Barbour County index. [volume] (Medicine Lodge, Kan.) 1880-current, 1904-02-24
TYPHOID ALSO ACQUIRED.
I'm from New Possessions
by Soldiers.


has been far greater than from the bull
lets Of the enemy, and the conquest ci
the Philippines is 10 exception TO the
rule, says a medical Journal. During
the Spanish-American war the uLtortu.
nate conditions that developed in the
camps even at home prov ed serious by
giving opportunities tor the wide 0is.
tribution of ty phoid germs.
|, 1t is p obable that some OF the malaris
OF recent years in districts formerly
little affected by its germs has been
due to the same cause. Relapses of ma
laria are not uncommon in the spring
time. and so the mosquito gets the
chance to become inoculated by the
malarial parasites and to spread them
in region never before infected. The
epidemic of smallpox which occurred in
this country during the Sparish-Amer-
lean war was undoubtedly cue to the
importation of this disease by the cam
paigners from Cuba and Porto Rico and
| its transfer to many parts of the coun-
| try by these discharged soldiers. This
has already cost many thousands OF
lives, and the end is not yet.
During the last three years there has
been noteworthy tendency to out
breaks of typhoid fever which did rot
| exist for at least decade before the
Spanish-American war. From a large
number of the smaller towns through
out the country have come reports OF
the existence of typhoid fever in cpl
demic form At least four university
towns have been badly frightened by the
| 90 IF fhry
suffered severely from the rayages of the
disease.
There is a general feeling Of IL secur-
ity with regard to typhoid that probably
porterds the occurrence of further cpl
denies in the near future. We row
know that typhoid fever is not the re-
suit of ursanitary cor6itiors in ger
eral or even of the contain; alton ;
Irinl irg water by sewer or by excrt
, mentitious material from human berg
unless those human beings have bee
suffering from typhoid fever. Unless
the principle that typhoid fever neve,
} originates &c novo is true-that is, ur
, less there is an absolute correction O.
any given case with a preceding ore CT
} the disease-all our modern bacteriol-
It is evident that a large rum Der of
scattered foci CT typhoid fever have
somehow come into existence in this
country, ard that it is from these that
the specific germs succeed in firCir g
their way into drinking water or into
milk or other feed materials to cause
) the disease in new subjects. The only
possible cause for this renewed activity
ard widespread distribution must be
some special opportunity for Infection
incurred by many individuals III offer
r ent parts of the country. The ideal OPP
:. porturity for this unfortunate process
!. has evidently occurred in the Philip
pines. Typhoid fever has been ccm-
). monty epidemic there, and during the
|. last two years many hundreds of dis
l. charged soldiers have returned to their
= homes in the smaller towns throughout
the United States, while, probably, still
). the hosts of typhoiS bacilli. 1t i:
s. possible at times that the attack of the
. disease during their campaigning may
have been so slight that in the tropica
climate with the liability to passirs
:, fevers among the unacclimated, the af
\ lection may have been unrecognized.
d 1t is very evident that, to the calcu
lated cost of our new possessions IL
treasure and in soldiers. there must b.
d added the fatal results of these epidem
c, les at home The only possible advan
&c tage to be derived from the present un
fortunate situation is to see that thu
essons of these epidemics shall not b.
q. ost. We are now made sure that tn
n length of time during which GONZALES
D. cent from typhoid fever may continu
"a to be a source of infection for others i
az indeterminate.
n, The fact that typhoid bacilli may re
q. main absolutely latent in the bone mar
'ow for many years after an attack O
=. typhoid fever, and then after the immu
'. atty following the attack has passed Of
again become a source of danger, show
that there is much yet to be learned i
Of his matter.
ct | Another and even more important les
D son is that the government shall tax
special care that returning soldiers ma
not prove sources of infection. 1t woul
seem that soldiers should lot be above
to go directly from foreign countries I
ne their homes, but that their transfer t
IN 1n this country should be made som
II months before their discharge, in orGe
to be sure that the possibilities for tn
conveyance and distribution Of infeC
Is, ton to others should have disappeare
before they return to civic life.
The recent experiences in this countr
N have taught us that war still remains