Omaha daily bee., 1906-09-02
Diphtherla Anti toxin dlStrIbut1nS Citations
IN PepnSylV ami

plished by requiring from physicians o.
mldwlves a certificate setting forth in de
tail the personal and statistical particular
required to make a perfect record of tn
birth. These certificates, signed and regis
tered by the local registrars, are monthly
forwarded to the Central Bureau OF vita
Statistics, at Harrisburg, where they arr
indeXed, classified and bound In the same
manner as death certificates. Ihese Ger
tificates give not only an opportunity FOL
a careful statistical analysis of the sources
from which the population is renewed, bu
also give individuals the opportunity OF
securing at any time a perfect record Of
any individual birth that has occurred ir
the State.
Communicable diseases within the limit
of Incorporated municipalities are reported
direct to the local health authorities, ant
by them in turn reported to the Depart
ment OF Health at the end of each week
In ruri: districts immediate reports are
made by attending physicians direct to thu
Department of Health.
A WIDE TERRITORY.
II may be interesting to note that Pennsyl
vania comprises a land area of a. S95 squar
miles; 30 cities $40 incorporated boroughs
| 81 counties, l,547 townships, with an urbar
population OF 4,447,5S6 and a rural popula
ton of q 436, S02. For the collection of vita
II mas local TeSlslIdES, tdCl
with deputy appointed to act in case oil
absence, illness or disability, in addition t.
81 subregistrars acting in portions of the
registration districts.
1t has been said that Pennsylvania pos
sesses features which provide for a more
interesting study of vital statistics thar
lany other State in the Union, for the
reason that 1t presents the greatest diver,
sity of occupations and that it's popula'
| ton represents the various degrees of con.
centration from the third largest city In
I the United States down to the sparsely
settled rural districts. The campaign
/ waged by Health Commissioner Dixon fol
vaccination in order to check the spread
1 of smallpox has been a most important
work carried on by the new department.
! Last year DIR. Dixon sent a letter "a
each secretary of the $500 school districts
in Pennsylvania asking them to place In
the hands of the teachers or principals in
charge of schools in their districts a cir
cular letter calling the attention of these
principals and teachers to the vaccination
clauses of the act providing that no child
was to be admitted to school until 1t had
presented a certificate signed by physi-
sian stating that the child had been sue
cessfully vaccinated or had previously had
smallpox. A supply of blank vaccination
certificates was sent to each secretary OF
a school district. Since that time the de-
partment has sent out about four hundred
thousand vaccination certificates on re-
quest. This shows that thousands of chill
dren have since been vaccinated and thus
made immune against smallpox.
The departments medical inspectors In
each county have visited schools where
there was opposition to vaccination, I'm.
pressed on the teachers their duty of up.
| holding the law, talked with school direc.
tors and visited in their own homes parent,
who through prejudice were keeping theiI
children from vaccinat on
The Commissioner has received thou.
sands OF letters from teachers. school di.
rectors and parents in regard to the en-,
forcement OF the vaccination law. Every