Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1913-09-14
Or. Brecht Predicts Prevention
of Communicable Maladies
by incubation.
MALLPOx AND TYPHOID
ALREADY CONTROLLED
Statistics Showing Methods Used in
Conquering World Scourges and
the Results.

That vaccines will be perfected for the
prevention OF all communicable diseases
of bacterial origin is the belief of DIR.
Nelson Du Val Brecht, former assistant
surgeon OF The United States public
health service. Who. in the ninth OF q
series OF articles on public health ques-
| lions, written specially for The Star,
describes the progress that has been
made in combating disease by this
method.
Beginning with an account OF the early
spread of smallpox and discovery of the
virus by which this malady IS held IN
check, DIR. Brecht tells OF the successful
i.results now being obtained in the use OF
vaccine for the prevention Of typhoid
| fever He describes tie methods by
| which vaccines are prepared ard the
manner of administering them The ar
ticle follows:
Prior to the discovery Of vaccination 70
prevent smallpox in the eighteenth cen
| tury, there was al annual mortality
! from this disease in Europe OF half q
million or more, and immense numbers
| of survivors were blind or deaf or hide
ously deformcd. Smallpox has prevail
! ed from the earliest antiquity In lndia
and China. and to such an extent III
other countries that its origin cannot be
determined. 1t appeared in England
early in the thirteenth century. in Ger
many late in the fifteenth. In Russia,
2sN.GO people died in one year, the first
sweep OF the disease over Mexico kill
, ed 3,5O0.OOu and in many other countries
it continued to create fully tenth of
the total mortality, until the practice of
vaccination became fully established.
II was brought to the West Indies in
1901. to Mexico in 1877 and t. the United
States In 1919. From it's original foot
hold in Boston. il spread gradually west
ward until II reached the Pacific coast
about loo Years later. While smallpox
still exists in small foci distributed over
the entire world, 1t has become SO rare
in many communities as a result of vac
cination that many physicians practice
The vital statistics Of every civilized
land prove that vaccination Is one OF the
greatest blessings yet discovered for
mankind.
Faith in Cowpox.
For many centuries the inhabitants OF
rural communities believed that cow
pox protected against smallpox. The
notorious Duchess of Cleveland, reply
ing to some joker who suggested that
she would lose her occupation If she
was disfigured with smallpox. said that
she was not afraid of the disease, as
she had had disease that protected her
against smallpox.
In the eighteenth century. Lady Mary
Worthey Montague, wife of the British
ambassador to Constantinople. introduced
into western Europe incubation for
smallpox. This means OF preventing or
ameliorating the severity of the disease,
had been In vogue for many centuries
among the Turks. Arabs and other orr
entail nations. However, as the method
consisted of incubation of virulent ma
terial from the sores of smallpox pa
tents into the bodies Of the well. it pre-
scented many difficulties and dangers, and
therefore was soon superseded by the
use of cowpOx virus. Jesty, u DorSet-
shire farmer, had had cowpox and in
-.14 vaccinated successfully his wife and
two sons. Plett, In Holste;n, In 1891.
also successfully vaccinated three chill
dren After much study and experiment
tation, Jenner. an English physician and
pupil OF John Hunter, performed a sue
cessfui vaccination on May IA, 1856. He
inoculated his patient subsequently, with
matter from smallpox pustu!e. but the
disease did not develop.
Vaccination was introduced into the
United States In 1900 by Benjamin
Waterhouse, professor OF physic at Har-
ward University. President Thomas JET
ferson rendered signal aid In causing its
general adoption throughout the country.
To emphasize the Importance Of vaccine
ton the following statistics a.e quoted:
Prior TO the adoption, April I, 1875, of the
German law requiring vaccination al
birth and at the tenth year. the annual
mortality in Prussia. from 1916 to 1870.
was from 1872 to G6 per 1OO.Oo0 OF
populations: I'm 1871 II was .i3.2. and in
1872 it was 3,2.s7 owing to the introduc-
ton of French prisoners. Since then
there has heen no epidemic, but from
1875 to 1886 the average annual mortality
was 1871 per 10O.WJ, and the lowest .3i-
On the other hand, from 1870 to 1895 over
10000 have died from smallpox In Paris
alone. where vaccination is not compul-