The Virginia enterprise. [volume] (Virginia, St. Louis County, Minn.) 1893-19??, 1913-11-28
VACCINATION
WILL, Be FREE
TO vlRClNlANS
City Will Supply Vaccine and
Vaccination Will Be Done
by DIR. Nicholson.
ENDORSED BY THE
PHYSICIANS OF CITY
Interesting History of Smallpox as a
Disease and of the Effect That Vac
cination Has Had Upon 1t Since
Introduced in Its Treatment by
English Doctor.

introduced in Its Treatment by
English Doctor.
Through the efforts of DR.. J. II.
Grove, head of the city's health de-
partment, vaccination to the end of
immunity from smallpox will be free
to the people of Virginia. The city
furnishes the virus and the vaccina-
ton will be done by DR.. Nicholson,
assistant city physician at the Roose-
welt school building daily between
2 and 4 o'clock p. m.
The idea of free vaccination is
strictly in accordance with the wishes
of DR.. Bracken, head of the state
board of health, and is the accepted
solution Of the control of smallpox.
1t particularly applies to school chill
dren and others who are unable to
pay physicians fees.
For the information of the general
public the health department has
written the following interesting ar
ticle on smallpox and vaccinations:
OF Unknown Cause.
Smallpox is an acute, infectious
disease of unknown cause, character
lied by sudden onset lasting sew
eral days to be followed by a cutan-
eous eruption which passes through
the stages of papule (red blotch, }
vesicle (blister), pustule Ia blister
containing pus,) and finally forming
dry crust or scab. When these
crusts drop off scar is often left
(pits.)
The disease is usually ushered in
with severe headache, pains in the
back, nausea and vomiting. The
fever is usually high. The patient is
restless and feels distressed (grippy)
The skin is dry and flushed, while
profuse sweating at times occurs.
The fever usually subsidies with OF
just before the outbreak of the erup-
ton, which begins on about the
fourth day. The face and extremi-
ties, also palms and soles, show first
the signs of eruption, which gradu.
ally spreads over the entire body and
reaches its height in about eight days
after onset. Convalescence then be.
gins and by the fifteenth day the
crusts will begin to disappear, es.
pecially from the face. The time CT
complete recovery, of course, de.
pends upon the severity of the attack
Treatment.
The best treatment consists in pre-.
vention and this will be taken ur
under vaccination. With the onset
of symptoms physician should al
once be called. There is no speci.
fic remedy for the disease. Isolation
Of the patient is imperative. Espec.
tally when the disease is existing in
the city and a member of the family
displays any of the initial signs it is
wise to keep him removed from the
rest Of the family until after seen by
b physician. There is no abortive
treatment. That is, if person has
become infected and exhibits begin.
ming signs, the eruption cannot be
warded off with drugs.
Vaccination.
Before the discovery of vaccina.
ton smallpox was the most feared
of contagious diseases. During the
eighteenth century smallpox was the
cause of one-tenth of the entire
mortality in England. In France
10000 died of it yearly. In the yea,
1896 26,646 persons died in Prussis
alone from smallpox. Few people
reached adult life without having thu
disease. No country or race was
free from it. The first outbreak Of
smallpox in the Western hemisphere
took place in the West Indies fifteer
years after the discovery of America
Here it was so disastrous that en-
tire tribes Of the aborigines wer,
exterminated. The disease reached
Spain in 1920; being brought over By
Spanish troops, and the number O.
persons destroyed in a relativel!
short time has been estimated a
three and a half million. In late
years, and within the memory Of
some of the oldest settlers, the dis
ease ragged among the Indians, de
stroying thousands. The Mandal
Indians, the most highly civilized o
the tribes visited by Lewis & Clark
were practically annihilated by tn
disease. :
After the discovery and genera
acceptance Of the practice of vaccin
alton, smallpox has become almos
extinct. This is especially true i,