The Brattleboro reformer. (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1907-1912, 1907-04-12
TUBERCULOSIS IN INFANTS.
DR.. John Lovett Morse Lectures on
Protection of Children from Infection.

The Protection of Infants and Young
Children from tuberculosis Infection was
the topic on which DIR. John Lovett
Morse recently lectured at the Harvard
Medical school. The doctor said in part;
Large series of autopsles IN, children
under Is years OF age show tuberculosis
in from % to IS per cent. tuberculosis
is very rarely found in the first three
months. increases rapidly in frequency
during the rest of the first year, and
steadily up to five years, after which the
increase is slower, the percentage from
this time on varying between 80 per cent
and rs per cent. The most reliable data
show frequency of tuberculosis varying
between 10 per cent. in Boston and "A
per cent. in Prague. ,u
During infancy and early Childhood
when the mortality of tuberculosis Is
greatest, the child rarely leaves its home
Later, when the child plays out more
and goes to school, the mortality dlmln-
ishes, showing that the danger OF con
tagion is greater at home than abroad
While direct heredity practically never
occurs, and although the children OF the
tuberculous if removed from their pa
rents at birth do nearly as well as the
children of the Neutrality-suspicious., 1t seems
safe to assume that a predisDosltlon, or
better a diminished resistance, to tuber'
culosis is inherited.
Theoretically, marriage should be i0r-
hidden to the tuberculous, but practically
this is impossible. 1t should be per
mitted however, only to those, IN whom
the disease has been quiescent for several
wears. and who have good constitution
and a good family history. An increased
susceptibility to tuberculosis is very cas-
ily acquired as the result of improper
food bad hygienic surroundings and lack
of air and sunlight. Every new park,
every new playground, every improved
tenement, every vacation IN the summer
aids in the fight against tuberculosis; al
Measles and whooping cough should
be avoided and if contracted, the chill
dren should be protected even more care
fully than is usual against contaglon' not
only during the illness but also during
the convalescence In school there should
be inspection of teachers as well as OF
children. Contagion in the vast major
itv of cases occurs through sputum. 4 he
role played by infection from animals Is
undoubtedly Insignificant IN comparison
with that from the consumptlve man, but
it is important enough so that 1t would
be contrary to all wisdom to relax IN any
way the laws formulated or the precau-
tions now taken against bovine tubercu-
losis. ,.N,.
Farmers resist the application of the
tuberculin test, but this is an entirely
wrong point of view. If farmer sells tu-
bercuiosis milk from which a child dies,
he is. if not responsible for murder, Ger.
tainly an accessory before the fact, and
instead of being compensated for cows
that have to be killed, he ought to be
fined heavily for having such cows.
"Sputum is dangerous when either moist
or dry. 1t is more dangerous indoors
than out of doors, where the bacilli soon
die. Tubercle bacilli are most numerous
in the dust of the dwellings of the tu..
berculous and especially in the dust of
the floors. Older infants and children
may get the dust and dirt on their hands
and put their hands in their mouths or
on their food. Preisich and Schultz found
tubercle bacilli in the dirt under the nails
tween months and 2 years. Iubercle
bacilli may also be carried in the fine
liquid particles projected during cough,
loud talking and sneezing. The droplets
NAV be thrown as far as yard.
ut is comparatively easy to guard the
child against contagion when there is no
consumptive in the family. The child
must take only pure or pasteurized milk.
1t must not be taken to visit consumptlves
or have them visit it. 1t must not be
kissed. 1t must not be allowed to play
where people are allowed to spit better
than this, all expectoration in public
places should be prohibited.
at is extremely difficult to guard the
child against contagion when there. is a
consumptive in the family. This is es-
pecially true among the poorer classes
where overcrowding is the rule, and where
all or most of the causes which increase |
the child's susceptibility are active. The
first principle in the treatment OF these
cases is to get the patient out of the
house if possible. A tuberculous, servant
or nurse should be discharged. A parent
or other member of the immediate family
should leave if possible.
'1n order to avoid direct contagion the
patient and the children should be kept
apart as much as possible. They should
not sleep in the same room and certainly
never in the same bed Kissing must be
prohibited. The patient must not cough,
talk loudly, or sneeze nearer than three
feet from the children. The children
should be kept off of the floor and out
of doors as much as possible. The rooms
must be cleaned by wiping with a moist
cloth and not by sweeping and busting.
They must be aired and summed as much 4
as possible"