epidemic traced to
milk, one OF the most typical was that
of Springfield, Massachusetts, where, in
July and August of 1892, one hundred
and fifty cases occurred concentrated in
one of the most beautiful suburban dis
tricts of that district of that city. The
investigation showed that the path of
the pestilence was coincident with the
route OF a certain milk man. 1t was
next found that proportion of his pro.
ducts was derived from farm where
several cases of typhoid fever had oc-
Cured during the preceding summer.
Shortly before the outbreak of the cpl
demic, the discharges of the patients
were spread upon tobacco field Man
ure from this field, carried on the boots
of the farm hands, was obvious about,
and in well near by. On the bottom
of this well, and submerged in leaky
cans, stood the milk to be cooled before