The Washington herald., 1912-06-30
GUARDING THE u. S. AGAINST ANY
ATTACK OF ASIATIC CHOLERA
Lines of Defense Established to Protect Both
Seaboard and Interior from the Dread
Scourge Gen. Blue in Charge

example. may reach a town in Iowa. He
comes down with some disease The
health officer has been informed that he
sailed from Naples or Palermo and Is
watching him closely. The man may
have cholera, or cholera morbus, or be
suffering from food poisoning. The phy-
sicians may be uncertain as TO the ma
ture Of his case. They send, therefore,
TO Chicago for the serum. Applying II to
the body waste OF the man under sus-
picion, they can tell in a short time II
he is actually suffering from cholera
The seventh line Of defense consists
in the inspection of all suspicious cases
of illness by experts on call-by men ex-
perIenced in the diagnosis OF cholera.
Experts are stationed at Boston. New
York, Washington, New Orleans, Savan-
nah, Chicago, and San Francisco. Thus
protected. we feel that the United States
is reasonably safe in going about Its
business without any fear Of a disease
that formerly swept over the earth and
was thought TO be breathed into the
body through the nose and mouth"
That was not so, Of course l said
Cholera, like typhoid fever Gen
Blue replied, is caused by germs that
get into the body through the means Of
food Or drink, or. getting on the hands
reach the mouth, or, is spread by bacil-
lus carriers who are likely to infect
everything they touch. Bacillus carriers
are a new discovery. 1t was not known
until two or three years ago that some
persons having had the cholera and hav-
ing recovered could nevertheless trans
NIT the disease to others. Indeed car
riers have been found who never had the
cholera at all. They had come in con-
tact directly or indirectly with those
suffering with the disease, the germs
had entered their alimentary tracts and
they. Of course, were a source Of danger
to every one who had anything TO do
with them.
''Epldemics in the past, it is sensible
to believe, were caused at times by
bacillus carriers. should say that from
! to per cent of the persons having
cholera become carriers, though DR.. A.
J. N. Laughlln, who was stationed in
the Philippines, says that the percentage
rose very much higher in the infected
districts around Manila There is one
case on record where a man remained a
carrier for sixty-nine days after his re-
covsry. In that time he could have
Travelled around the world and spread
the disease among hundreds Of millions
Of people.
Carriers stopped in Italy.
I'VE examined the dejecta of $4,000 i'm
migrants last summer, finding. as I have
said, twenty-seven carriers. The italian
medical officers had previously found
forty at Naples and one at Palermo
among the emigrants waiting TO take
ship for the United States. a man in
bed can be watched and doctored- Car
riers, we'll men and moving about, are
therefore a menace not only 10 localities
but to whole countries.
From June S. last year. TO December
"a there were 1879 cases OF cholera in
Italy and 6,O21 deaths. While the Italian
medical men have been energetic and
successful in eradicating the disease. We
understand that cholera was taken 20
Tripoh by the Italian troops, and II that
is true the soldiers may spread it again
when they return home. We have moth
ing to fear from TripoI, with which
country we have no direct relations. but
much to fear from Italy. Bacteriologi-
cal examinations will be made this sum-
mer at Boston. Providence, and New
York. Italians bound for Philadelphia
are taken there from New York in the
same ships that bring them across the
Atlantic and are examined in the latter
city and accompanied to the port of des-
tination by officers Of our service. Can
ada has adopted regulations similar to
our own and thus we are protected at
the North"
Can a person get yellow fever. also