Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1907-01-07
CAUSES OF TYPHOID
COMMISSIONERS AWAITING RE-
PORT OF SURG. GEN. wYMAN.
Statements by Mr.. Mcfarland and
Health Officer Woodward-Furthe
Light on Situation.

AS result of the article published in
The Star yesterday relative to the report
to the Commissioners by Secretary Wilson
of the Department of Agriculture upon the
meteorological examinations of milk and
the expected report of Surg. Gen. Wyman
of the public health and marine hospital
service upon the findings OF his bacteriolo-
gists in reference to the causes of typhoid
fever in the District and the possible rem.
edies Commissioner Mcfarland made the
following statement today:
1.-The Commissioners are awaiting the
port Of the public health and marine hos
pital service, under the investigation which
they asked in June last upon all the causes
OF typhoid fever in the District. and the
possible remedies therefor. before making
any statement on the subject That in
veStigation has been most exhaustive and
the report will doubtless cover the ground
completely and be of great value as indi-
eating what should be done. Meantime,
when they learned that the report Of the
public health and marine hospital service
could not be made before Congress met.
the Commissioners asked the Secretary OF
Agriculture to have his psychologists
make examinations of milk, SO that they
might have some data with which to press
their recommendations for a archaeological
laboratory for the health department., .ad
ment and additional legislation for the i'm
provement of the milk supply before Con-
gress.
Necessarily Limited.
'"rhe data from the Agricultural Depart
meur were necessarily limited to such ex-
aminatons as could be made. and did not
give complete account of the typhoid
fever situation. such as Is to be expected
from the report of Surg. Gen. Wyman, but
the facts were used by the Commissioners
in presenting to Congress the necessity for
additional legislation and appropriations.
DIV don
and hope for good results from 1t.
The Commissioners will not make known
Secretary Wilson's report until they have
heard from Gen. Wyman. Both reports,
ward. health officer. as being Of an ex-
ceptionally important and valuable char
acter in the fight against typhoid In the
District.
Drastic Measure Imperative.
That some drastic measure for the remedy
of this situation is imperative is explained
in a statement the health officer made to-
day. as follows:
1.-THE number of cases of typhoid fever
reported to the health department during
the calendar year 1906 was lisp. Investi-
cations made by the health department
show that 129. or II per cent. We're prob
ably contracted outside of the District OF
Columbia; forty-eight, or 4 per cent, were
probably contracted by direct contact with
other cases; fifty-nine, or . per cent, were
apparently contracted from milk. with
respect to the remaining cases, 1t has been,
in some instances. impossible to obtain
definite information to the history of
the patient prior to the onset of the illness.
Most of them have. however. been carefully
investigated without disclosing satisfactory
evidence to show the sources from which
the disease was contracted. 1t Is with
respect to this class of cases that opinions
seem to differ widely as to origin.
The health department Is unable, from
10 inflammation hand. to form to
express definite opinion of this subject,
and is waiting for the report of the public
health and marine hospital service to throw
further light on the situation.