The San Francisco call., 1909-01-03
WAGE WINNING WAR
ON WHITE PLAGUE
tuberculosis Sanitarium in Bel
GUM Shows Good Results
From Treatment
Consul at Liege Reviews Report
of Work Accomplished by
Big Institution


tuberculosis sanftarium at Bourgou-
mont has Just published a report on the
$ ituatiOn CT that successful Belgian
institution, which the consul reviews;
The report attests the success and
continually increasing prosperity of the
sanitarium, which during 1907 had as
1Qany as $50 patients under treatment.
The number entered in 1907 was con-
sidersaly larger than that Of 1906, be-
ing 266' for the latter period and 302 for
the former, an increase Of Sc patients.
The average daily presence of 1906 was
: 5.S; while in the last year it increased
ID S5-5: The 1o4 special beds in the san
ltarium were all occupied during the
greater part Of the month of August
DQring July and August, as well as
curing a large part Of the months of
June. and September, not one Of the 80
COMMUNAL beds was unoccupied. The
patients entering in 1907 ranged in age
from II 10 81 years, and numbered en-
:3f eyes and workmen from nearly every
-:eNfsttng trade. The number Of patients
,. 1elonging TO regularly organized mu-
bal aid societies continues TO increase
from: year TO year.
EFFECTS OF TREATMENT
ont of $50 patients treated in 1907,
2&6 left during the year, 23O of this
]lu1pber having been submitted to regu-
J al and normal treatment AS re-
shese patients had consumptive parents
that is, 80 had consumptive fathers,
= ! p. cOnsumptive mothers, had both
eonsumptiVe fathers and consumptive
11others. while had consumptive
.tlnvies and aunts. COntagion seems TO
have been decided upon as the cause
. Of tho disease in Sc cases, 8 having
f.: been among married people and sc
.1roIn among brothers and sisters occu-
pIfmg the same house
-. Alcoholism seems to have been q pre-
= dispcsing cause Of consumption in 81
cases. No interior treatment had been
;Tes0rted 10 in the cases Of 6S patients.
among the other patents I05 had re-
:r6iEed medical treatment, had
p -IHc&iy6d hygienic treatment, six had
received tuberculine treatment in hos
pifals and i had received primary
5featnlent at the Bourgoumont sani-
. <IaFium. Aside from the disease Of pull
.mOnary tuberculosis. many of the pa
: rients had curing their sojourn at the
.santtarium suffered from various com
= plizattons.
;IG- conformity with the wish ex-
pressed at the last meeting Of the
International Association for Combat
Jag Tuberculosis, held IN Vienna in
1907. the classification of Turban-Ger-
~hardt was adopted by Dr.. Van Bene-
den in his report. According to that
classification the 23O patients on enter
ing included us in the first stage, 81
III the second stage and z9 in the third
stage. . Six patients were not suffer
Ing from tuberculosis IN a clinical
sense, being cOnTalescents from pleur-
= rsr or sufferers from apkylostomasy,
and generally in bad condition and
strongly predisposed toward tubercu-
-losfs. tuberculosis was located in 100
-cases. in the right lung only, in 81
cases in the left lung only, and in Sc
.cases in. both lungs.
Oh.their arrival l6S patients had the
Koch bacili present in their expectora-
tIOns, a. had. no bacilh, or no expec-
% fotatSon On their departure "A had
-SIils the bacilli- present in their expec-
.rorations In 142 cases no bacilH We're
g. f0uHd after repeated examinations of
rlle expectorations, In IA cases there
. we're no eXpectOrations.
-. Ter patients remained less than three
months. 81 patients remained from 80
10 r20 days. 81 from 121 TO $50 days. S5
from 'l51 TO $50 days, from 1S1
IO.-2l0 days. 13 from 211 to 24O days,
g. from 241 TO 270 days, while 6
patients remained more than 270 days.
Nearly all the patients treated gained
in weight.
. On entering 123 patients were found
20 be In a thoroughly unsatisfactory
:. condition; sc were in a partially sat
:. isfactory condition and were re-
ported as being in a satisfactory con-
dition-' On leaving the sanitarium 10
were declared TO be IN thoroughly
bad condition, Is partially satisfactory
condition, and 200 satisfactory.
RESULTS. OF TREATMENT
The immediate results of the treat
ment Of the 230 patients cared for in
1907 were as follows: In I99 cases
-. treatment proved successful, 122 pa
uents being completely and n partially
. cured; i'm 81 cases treatment did not
prove Successful, 25 Of which remained
stationary. 4 became worse and
died. In 65 per cent Of the cases
treatment proved successful.
Dr Van Beneden has endeavored to
ascertain, where the possibility of doing
. . existed. the condition at the begin
ming Of 1908 of patients who had been
treated in 1903 and 1904 The number
c,f such patients was 226, but 30, it was
claimed. had failed to continue the
. treatment a sufficient length of time
had died in the sanitarium, and
IS could not be found. The remaining
l1e patients were carefully examined
during January and February last, or
-four years following their regular
treatment As a result Of these exam
nations 81 OF the patients were de-
clared worse. while 1l5 were apparent
~ IN good condition and engaged in
their regular work. These statistics
when compared with those of 1907
prove equally reassuring, as in 1908
only ia two cases has the state of the
patient become alarminigly aggravated
In a general way, declares DR.. Van
Beneden. 1t can be asserted that the
effects Of the treatment have proved
durable. Seventy and eight-tenths
per cent OF the patients treated in
1903-19c4 have continued four years
after treatment 10 improve and are in
condition to return to their regular oc-
cUpatiOns. This proportion was 76.6
per cent during the previous year.
showing q decrease Of only about !
per cent during an entire year. The
study Of patients who left the sani-
tafium IN 1905 has given results quite
as satisfactory as shown for 1904. It
is generally conceded that these sta
tistics. tend to demonstrate the fact
that the effects Of the treatment given
al the sanitarium are in the majority of
cases durable where a regular and nor
mai course or treatment has been fol-
lowed.
TOWNSHIPS IN FRANCE
II one were asked TO name the great
eef forrnehfn in France he would most