Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1904-08-26
Lax SanitarianS.

The statement has more than once been
emphatically made by sanitarians that with
cooperative effort on the part OF state
boards of health and municipal authorities,
on a broadly comprehensive plan and with
a sufficient fund it would be possible to
stamp out typhoid fever in this country
within few seasons not merely to lessen
its menace, but absolutely to eradicate 1t.
1t is in short, clearly a preventible disease,
the source of infection being we'll known
and easily disinfected. But so Indifferent
have people been to the possibilities for
both sanitation and infection, perhaps so
ignorant of the easy way to remove all
chance of a spread. that the germs of the
disease are scattered widely through the
country in the SOIL finding their way from
time to time to the water supply, the milk
supply and the vegetable gardens and
thence to the human system, to cause fresh
outbreaks.
The action of the health authorities Of
Maryland in the matter of this latest cpl
demic of the fever a. Mt. Savage aptly il
illustrates the danger of the present loose
system of interstate regulation and COM
muncation. The fact that typhoid was
raging at Mt Savage in epidemic form
sufficiently to cause 120 cases in a popula-
ton of 2,GOe-was not deemed of enough
Importance by the state health officials to
cause them to send warning to the authori-
ties of the District. although they knew, or
should have known, that the surface drain
age of Mt. Savage pours into a tributary of
the Potomac and that the people of Wash
ingtOn take their drinking water from the
latter stream.
If the Maryland health officials did not
realize the danger they are subject to criti-
cism for their failure to realize the re-
sponsibility of their position. If they are
we'll versed sanitarians they must know
that polluted stream is a danger to all
who take water from it, however far dis
tant from the source of infection. They
must have known of the outbreak of ty-
phoid in Washington few years ago fol-
lowing an epidemic of the fever in Cumber-
land. Even regarding these appearances
Of the disease as being possibly merely CO.
incidental, the first duty of all officials is
to assume that there is a chance of the
river carrying the germs in an active state
from Cumberland to Washington. The
chance may be slight, but the risk is nev-
ertheless great.
Until the health officials of all states
work on a system, prearranged between
them on either interstate or federal lines
of supervision, there will remain these
chances for laxity leading to danger. This
Mt Savage case may not be emphasized by
local epidemic. 1t is sincerely to be hoped
that the already large percentage of ty-
phoid in Washington will not be swelled by
further cases attributable to the river wa
ter. But even as it stands, if not a single
case develops that can be safely attributed
to this source, the failure of the Maryland
authorities to warn Washington imme-
diately upon the appearance of the disease
anywhere in the Potomac watershed is to
be regarded as a deplorable lack of official
capacity and sign of the need of a sweep
ing reform.
Meanwhile, boil the Potomac water