The Hawaiian star. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu]) 1893-1912, 1911-09-14

oudary case occur-sufIicient proof of
the vigilance and prompt precautions
taken by the attending physicians and
health officers.
Epidemcs Not Feared Now.
A record of this sort would appear
to justify the statement made by Dr.
Doty when he said:
There is no disease now known
with which modern medical science
and sanitation cannot successfully
deal. There may he sporadic cases of
cholera in the future in this country
as long as there remain so many in
fected areas in the world, but there is
not the slightest danger of a serious
epidemic while our health and quaran-
tine departments remain in their pres,
ent efficient condition"
Doesn't Spread Quickly.
Contrary to long existing belief"
said DR.. Doty, cholera does not
spread swiftly in the absence of gen.
eral Infection; and general infection,
either on vessel or on land, should
properly be considered a serious re-
Election on the physician or health Of
ficer in charge of the sanitation of
ship or district. The number of deaths
in the cholera epidemic of 1882 in
Naples frequently rose as high as one
thousand a day; but during the recent
outbreak the daily mortality has
never exceeded twenty-five. There are
Just two reasons for this great i'm
provement. Naples now has a reason
ably pure supply of water, and the reg
ulations of modern sanitation are now
properly enforced. 1t is perfectly safe
to say that the means now used to
combat typhoid fever in this country
would prove quite as efficient against
cholera.
In view of what is now known in
regard to cholera carriers and mild
and irregular types of the disease, and
the possibility of infected persons thus
entering communities without warn
ing, health officers throughout the
country should be prepared to detect
and promptly isolate cases of cholera
at any moment. Death certificates Civ
ing the cause of death as gastro-en-
teritis or intestinal trouble of any sort
should be carefully Investigated and
archaeological examinations made. In
the absence of general infection, with
these precautions reasonably carried
out, there is practically no chance of a
serious outbreak of cholera occurring
anywhere in this country"
The Two Dangerous Diseases.
DR.. Doty believes that there are
only two infectious diseases now
known which are a serious menace to
civilized communities and require con.
slant vigilance on the part of quaran,
tine officers. These, he says, are chol
era and the plague, pneumonia and bu,
bonic. They are always present in a
greater or less degree in Asia, and sub
sidiary epidemics are continually find,
ing their way along the trade channels
of the world to other continents.
Clean Up the East.
THE only way we could definitely
eradicate cholera or plague" said DR..
Doty, would be to go into the East
and stamp out the sources of infec.
ton just as we would here. And that
is practically impossible on account OF
religious and political conditions and
the resistance of most Of the Eastern
peoples to modern methods of santa
ton. The great Mohammedan pilgrim
ages to Mecca are one of the greatest
and most constant causes of wide
spread infection. But all that is lit
tie wide of my job" he added, with a
smile.