Little Falls herald. [volume] (Little Falls, Morrison County, Minn.) 1889-1950, 1907-08-23
new METHODS BETTER.
State Board Of Health Sec
rotary Discusses Pre-
ventive Medicine

disease, sald Dr. =. NJ. bfac1en'
of the state board of health
in an address before the State Medical
Society at Duluth last week. 1t is
an evidence of helplessness. often OF
ignorance. As soon as the true cause
of any disease 10 recognized, attention
is dire cted rather to its prevention in
the first instance than to its sup:
preston, after it appears by means OF
a separation through quarantine OF the
infected from the uninfected.
Another disease from which
quarantine can safely be withdrawn
il smallpox. We do no: know how
this disease is transferred from one
person to another, and In this re-
spe:t there is q difference between
yellow fever and smallpox. But W.
have in vaccination as thorough q
means for the control of smallpox as
we have in the destruction OF
mosquitoes for the control of yellow
fever. In neither of these diseases
have We as yet convincing evidence as
to their true nature but We know no"
10 prevent infection in both instances.
With such knowledge quarantine is no
longer necessary for either disease.
To make quarantine effective all
diseased individuals must be separ'
ate from healthy individuals. Inc
only practical method by which this
can be carried out is through the isola'
tion hospital. It is only the larger
cities that are supplied with such
institutions. As q consequence the
smaller cities, villages and country
districts are without any place IN
which to carry on reasona pie
quarantine. Even in the cities
provided with Isolation hospitals the
quarantine is rarely perfect, for in
dealing with all quarantinable dis:
eases there is certain percentage OF
mild or unrecognized cases which do
not come under quarantine req ula:
tions, and these are as capable ct
spreading disease as are the more
severe and easily recognized cases
which are tranfeIred to the isolation
hospitals.
"Again, a person who is we'll TODAY
may show evidence Of disease to-
morrow. Urder quarantine regula'
tions such an individual would receive
no notice today and being left with
the uninfected until tomorrow. might
thus spread the disease whic:, has just
made it's appearance Because of this
condition Of affairs the process of
eliminating the infected from the un-
infected may have to be repea' ed
many times in large families, lodging
houses, public Institutions, etc. be.
tore the final separation of the two is
complete.
again, with most il not all of the
| quarantinabls diseases there are Ger.
tain mild cases which are over looked
BY the, sanitary authorities concealed
by selfish relatives or friends, anG
these cases are ever new sources o.
infection. 1t IS easy to recognize thu
Typical cases in desling with AM
disease. It is as easy to pass by tn,
typical cases. and thus spread infee
ton in spite OF the most rigii
quarantine Of the typical cases.
''1mmupity is ever thwartin(
quarantine This is we'll illustrate;
in the case of diphtheria. We know
that many healthy individuals carr!
the germs of this disease in nose O
throat or both. We quarantine rig
idly the clinical cases Of diphtheria
but rarely restrain the non clinical
but nevertheless dangerous carrier
of the germ.
Still another group of q7arantin
evaders are these individuals, VII
having had an infectious disease an
apparently having recovered. are ST.
the host for the infection. In spite {
this fact. all evidence of diseas
having disappeared, these patients ar
released from quarantine and thu
spread infection to others.
This has been thoroughly demon
strated in dealing with diptherls
scarlet fever, typhoid fever, etc. III
new cases arising from such infectio
are known as return cases.. A
excellent illustration of such intectio
was recently given by an Easter
physician who reported tho case of ,