The Fairmont West Virginian. (Fairmont, W. Va.) 1904-1914, 1907-01-07
TYPHOID Near
INTAKE MOUTH
TYPHOID DRAINAGE AT THE
SOURCE OF WHEELINe,s WAT.
Err suPPLY-oNE REASON WHY
TYPHOID FEVER is AFFLicTiNe
WHEELING.

WHEELING, Ian. Tone reason
why there is an unusually large num-
Der of typhoid cases in Wheeling may
lie in the fact that the city has been
practically Pumping its water supply
direct from typhoid fever drainage.
The situation could hardly have
been worse IL the typhoid germs had
been deliberately dupmed into the
mouth of the intake pipe.
Since last August there have been
several cases of typhoid fever in Love-
land, Warwood and Glennova. The
drainage Of these communities is all
into the river and they are located
Just north of the intake pipe of the
city pumping station. Glennova is
two miles above the intake, warwood
a short distance less and Loveland not
over 200 yards distant. Lovelandfs
sewage strikes the river so close that
that 1t is moi too much to say 1t goes
almost direct into the city reservoir.
With typhoid fever in Loveland the
danger of pollution of the Wheeling
water supply is apparent.
Whose FauIt7
What fault there may be in such a
situation can be charged to the doors
OF the jewellers in these three towns.
The sanitary conditions are quite good
and the number of typhoid cases they
have had is not much above the aver.
age or such as to cause alarm to the
community directly affected. If there
Is any fault 1t is in the Wheeling sys-
TEN which pumps the drainage of
these three villages into the water ba-
sin for the consumption of the citi-
zens of Wheeling. With typhoid drain.
ing so close to the intake 1t would
have been a miracle If there had not
been an increase {. typhoid fever in
Wheeling. Serious epidemics have oc-
Cured in cities more remote than the
possibility the News cites.
OF curse no immediate demedy
can be applied. A new intake can
not be built in n new location over
night, and iltering basins are not to
be constructed with n few strokes of
the pen. The situation simply EN-.
phasizes the importance, in fact the
necessity of boiling all water used
for domestic consumption.
Danger in Milk.
While 1t may have no bearing On the
local situation there Is another source
o: danger against which 1t is well to
maintain eternal v~igilance-the milk
supply. Milk can be the medium
or spreading typhoid fever by reason
of there being a member of the milk
mans family afflicted with the dis
ease. A striking case in point is noted
in the December "Ohio Sanitary Bull
letin." ISSUED by the Ohio board of
health. An Investigation was made of
a typhoid outbreak at Kenton, Ohio.
Analysis showed the water probably
blameless. The fact that the disease
was most prevalent among children,
when normally young adults are most
generally affected, led to an investi.
cation OF the milk supply. Nine deal.
ers were Investigated. 1t was found
that there we're no typhoid fever cases
in the families served by five of the
dealers, and but a small percentage in
those served by three others. But in
the case of the ninth dealer rs per
cent. of the typhoid was found in fam
lies taking milk from him. 1t was
further found that this dealer pur.
chased one-fourth of his wilk supply
from another man and that there were
no typhoid cases among the families
using the bought milk.
Source Of %contasion.
Pursuing the investigation further,
1t was found that this milk dealer had
taken sick with Uphold fever and died
a few days later. His son was also
afflicted, while his two daughters
were i'll a short time previously from
a malarial form OF trouble believed
to have been n mild form of typhoid.
The fact that three-fourths Of the
cases in the epidemic were in famil-
les supplied by this dealer who handl-
ed only Is per cent. of the milk sup
ply of the city certainly justifes the
belief that in his dairy lay the cause
OF the epidemic. Milkmen who have
members of the household afflicted
shoald see to it that typhoid and dairy
are rigidly separate, n it would not
be improper for customers to make in.
uqiry on this point.
Two hundred cases of typhoid fever
in Wheeling is said by physicians not
to be an exaggeration. The number
of hospital cases will reach GO, and 1t
is safe to say that he 20 physicians in
the city will average two cases each.