The copper era., 1904-01-07
Died of Diphtheria.
.m .hn sarnrf Guardian

From the SafOrd GuardlAh-
 E,rIy last Monday morning, Frank, the II year old son Of MT. and Mrs schmidt. Of this place died oi whaI i7 be elieved to be diphtherla. lie "a9 hurled on Tuesday.
 Mir and Mrs. schmidt have SIX more .bil3ren tick with the same disease
 Tbn disease. Of which the boy died
 be been pronounced diphtherIa and also putrid sore throat ,,.
 On Tuesday morning at eight CLOCK a,ntber child, Leslie, , years or age | Iied of the same disease. Stll there l are five more cases Lo-a
 On two different occasions We nave aIed the attention ot the sanitary nhysician 10 the conditions herS' There i, certainly work for him 10 do and fl seems to us that he ehOulu uo something before half the people u'g, After they are dead it IS too late ! Dr. Bnrtch has been appolhteu 9"i 1 tarv physician for the county, It I9 n'S dIfv to keep himself posted on the teai,b conditions of all parts ot the counfy and give it his attention. some
 ,,.eL,- a0o he was called here on case
 ,,bicb was pronounced by some phy7 elan. 4, diphtheria. He inspected the ca-..a and pronounceG it not to be depn- tLerfa r. does not matter whether II
 i- inc diphtheria, putrid sore throat
 ,oosoIitas or a bad cold, if it IS con
 tagious and fatal. it is the plain dutS nf the sanitary physician 10 take IL ID charge. , , The editor Of the Guardian evidently \ printed the above roast oi UT - Rurtch without being fully informed n The facts are that Dr. Burth was no' y notified by the doctors at Sahoru O r the existence Of diphtheria until th' e secord day of January, long after th' 7. deatbs cbronicIed above. The doctor e indirectly heard that diphtherla exls'e' g at S1fTord last week, and lmmedlaVeil = left for that place. When he arrived a there he found that diphtherla existed e and at once quarantlned the mouse d where the disease existed. lie to" if ,yi,h him 4 considerable amount L. an,i.toxine which he used with LII " oatients who were all improving whe DO he left there. The law states that d De nhvsicians shall at once report to u Ie county health officer all contaglo' to di.e,sas. When they do not do so u rd countv health officer has no way % knowing that such cases exist al "A cannot be charged with neglect at duty.
 in The case in which Dr. Burtch as called to Stafford ''some weeks age le and which he stated was not dlp for tberia, speedily recovered, hence It he quite likely that he and the Saho tes dactors who agreed with him were ,in correct in the diagnosis of the case ted the editor of the Guardian, who wo' rv- no, know case of diphtherla IT. ite jim jams.
 nci The trouble at Stafford seems to ger due entirely to the local doctor W would not admit that his patients | 'E q contapious disease until after tI lile commenced to die, and then Tn ,ur- language Of the Guardian, Tit was
 it late" q, ,,
 Readers Of the ERA will remem hot that when smallpox broke out at U avs can about three years ago the l'
 it's doctors disagreed as to what It res tn, was. Dr. Burtch, with the other C
 . tors at Clifton and MorencI, lI5s ,ies' I--.--c4s- ttdnr51:' anu while but '' deaths resulted therefrom. it was ney ora theleSs great annoyance and expen
 to The trouble then as now. was that To on. physicians could not agree.