The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1907-08-25


golden years. Nine tenths of its vic
tins are between twenty-one and forty
years old.
The time is coming when an cpl
demic of typhoid fever will be looked
upon as a disgrace to a civilized COM
munity. Typhoid is always prevent
able. Its occurrence is almost inVari-
ably a proof of gross official careless
ness and neglect.
In Germany, where such things are
managed with unsentimental thorough
ness the disease is almost extinct. In
Berlin, where il once ragged violently,
the death rate per annum has been
reduced TO little more than three per
100, 900 OF population and these are
cases introduced from the coun-
try. In Munich, once a veritable pest
hole. typhoid has disappeared almost
entirely. In the whole of Germany,
rural as we'll as urban, the mortality
has sunk to seven per 100000. But in
the United States. between 1900 and
1904 the rate in thirty-eight registra-
ton cities was 34.S, and in the terri
tory outside the registration area it
was probably nearer fifty.
Typhoid fever is caused by bad
drainage and impure drinking water.
The germ appears in the water
sons is infected. Then these patients
in turn infect a multitude OF others.
The only way to stamp out the NAL
ady is TO make the water supply pure
and to see that those who are i'll are
properly nursed and guarded. and so
do not transmit the infection to others.
All Of this may be difficult of attain
ment. but the experience Of Germany,
Switzerland and Norway has demon
.sraT
supervision, 1t is far from being so in
point Of fact.
The germ of typhoid is a minute or
ganism called the bacillus typhosus.
IT was discovered in 1880 by a German
named Eberth in the small intestinal
blood vessels of a man who had sue
cumbed to the disease. Soon after
ward Koch, the great German biolo-
gist, found it in the other organs of
typhoid victims. In 1884 it was Gull
tivated aTtificially for the first time.
Since then pathologists have learned
a great deal about it.
II is very small. but il has a dozen
long flagellae or feelers: and il is ca
pable of darling about in blood or
water like a water beetle. When the
bacillus typhosus enters the human
body-and ii invariably gets in by the
digestive tract-it makes its way to
the lnIeSIln2S ana mere taxes up us
home in the intestinal walls. Two or
three weeks later the invaded person
loses appetite and begins to have head
aches and pains in the back. A few
days later the patient Is in bed and
helpless: and the chances of never
leaving it again are about fifteen in
a hundred
Typhoid fever is A self-limiting dis
ease. This means that it runs a def
mite course and that medicine can do
little to shorten or modify that course.
During the first week the patients
temperature rises gradually until it
stands at 1913, 104 or los degrees. Then,
for another week. it remains high.
During the third week. if all goes well,
s it begins to decline; and during the
fourth week the patient regains
strength and appetite and is on the
mend.
This is the course of the malady I'M
der favorable conditions. Under I'M
favorable conditions the typhoid germ,
burrOwing into the walls Of the intes-
final tract breaks through into the
abdominal cavity. General peritOnitis
follows. or the high fever, long con-
tinued saps the strength and causes
collapse. In either event the patient
dies.
Years ago there were a hundred So
called cures for typhoid. Modern medi-
cine has rejected all of them, one by
one, as worse than useless. Today the
malady is cOmbatted more by nursing
than by drugs. The patients strength
is kept up by judicial feeding, the
fever is reduced by ice baths, and a
desperate fight is made from the be-
ginning to prevent the fatal intestinal
pcrforation.
All of this treatment is best obtain
able in a good hospital; therefore it is
becoming more and more common 10
send typhoid patients to hospitals In
the home. no matter how great the
effort, it is almost impossible TO make
conditions entirely favorable. The
medicine or appliance needed in an
emergency is not at hand: the doctor
perhaps, has just left, and the nurse
is helpless. In 4 first-class hospital
everything necessary is to be had al
once and expert attendance is unceas-
ing.
Typhoid fever. It should be remem-
bered, is malady of sudden surprises
and alarms. The patient may seem to
he progressing admirably, when, liter
ally without an instant's warning a
crisis will come, and unless the needed
aid is Immediately at hand fatal re-
suit may follow Eternal vigilance. in
deed, is the price of life. An hours
neglect may easily mean death.
Even more important than the cure
of the individual patient. in its bear
ing upon the welfare of the Commun-
ity is the prevention Of further infec-
ton. Persons i'll with typhoid are as
dangerous to those around them as
sufferers from smallpox or yellow
fever. The bacilh of the malady swarm
in the PATIENTS blood and they swarm
too, In the secretions of the body.
Therefore a great effort must be made
TO prevent the latter from coming into
contact with healthy persons.
The vessels from which the typhoid
patient eats and drinks must be ster-
iliZed afteTWard. The bedclothes must
be washed in antiseptics. The dis
charges must be burned. The very
water used to battle him must be
treated with strong germicides before
ii is poured away.
The bacillus typhosus is eXtraorii-
narily tenacious of life. It will live
for three months in water ana for foul
months in milk Extreme cold seems
TO have no effect upon it. for it has
been found alive after 100 days OF
freezing. On fruits and vegeta bles
CASUALLY carried to them by washing il