Shepherdstown register. [volume] (Shepherdstown, Va. [W. Va.]) 1849-1955, 1911-10-05
To Prevent Typhoid Fever.

| IenQeQ 10 IOSuS lIlClSot III lillo oSStiO"
upon the new process of incubation fol
the prevention OF this dreadful disease.
Mal-Gen. Leonard Wood, Chief of the
General Staff of the U. S. Army, on Aug
% issued orders requiring every officer
and enlisted man in the army under Al
years of age who has not had typhoid
fever and who has not been immunized
against il to be inoculated.
Until the issuance of this order officers
and men of the army were not compelled
to submit to inoculation against typhoid.
The higher officers of the service con-
tented themselves with urging them to
become immunized, but il was optional.
Comparisons have been made between
the maneuver camp at San Antonio, Tex
as, and the camp most nearly like it dur
ing the Spanish-American War OF Is
years ago. The medical records OF the
two camps present striking contrast.
The Spanish War camp was that OF the
second division of the Seventh Army
Corps, under command of the late Gen.
Fitzhugh Lee, which was stationed in
Florida just before it was sent to Cuba.
There were 10, 759 men in that camp. II
was in the same latitude as the recent
maneuver camp; they were in camp
about the same length of time; each had
good camp site, with supply of ar
tesian we'll water of perfect purity. In
Lee Camp, which was one OF the best
in the Spanish American War, there
were 2,693 cases of typhoid, with 24S
deaths from typhoid and 3Sl deaths from
all causes.
In the recent four months camp OF the
regular army at San Antonio there were
12,801 men, or over 1000 more than were
in the Lee Camp, and the medical records
recently received here show that there
was only one typhoid case, with no deaths
from typhoid and only II deaths all told
from all other diseases. This one case
of typhoid was that OF a man who had
not been completely immunized.
This remarkable showing in favor OF
the recent camp is due TO the fact that
every man sent to the front in the recent
Mexican mobilization had to submit to
compulsory incubation against typhoid
fever.
Baltimore medical scientists, particu-
larly the interesting group of men at
Johns Hopkins University, have been
deeply interested in the use OF the anti
typhoid serum in the army from the start.
The discoverer of the inoculating me-
dunn, or prophylactic, was DR.. Almroth
Wright, of the British Army, who used 1t
with some success on the Indian Army
troops prior 10 the outbreak of the Boer
War. II had not, however, been devel-
oped to satisfactory point for use gen.
orally on troops in that war and the in
oculation was stopped.
After the war DR.. Wright continued his
experiments and began using it with re-
markable success in India. This attracted
the attention of former Surgeon-General
O'Reilly, Colonel Kean and other officers
of the Medica! Corps of the army, who
took it up few years ago.
President Roosevelt became interested
and in December, 1908, the Medical
Corps OF the army called together board
composed of DR.. William S. Thayer, OF
John Hopkins, Baltimore; Prof. William
T. Councilman, OF Harvard; DR.. Alexan-
der Lambert, OF New York; DR.. Simon
Flexner, of the Rockefeller Institute OF
Medical Research of New York; DR..
John H. Musser, of Philadelphia, and
DR.. Victor c. Vaughn, of Ann Arbor.
Capt. F. F. Russell OF the Medical
Corps, was recorder Of the board and tor-
mer Surgeon-General O'Reilly was its
chairman.
They studied the prophylactic, or cul-
ture, and its effect carefully and advised
that il be introduced into the American
army as voluntary measure in time ol
peace, and that the antitYphoid inocula-
ton be made compulsory in the army in
case of war or whenever troops should
take the field.
This persuaded the Medical Corps to
take it up and under voluntary inocula-
ton some 1900 men were treated before
the troops were sent to the Mexican bor-
der.
Surgeon-General Torney then issued
an order requiring that all officers anc
men in the maneuver camps be inocu-
lated.
Last May at dinner at the Philadel'
phia Medical Club President Taft urgee
the medical profession to take up the sub
iect generally and on June orders wer'
issued requiring every recruit entering
the army to be inoculated againsttyphold
Now General Wood, Chief of Staff, or
ders every man in the army under % Il
take the treatment.
Colonel Kean, of the Medical Corps
SAYS that the inoculation process is yer,
easy. The prophylactic, or culture, l
prepared in Washington at the Arm.
Medical School under the personal su
peryision of Col. F. F. Russell.
"The site of the puncture," said Col
onel Kean, "is usually the outer side c
the left arm and is sponged off with al
cohoI and a small area OF the arm is the
sterilized with tincture Of iodin. The in
lection OF the prophylactic is made with