The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1910-08-04
PUBLICITY AN AGENT
TO STOP INFECTIONS
Value Of Letting the Public Know About
Contagious Disease Shown to Yer
mont Health omeers.

Perhaps one Of the best papers pre-
sented before the Vermont health officers
school, which closed at Montpelier To-
day was that Of DR.. S Dane Hubbard,
chief Of infectious disease department in
Brooklyn, n. y, yesterday lie said
that while conditions were perhaps diff
fercnt in Vermont than in Brooklyn,
yet the general treatment Of comuni-
cable disease -that was his subject
must be along similar lines.
eve find the most trouble in our
campaign against infections disease
among the poor and ignorant. The best
efforts must be exeftel that bodies may
resist diseaee. II Is the chief duty o.
health officers TO prevent mob q cure,
disease. and TO reduce the III effects
Of maladies. The public must cooperate
and the erroneous impression that M
fections disease are inevitable must be
eradieated by system Of popular edn-
cation The passage Of laws seems TO
many the easiest way but il IS IN real
ity the last resort OF the samitanan.
Instead OF saying: There ought TO be. q
law. his first question Is WIN the peo-
pie favor measures which eurtail certain
OF their privileges and restrict them n
partg and the answer i usually neg
ative. When the masses are subjected
TO inconvenience in their best interests
they are prone to look upon the meas.
ure a. unwarrantable interference and
to make the path OF the health officer
difficult one.
aThe public, under various education
al Influences, maintains higher stand
ards than ever before In the battle
for the conservation Of human health,
the light Of the discoveries Of men Of
scienee shines into the wilderness of
doubt and ignorance and fear and the
question is shall We apply these meth
DDS such rs We have or wait Tor simpler
moasuresg To wait means loss Of prec-
/ ious lives and we must use what we
Z have IN the best way we can il we are
to save human lives.
Publicity is one Of the most force
I ful weapons at our hand. The keep
i Il quiet slogan Is harmful. a success
I full campaign against disease IN given
community educates the public 81 that
vicinity as can nothing else. The gem
eral public i woefully ignorant IN many
( things. We must launch out course
Of elementary education.
"Ihe health officer should enforce his
rules without fear OF favor. Fexibility
+ 4 TO be dcpiored. Rich and poor are
re.ated by ties OF illness more closely
than we imagine and there can be no
favor"
Quarantine must not be broken. Of
disrerarded or removed too early. The
4 health officer is liable to meet opposi.
4 tion If he IS right and erticiFm il he
i wrong. but this must not deter him
/ from strict adherence to the most care.
/ FIJI IL thods A famous physician used
to tel his pupils Make your diagnosis
with your own brain
I This paper was followed hy dis
cnksion among the medical men. lf
He. $. Cayerly OF Rutland delivered {
short address to the point Of the Heees
sity of correct diagnosis aud the fnsility
Of the hush up policy as regard IN
fictitious diseases in city. While q
did not believe the health officer has
"a right to make public the names @
4 those ia trouble, he did believe in ~
wisdom and duty Of stating pubheis
4 the number OF cases in 4 city and a.'
condition day BY day in case Of epidem
ic. Otherwise, wild rumors are atloai
and much more harm IS done than by /
frank statement by those in authority
This kind OF publicity that keeps ths
public informed Is to be sought anS
made good use of.
Il Many walking cases. Of disease, thai
Is, eases when patients are not ill enousf
TO be in bed. are the most prolific sources
Of disease spreading People are JUS
beginning to learn that il Is possible
III certain cases to have scarlet fever
diphtheria. etc, and not be sick. II
laid special stress upon disinfeetion q
excfeta. especially in typhoid cases, o.
the danger Of the house fly as car
rier Of disease, on the necessity Of keep
ing infected cases in the smallest spaei
possible. however, hard to manage thi
lchid or adult, in order that fulnigatiol
might be more complete since il is muci
more difficult to funfigate a house thai
a single room or couple Of rooms
WhOoping cough and measles are gigan
tic problems and the child with a cougl
should never be allowed in the schoo
room. II have impressed this upol
teachers whenever have talked Wit
them" said DR.. Cayerfy, and it shoul.
be recognized by parent and physical
as the cough Il the first symptom whicl
may be detected
4 At yesterday afternoons session tn
health officers unanimously adopted
resolution commencing the proposed ere
alton BY Congress Of national depart
lnent Of public health The resolution
was introduced BY H. i. Stillson Of Ben
nington. H. !. Thompson, food chemis
Of the state board, gave demonstra
ton OF foods, last night. Hon. A. Z
Melvin. chief Of the bureau of anima
industries in Washington, D. G., CAV
an illustrated lecture on Meat Inspec
tion." The convention closed to-da.
With discussion Of the legal points 0
health work.
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WAS NATIVE OF BARRE.