The Bennington evening banner. (Bennington, Vt.) 19??-1961, 1909-09-27
TUBERCULOSIS NOTES


In the prisons OF Bengal, India, tn
bereulOsis kills about two prisoners
in every one hundred.
Consumption is a common disease
among plants and flowers, being most
frequent in house plants.
The death rate from tuberculosis
among tne Chinese residents of the
United States is 65S 5 and among the
Japanese 239 per 10000 living, while
among the white population Of the
country the rate is l79.
According to United States consu-
lar reports, tne tuberculosis death
rate is twice as large in Syria and
Turkey as il is in the United States.
There is only one special hospital for
this disease in the entire Ottoman
\ Empire.
National Anti-Tuberculosis associa-
lions have recently been formed in
Russia and Greece. Similar organi-
cations are now i'm existence in the
Unied States, England, Germany, Swe.
den, Switzerland, Hungary, Italy and
France.
tuberculosis among the insane is
very prevalent. TIE lowest estimates
show that 5 per cent of all the In
mates of hospitals for the insane in
the United States have tuberculosis.
while in some cases the rate is over
20 per cent,
Improper breathing is a frequent
cause of consumption. A large ma
jority of people are too lazy or too ig-
norant to breath deep and hence the
lungs are developed only to part Of
their capacity, and thus afford fertile
field for the growth OF the tubercu
losis germ.
Statistics published by the Imperial
Gazette show that in recent years
there has been a steady decrease in
the number of deaths in Germany
from tuberculosis. and especially from
tuberculosis of the lungs. In Urban
centers the death rate per 100000 fell
from 226.6 in 1903 to 1925 in 1908.
Letters and mail bags are frequent
carriers of tuberculosis. According
to testimony recently given before
the Postal commissioner of the Brit
ish Empire, during the last 20 years,
80 per cent of the deaths among let
ter sorters had been due to consump-
ton, contracted by the men after they
had entered the service.
y For 1000 active troops in the armies
of tae great world powers. the follow
ing figures show the percentage OF
cases of pulmonary tuberculosis; Uni
ted States, 4.72; Great Britain and
colonies, "a: France, SO; Germany.
is; Austria. 10. and Russia, 81. The
percentage in the general population
is much larger.
DIR. Bertillon, the eminent French
vital statistician, has shown that tu-
berculosis is twice as prevalent
among the retail liquor dealers of
France as among other shopkeepers.
He attributes it to the fact that the
alcohol which they handle and use all
day long weakens their bodies and
thus renders them more susceptible
to the disease germ.
That poverty is friend to consump
ton is demonstrated by some recent
German statistics, which show that OF
10000 we'll to do persons, 40 annually
die of consumption; of the same num-
Der only moderately well to do, g.
of the same number, really poor, az
and of paupers, 81. According to
John Burns the famous English labor
leader, sc per cent of the consump-
tives in London receive charitable re-
lief in their homes.
u, hof
the first-born cnildren of a marriage
are more likely to fall victims to con.
sumption than the latter-born off
spring has been freshly tested by
prof. Wander Velden of Frankfort,
from material furnished by Prof Rit-
tell OF Karlsruhe, who shows from an
investigation of $500 families that in
normal families the fourth, fifth and
sixth children are more liable To dit
of tuberculosis. than are the first,
second and third.
In Germany there are 80 public san
atoria for adult consumptives with
1859 beds, besides SO private sana-
toria with 2,175 beds. In is sanatoria
for children WITH tuberculosis there
are S37 beds, a total of less than 49,
600 beds In the United States there
are over 300 sahatoria with over 49,
600 beds, showing that this country
is in the lead in the Anti-Tuberculo-
sis war. France has only II sanatoria
for adult consumptives, with total
capacity of 14S beds. All of these in
situations are private except the san
atorium at Agincourt.
The United States government OPP
crates three tuberculosis sanatoriums
one for soldiers and officers of the
regular army at Fort Bayard, n. NJ,
one for seamen in the merchant mar
inc, and others employed in coast ser
vice in the government, not in the
navy, located at Fort Stanton, n. NJ.
and one for officers and enlisted men
in the navy at Las Animas, Col. The
first hospital is conducted by the de
partment of war; the second by the
United States Public Health and Mar
| inc Hospital Service and the latter by
| the Navy Department.
DYSPEPSIA ON THE DECLINE