The Winchester news. [volume] (Winchester, Ky.) 1908-19??, 1912-02-07
HOOKW0RM DISEASE

Gently G:scO,cied disease, but has
been traced back to the days of Mos
es, WHO, it is found, took precautions
to prevent its spread.
While it mas been known to exist
in the tropic and temperate zones of
the Old World ii has only recently
been found prevalent in the United
Sta .es and was not even then sup
pos ed to exist as far north as Ken
tuc,iy.
Hcac.c-, CO - ..sss..ic:i, l. has
been found to be very prevalent
throughout our good old state. This
terrible disease is the direct result
of neglected sanitary precautions;
namely. the use of earth toilets or as
is common in our rural sections to
use no toilet at all and thus spread
the infection by COMMUNICATING the
soil This disease may be contract
ell by eating raw lettuce. celery, cab
bage, or watercrers. that has been
raised by contaminated ground, for
ii is not an uncommon practice TO
scatter the contents of the toilet
over the garden in the fall thinking
that the winters freezes will purify
the ground, but they do not.
1t is also common TO see toilets of
the unsanitary kind situated on the
highest point in the garden where
the rains scatter and wash its con-
tents in all directions.
The most common mode of infec-
ton is through the skin, when the
young HoOkwom or Larvae, of mic
rosccpic size comes in contact with
the bare hands and feet of people
who work. and children who play in
contaminated ground. In mining
sections where no sanitary precau-
tons are taken this disease often eX-
lists even to the extent of plague.
Ii is also prevalent among the
large number of people who eat dirt.
This microscopic worm crawls
through the pores of the skin or
bores its way in, causing what is
commonly known as ground itch,
land sores. mountain itch, or dew
poison. and is far too often mistaken
for opison oak, or even erysipelas.
1t takes them but a few minutes 10
penetrate the skin and they continue
their boring until they reach the
blood channels, where they are at
once carried through the heart and
into the lungs. Here they are unable
to pass through the cap:li:,
begin to bore their way into the
bronchial tubes causing what is often
mistaken for bronchitis or even tu-
berculOsis.
Once into the bronchial tubes, they
are carried by the natural inunda-
lions of the lungs, into the windpipe
and up to the throat where some are
spit or cOuglIed out and the greater
number are swallowed though many
bore their way into the larnyx caus-
ing sore throat Il few days after
ground itch is noticed.
Thence they travel through the
stomach unaffected by the Gastric
Juice and continue until they reach
the lower intestines where they fast
en- on ard within four to six weeks
attain maturity and are laying f.
SO TO 100 eggs per day.
The full grown Hookworm is only
one-fourth to three-eigths of an inch
in length and slender as a hair so
is of little Importance individually
but in cases of average severity
there are usually found from fifteen
hundred to three thousand.
The reason that this disease sell
dom proves fatal in itself is the fact
that the eggs are not Matched within
the body, but are expelled together
with the other refuse of the human
system.
Man, woman or child would nat
urally avoid anything unclean on the
ground but pigs, dogs, chickens, and
flies. carry such filth into many plac-