The Calumet news. [volume] (Calumet, Mich.) 1907-1938, 1912-11-05
IT KILLS 10000
CHILDREN A YEAR
whooping Cough, Highly ContagI.
Gus, Not Understood

hood. has been made the subject OF
special study ty the United States
| Public Health service and assistant
SurgeonSurgoan General w. &. Ruckoi
believes that parents should know a
little more than Trey do Of an afflictior
which tx as dangerous as ID Is wide
spread. yet for which Familiarity has
bred contempt. With the closing OF
the open window Of summer ard the
advance Of the Geld season, says Dir
| Rucker, people will crowd together
more and more. The schools have
opened and large numbers OF ckildrcr
are brought together for three 10 six
hours IN live days of the week. The
result is that the common comnunica-
ble diseases will soon begin to appecr.
Whooping cough. humps measles
| German measles and chicken pcx are
with us so constantly that we have be-
come accustomed to them and now re-
l,ard them as the almost inevitable ac-
compartments OF childhood Many a
mother Las exposed her child to these
diseases. firmly I'm the belief thGt she
was performing a good act ard IN ig-
norance Of the jeopardy in which she
placed the life of enc whom sine loved
vet IL is safe to say that these conf
mon diseases not only take a heavy
toll Of the children of our land direct
~, but that they are also followed by
results which may cripple the child or
shorten its life. OF all the deaths reg.
istered in the United States during the
year 1910, $0.7 per cent occurred in
children under fifteen years of age:
1872 per cent were among children un-
der one year of age. and 1913 per cert
in children inGer two years of age.
Aside from the deaths which occurred
from dietettic causes during this pc"
riod, the common infections and con .
iasious diseases were responsible for
this high mortality. During the year
1910 the death rate per 100000 from
measles was 1872 per cent, from
whooping cough IA Dei cent. Scarlet
fever, which is ordinarily considered Il
very serious disease, had death rate
for 1910 of il.6 Per cent per 100 600,
while diphtheria had a death rate of
PA per cent per 100000.
Seriousness Of Whoopina Cough.
Whooping cough is ore CT the most
serious of the diseases Of this class In
ITS immediate and remote effects Ger
man statistics covering a period OF
eleven years show that the nor tally
IL
case Is, under one year Of age. 2e.S per
cent. between one and two wears OF
age 1873 per cent; between two and
five years Of age, Ter cent: ard be-
tween five and fifteen years of age. Is
per cent. The disease is not :nfre-
of the lungs and the violent coughing
which occurs is apt to produce u
harmful iilation of the lung tissue it,
self. IT is by no means uncommon ir
underfed children for the disease to b.
followed by tuberculosis of the lurgs.
ing cough have been reported. and
changes in the eye due to hcmorrhages
into that organ produced by coughing
have also been noted. 1t IS thus seen
that whooping cough, which IL is esti-
mated killed over 10000 American
children in the year 1911. is a disease
seriously affecting the public health
and demanding earnest attention.
The ancient Romans :alled this dis
ease "pertussis. which means Every
cough" probably as we say i'm slang.
some cough" We use q word in
speaking of 1t which describes the pc
culiar cough which is heard in the dis
ease. 1t is highly conta gious dis
ease accompanied by Inflammation OF
the lining membrane of the breathing
tubes. and characteristic and far too
familiar whcop. As already stated. Il
is particularly prone to attack chill
dren and few persons arrive at ma.
turity without having the disease.
Should they ESCAPE from II during
childhood they are almost certain to
have it in adult life. The disease is
partic Jlarly fatal in children at the
breast and the very aged.
Cause Of Disease Unknown.
it va NHOoPiiS NOuSh 10
known. Many investigators have en-
deavored to discover it, and not few
have described germs Of one sort or
another which they believe to I've re-
sponsihle for the disease. AS yet none
of these organisms have been fully
proved to he the casual agent. on ac.
count Of the fact that cpidcmics Of
whooping cough and measles frequent
~ occur co-incidentally. II has been
thousht that the cases were nearly re.
lated. 1t is more probable, however.
that the only relation which they bear
TO ore another a. that of the over
crowded and unhyeieIic conditions
which predispose to their spread.
II seems to be pretty we'll proved
that the disease IS transferred from,
one person to another by fairly close
contact. and that the spItum is thrown
a considerable distance from the VIC
tim in the form of fine spray. AMI
It Is this way and also, BY means Of
handkerchief. MISUNDERSTANDING and
the like which have been ret emily
sprinkled with the infected sputum,
that the disease germs are carried
The Effectiveness of the sputum Is
most marked during the height II the