The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1910-11-30
WILL vACC|NATE
ALL HOW|TzERS
New Plan to Protect Artillery
men From Typhoid Fever
by Injection.
BEGIN TREATMENT TUESDAY
Records Show That Virus Pre-
vents Disease Without In
jury to Subject.

Vaccination against typhoid fever
Will be administered next Tuesday
night to all the members of the Rich
mond Howitzers, according to the plans
of the surgeon, DR.. +. *. Travers War
rick. In this respect the command is
In line with the practice of modern
nations in handling their troops.
1t Is regarded as probable that with
| In short time the other militia COM
mands in Richmond will be treated in
the same way, and that before long
all the companies and batteries in the
State will have been vaccinated. The
treatment is entirely voluntary, al
though next year 1t Will be made COM
pulsory in the United States Army, ac-
cording to expectations. 1t is not be-
lieved that any militiaman will object
| to the vaccination.
Growth in Efficacy.
Within recent years experiments
with the treatment have been going on
In armies on large scale. Portions
of regiments would be vaccinated and
| other portions left unvaccinated, and
exposures to diseases were made uni
form At first the treatment was crude,
and although from the beginning the
number OF cases was reduced. there
were still some cases. In the British
army some of those vaccinated suf-
! fered from typhoid, while there were
no deaths among those who had taken
the treatment as against large per-
centage of deaths among the others.
In more recent years the method has
been perfected until 1t has reached the
point where 1t is considered by DR..
| Warrick as an absolute preventive.
After undergoing the treatment the
man may eat or drink anything, so far
as typhoid Is concerned, with perfect
| impunity. The value of this In militia
camps will be readily understood, for
not only are these great spreaders of
disease, but the men who return home
carry the germs,
In civil practice 1t appears, the sys-
TEN has not yet been fully presented to
| most physicians. DR.. Warrick believes
1t to be matter of a short time until
all physicians will administer the virus.
Striking Result.
| At the joint encampment at Gettys-
burg last July there was an ambulance
corps, which was marched up from
Fort Myer. on the return trip all the
men. 1872 in number drank of spring
which was afterwards found to be con-
taninated with typhoid. The men were
segregated on their return TO Fort
Myer and watched. or the 1876 men
a single case of typhoio, while of the
other twenty-four men there were six
cases, or 20 per cent. Had the same
percentage kept UP among those vac
cinated, who were equally exposed, the
cases would have numbered thirty
| four. There was none.
The treatment itself is simple. The
physician merely administers an injec-
ton of virus in the arm, consisting of
| 100000 dead germs. The person vac
cinated experiences slight rise in tenn
| perature, lasting for six or eight hours,
which he would not notice unless he
were looking for 1t. As a matter of
fact, he has very mild typhoid fever for
six hours. The point of vaccination
swells slightly during this time and
remains sore for two days. There is
no scar. No i'll effects whatever are
| felt.
The supply of germs all came from
the spleen of man who died from
typhoid sixteen years ago. They are
scientifically propagated and are con-
tinually tested for their strengtlF Be-
fore preparation for injection they are
1 killed bv heat.