Aberdeen herald. [volume] (Aberdeen, Chehalis County, W.T.) 1886-1917, 1911-04-17
DANGER LIES IN
GERM HUNTING
Plainly Shown In Recent Death
Of Or. Ashley.
NO PLACE FOR the COWARD

Work Of investie ating Diseases Which
t'eath Of cers Must Guard Against
Is Cancerous-Scme Cases Cuaran.
tine Cheers Have to Deal WITH
Sr1ala ox 70 Longer Feared.
The death of DR.. Edward +. Ashley,
meteorological expert ON the qtaran
tine staff of DR.. Alvah II. Doty. CHER
health officer at the port of New York
who was killed 10y malignant spinal
meningitis contracted in the course of
an autopsy. throws light upon the
risks that every man faces who
chooses to help defend the public
health against infectious diseases
Germ hunting has never been safe
profession either in yellow fever
camps or at quarantine stations.
''In this line of work a man has TO
be an enthusiast said DR.. Doty
"FearlessuesS is as essential char
acteristic of the men who work with
me down here as it is of soldiers. Be
fore man is chosen he is looked over
very carefully. with the result thai
our staff is composed If none but pick
ed men
when a recruit arrives here he re-
Allies the proposition that he is ~
against hard work and constant risk
of contagion that may end fatally
For awhile the novice. like the soldier
in his first fight. may be conscious OF
his personal danger. But that feeling
never lasts long. If II should Cuaran
tine station would be no place for
him A man soon becomes so bound
up in his work that he forgets the
personal element entirely. This is so
not merely theoretically: 1t is so actual
~ in practice"
Diseases which are all in the days
work at quarantine have rates of NOR
tally ranging from 90 to so per cent.
Sometimes there will be a mild assert
ment of diseases TO be turned away
from the gateway Of the country. At
other times the whole energy Of the
department will he aimed against one
enemy. Such case occurred last
summer. when New York WAS threat
ened with cholera.
Night end Day Work.
To prevent even the mldeSt cases
from passing the barrier. steamships
were held up when any on board felt
the slightest indisposition. Until the
cause of that indisposition was found
/ hn hs,a Eun rad IL, h1, IN ~
some or the BOATS InuS neiu up were
ocean liners carrying Il large number
Of passengers. all of whom were eager
to reach New York with the least pos
sible delay. This meant night and day
work for the DOCTORS especially for the
bacteriologisls. for the test for cholera
involves protracted labor besides sew
era hours for growing cultures.
Samples would perhaps be brongh,
to the laboratory in the evening. The
bacteriologists would start in after din
ner and work till midnight. In these
emergency cases. after few hours
sleep Snatched at the station itself. the
doctors would start i'm again at
o'clock. SO that the investigation might
be completed AT s. and the complaining
passengers could he landed after break
fast
Work of this sort. with it's copstan'
effort and occasional spasmOdic strain.
is not only likely to make the man
more susceptible to disease, but to I'M
dermine his health directly. In some
cases "A man by various methods may
En-, Il. HI,
self against the diseases which he has
to meet. Vaccination will prevent con-
tagiOn from smallpox. In all cases
systematic cleanliness will 60 long
way toward preventing infection. But
the strictest attention to these prin-
ciples will not prevent contagion when
man has to carry sick child ashore
In his arms. as he often does.
Jail Fever Hard to Handle.
One Of the worst diseases the quar-
antine officers ever have to deal with
is typhus fever. which used to be
called Jail fever No form Of inocula-
ton and no prophylactic measures are
Of any avail against this disease. the
germ Of which has never been discov-
cred The doctor who deals with ii
must rely largely on luck and strong
constitution. An epidemic of this
scourge struck this city score Of
years ago. at which time 700 cases
were reported.
! Plague is another Of the more dread
ed diseases. because no incubation
against it has yet been proved effec-
tive. Smallpox is no longer considered
so dangerous as it used to be. The
rates of mortality. in fact. from the
complications Of measles. scarlet fever
and diphtheria are greater than that
from SINE NpOx.