Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1905-08-27
TYPHOID FEVER RECORD
ANALYSIS OF SITUATION BY THE
DISTRICT OFFICIALS.
Maximum of 1904 Nearly Reached,
With September Still to Be
Reckoned.

With the closing OF the health off'ce res
ords for another W Elk last night, and the
consequent passing OF another marking
point I'm the prevailing outbreak of typhoid
fever. comes the casting up of facts ana
figures and the attendant analysis of the
situation. Every District official concerned
for the public health is putting forth every
effort to bring the fever under control
one of the best evidences of this being :he
herculean efforts TO bring the filtration
plant into play In advance of the original
date set for its completion.
The accomplishment browning this eff
fort was Witnessed early in the week just
ended, when filter bed No. began pouring
its 100000 gallons of germ-free water
Into the city's daily supply. More rapidly
even than could be anticipated by the en-
gineers in charge has the work at the Ultra
ton plant gone forward and the closing
OF the week yesterday brought the report
to Commissioner mcfarland that the fifsh
bed had been placed In commission and
that the daily supply OF water to the city
was now composed OF about 100000 gal
Ions of pure water and 100000 gallons of
raw Potomac.
This state of affairs. marking as 1t does
The diminution of danger from typhoid ana
other germs In the ratio of nearly % per
cent, Is regarded as very encouraging, and
the authorities are looking FORWARD Optl-
mistically to the time, two weeks hence,
when the good effects of this publication
or part of the water supply should be-
come manifest In a diminution of the ty-
phod fever cases.
Period of Incubation.
AS the health Office officials have repeat
edly stated. however typhoid germs in the
human system do not incubate under three
weeks after they have found vulnerable
nOint In the N
the general public has taken warning from
the repeated inJunctions to boil all drink
Ing water and to observe other necessary
precautions against infection. no one IS
wise enough to prophesy what the next
fortnight or more may bring forth.
The past week. while 1t might be taken
IN a general way to show some encourage
ing features, because the fever did not
claim as many victims in either of the
two previous weeks. was still very far
from offering substantial evidence that the
maximum of the present outbreak has pass
ed. From Sunday morning until Saturday
night there were reported altogether sixty
four new cases of typhoid fever, as against
ninty-ffve during the previous week and
seventy-nine during the week ended August
IL. On one or two days, It is true. the
number of cases under treatment, which Is
the surest standard to guage the severity
Of the outbreak, fell off slightly. but the
Improvement In the situation never lasted
over twenty-four hours.
AS stated in yesterdays Star. the maxi
mum of the epidemic of 1901 which regis
tered as many as 29S patients under treat
ment at one time, has already been almost
reached-and the maximum last year did
not come until late In September. The city
must still face that month this year. which
has always been the worst from typhoid
fever standpoint.
Process of Development.
Day by day last week the typhoid fever
situation developed as follows: Sunday. no
~.
Wednesday. 13; Thursday 4: Friday Is;
Saturday. q. Total. 64 During the same
time there We're five deaths and thirty
recoveries. Total cases reported since July
1, 4O5. Since January l. 566.
One development of the past week was
an effort TO show that the present
outbreak of typhoid being grossly ex-
aggerated. and that many of the cases on
the health office records were not typhoid
fever at all. but some milder form of fever.
The series of statements to this end was
deprecated by the authorities because of the
tendency II might exert to have the general
public relax in their precautions against in
lection from drinking water and other
sources.
Authenticity of the Records.
As to the authenticity of the health Of
fee records the officials having that por-
tion of the District business under immedi-
ate control summarize the situation by the
statement that they did not diagnose
cases." and that any criticism of the cor
rectness of the record by physicians of the
city was therefore not a criticism OF the
health Office but of the practitioners VINO
seemed to have under their care the great
er number OF such cases.
One argument regarded as conclusive was
advanced by DR.. Woodward, the health ofl-
Ger. to show the severity or the oisedss
when from the records he figured that OF
the 49, cases reported during July. % have
died. so recovered and 81 are still under
treatment with the result In some cases
still In doubt.
During the corresponding week last year
sixty-eight new cases of typhoid were re-
norted to the health officer. and a year ago
Yesterday there were 10 patients uhoer
treatment.