The Columbia herald. [volume] (Columbia, Tenn.) 18??-1935, 1913-12-05
WARNING ISSUED TO
PEOPLE REGARDING
SMALLPOX EPIDEMIC
SOME PRECAUTIONS OF THE
DREADED DISEASE ARE Civ.
EN- OUT.
VACCINATION DOES PREVENT
Proper Time Is Early Childhood
intesration Of Infection Being Bet
ter Understood and Therefore More
Easily Managed.

| NASHVILLE, Nov. 29.-The appar-
emily rapidly increasing menace of
smallpox in Middle and East Tennes-
see has alarmed the state board OF
health. DR.. H. H. Shoulders, of the
department, Friday admitted that
enough cases had been reported in
the last few weeks to be called an
epidemic. He gave some interesting
precautions of the dreaded disease,
mainly stressing the Importance OF
vaccination, and advised every one to
be vaccinated at least once every five
! years.
When asked as to the best proven
tatives of the disease the doctor said:
The prevalence of smallpox, as re-
ported from several counties in the
middle and eastern division of the
state, forcibly calls to the attention
OF the state board of health for ev-
cry community to be thoroughly vac
cinated to escape this pestilential dis
ease. That vaccination does prevent
smallpox has been SO thoroughly es-
tablished that we fail to see how any
member of community, with ordi-
nary intelligence, can doubt it, Com
munities that have a population that
has been well vaccinated, and suffi-
GENTLY often, have almost complete
immunity, and have no smallpox ex-
cept in rare instances Localities
that have neglected vaccination fire.
quently have outbreaks of the disease
J that assumes the proportion of an ep-
] idemic. People that render them
selves immune by repeated vaccina-
tons rarely, If ever, have the disease.
This is especially true for several
reasons. First, repeated vaccinations
of several generations has produced
a race somewhat immune, which caus-
es the disease to assume typical
forms, and, second, the infrequency
of the disease has allowed the phys1-
clans to become unfamiliar with the
: Cynical appearance of it. On &C.
count of this the true nature of the
. disease renders the physicians able
to make an error in the diagnosis.
THE proper time for vaccination
is during early childhood, because if
: neglected then, it will in all likeli-
. hood, be postponed indefinitely. Peo-
pie should be vaccinated during in
fancy, again at about the age of pu.
berty and again during the twenties
To be on the safe side people should
} be vaccinated every five years, and
8 the state board of health would SO adj
: wise.
Y Nov that the modes in which in
: fections Of most of the contagious
. lquently disseminated is being better
. understood-tha is, by carriers anG
: missed or unrecognized cases-the
necessity for close isolation of a fam
lily in which a disease of this nature
occurs, and terminal disinfection al
formerly done is gradually being re
duced to a minimum. We know tina
the germs of practically all of these
diseases can be carraled by exercis
ing ordinary care at the beside, ant
that if any of these escape, cleanli
y ness, sunlight, dry, fresh air ant
scrubbing will catch and kill them
such being the case how much bette
it is for those blessed with homes
where these measures can be carriet
out to use them, than it is to suffe
the annoyance that quarantine ant
= disinfection always causes.
THE day is not far distant in pub
. lie health work when all the state
Il will adopt the same methods now il
: vogue in some of the states in tn,
northwest: that is, abolish quaran
u tine for smallpox, and give a man hi
choice of vaccination or contractin,
the disease. It's not Utopian to dream
= of the day that's not far distant whel
the nature and the spread of the in
lection peculiar to each and every dis
D ease will be 50 thoroughly mastered
] that spread of contagious disease
4 will we'll night be an impossibility.