The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1911-03-24

| ASoAaSAOA, oAoAliSSeAou duu quar- al
tine.
To the striking development Of
knowledge of sanitary science and
preventive medicine which has
taken place during the last three
or four decades we are indebted
for the wider recognition of the
fact that scarlatina, scarlet rash
and fever are synonymous terms,
that they do not indicate different
diseases, but one and the same
disease. Formerly, many of the
laity and not a few physicians
believed, or at least said, that
scar1atina and scarlet rash were
different from scarlet fever. But
numerous careful observations have
shown, and the profession
generally has learned, that while
scarlet fever may be, and often is,
very serious disease with high
temperature, severe sore throat,
intense and widely spread eruption,
followed by copious desquamation,
the fever may be slight or entirely
absent, the throat may not show
more than slight congestion, the
eruption, if not entirely absent,
may be not very pronounced in
appearance, not widely spread
over the body and of rather
transient duration, while the des-
quarmation may be so slight as to
be hardly recognizable.
Furthermore, it is now generally
recognized not only that the cases
may be followed by the most
serious results which are observed
after the severe forms of the
disease, and particularly by in
fammation of the kidneys, but also
that severe forms of scarlet fever
may be, and often are, contracted
from patients whose symptoms. have
been exceedingly mild.
Scarlet fever differs from measles,
with which it is otter associated in
discussions, and in popular
thought, in the fact that everyone
seems to be susceptible to measles,
and to contract the disease on ex-
posture, if he has not already
suffered an attack; while many
seem to be not susceptible to scarlet
fever, and do not contract the
disease after direct and frequent
exposure. A possible explanation
of this apparent immunity to
scarlet fever may be, at least in
some cases, that these immune
individuals have ingtheir earlier life
passed through an 'attack of scarlet
fever of so mild a type that no ply
stefan was called to the patient, OF
| if one was called, he did not
recognize the nature of the disease.
This however, probably does not
explain all cases of apparent inn
munity. Undoubtedly there are
many persons who never contract
the disease except after unusual
exposure. On the other hand, it is
unjustifable carelessly or Willingly
to expose child or adult to the
disease, no matter how mild the
type may be.
At the outset of a discussion of
the subject we are hampered by the
lack of any definite, positive
knowledge as to the exact nature
of the disease, and the method in
which it is transmitted from one
individual to another. 1t has long
been believed that the contagious
element of the disease existed in
the scales which occur in greater
or less profusion during desqua-
nation. At present there is a
tendency to believe that the scales
do not possess great power of
transmitting the disease during all
stages of desquamation, and
especially towards the termination
of that process. On the other
hand, it has not been proved that
the scales are not dangerous, or
that they become so at any definite
period of the stage of desquamation
Consequently, it becomes of great
importance to control the des-
semination of these scales.
Furthermore, of late the belief
has been gaining ground that the
element If conto OiOr, eyictc actively