The Yakima herald. [volume] (North Yakima, W.T. [Wash.]) 1889-1914, 1911-05-31
COOPERATION
FOR HEALTH


CONTINUED from first page)
citic Power & Light company will be
required to have daily tests of its
water by the scientist and pay the
cost of these tests. While the work
will be done largely on the guarantee
of the local authorities. an effort will
be made to interest the incorporated
towns at the lower end of the valley
and have them carry the cost of any
work done within their borders.
DIR. Heg Sums up situation
After reviewing the local situation
from 1889, when he came here to
practice medicine, DR.. Heg said:
There are numerous causes for
the typhoid fever in the Yakima val
ley which makes the problem a diff
hcult one. In some places it is pos
sible, by short investigation, to fix
upon the one thing that is responsible
and to remedy that. In North Yak
ina it has never been proven that the
water supply caused case of ty-
phoid. | do not say that it never has.
All l mean to state is that it has
never been shown 1rrevocapry tnat
the water was the cause of a single
case.
Not Shown in Water
"Bacterological tests never showed
the water to contain the typhoid
germs. That is no proof that the
germs have never been there, how
ever, for the meteorological tests
have never been taken in such a
manner as to give A thorough guard.
| act hc
offered to make meteorological tests
of the water here if the Pacific Power
& Light Co would have one of its
men take the samples if water ac-
cording to instructions that we would
give, and send them to us. 1t was
done for about month and then we
did not receive any more samples of
water. The state board of health
communicated with Mr.. Arrowsmith,
but failed to get the company to re-
new its work of sending samples of
the water.
No MaIarial Fever
"Since typhoid first appeared in the
Yakima valley. 90 years ago, there
have been two theories on which it
was explained For many years it was
denied that it was typhoid fever 1t
was maintained that it was malarial
fever. That contention is still made
| by physicians in this county, but it
has been absolutely disproved ANY
physician who knows anything about
the use of a microscope can take a
blood specimen from patient and
know in half an hour whether it is
malarial or typhoid fever. Our tests
have shown that there has never been
case of actual malarial fever in the
state of Washington that did not orig
mate outside the state. Another proof
is that it is known that there is but
one Kind o. mosquito which will carry
the malarial fever, and with one ex-
ception, that mosquito has never been
found in the state
The other theory has been that
the disease was brought in. But when
Seattle and North Yakima and Spo-
kane and Wala Walla and every
other town that has typhoid fever
sets up the assertion that the disease
does not originate there but is
brought in from other cities, it shows
the incorrectness of the hypothesis.
IF the county and city authorize
the expense of doing this special in
vestgation work, | will telegraph i'm
mediately to Washington, asking for
one of the surgeons of the Marine
Hospital and Public Health Service,
and shall ask that DR.. l.. L. Lumsden
be sent here. He had charge of the
same work in the city of Washington
and in Omaha. He has had experf-
ence in this line for II or Is years
and | consider him one of the best
men in the world today
Work Cut Out by state
81 intended to have the state board
of health put men in the Yakima val
ley this summer and do the work that
you are planning now. but the last
legislature decided that | was spend
ing too much money and cut the APP
preparation for the state health work
down.
There are three common sources
of typhoid infection; the water
supply. the milk supply and the sew
age. If you get a bacteriolagist here
to assist in the work that will be done
under DR., Lumsden, the testing of
the milk supply can be done also,
The question of sewage is one that
must be taken up Immediately.
Another phase of sanitary work
| that must be called to your attention
is the situation is the lower valley. II
the city of North Yakima is going to
insist on an absolutely pure water
supply and is going to threaten tn
prosecute persons living on the Ma
ches river above the intake, who poll
lutte the stream, the city must take
different measures regarding the dis
posal of its own garbage Now all
your sewage empty into the Yakima
river and pollute the water supply of
every rancher and every town in the
lower end of the valley