Atlanta Georgian. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1912-1939, 1914-03-31
White PLAGUE IS
PREVALENT IN
ALL GEORGIA
investigator Finds 26,5OO Cases
Declares Little Effort Is Made
to Check Disease,
Continued From Page I.

nearly represent the true ratio in
Georgia
Miss Whitney estimates that the
annual loss OF life from consumption
in Georgia each year is ), 800, of whica
she says;
"Tifty-three hundred adult lives
sacrificed in Georgia alone means ar
economic loss of over $2,5O0,QOO." And
then she reflects ironically on the
huge appropriations made toward the
eradication OF hog cholera and other
disea ses among animals where but
petty sums are publicly spent to
thvart tuberculosis.
The reasons for the spread Of the
disease in Georgia, and the needs Of
, the state as she sees them, Miss
Whitney relates,
Ignorance is the biggest factor
with which we viii have to contend in
our program Of graduating tubercu-
losis in Georgia" she says. Every
person in Georgia should know that it
| is not a necessary evil. but a curab le
! preventable disease, which for lack of
| proper remedial measures is killing
| oyer $500 in Georgia year in and year
out.
| Education Is Needed,
! we need fearless physicians, and
We need people deucsted so they are
not afraid to listen to the truth
| The housing conditions are partly
responsible. The negro dwellings have
/
ries.'
consideration Of the fact that any
| sufferer. white or black. is a focus
| of infection is imperative.
The proper inspection of foodstuffs.
especially meat and milk, is also A
part of the problem
we need protection in the schools,
| Some citeis have taken up the work Of
medical inspection in schools but it g
so new that there are not many rec
ords Of results yet One inspector told
me he had found twelve cases among
| the children in little over a year.
/ and these were discovered accidental
! IL. as no microscopical examination
are made except in unusual cases
Teachers need inspection as well.
! found two cases where teachers suf-
| fered and had been in the classroOms
! until within a few months of their
| deaths. If the disease were mea 81 s
and smallpox, action would have
come
THE conditions in almshouses need
attention Most institutions make 10
provision for tuberculosis patients,
who are housed with the others
Scores Lack Of Registration.
| But most Of Miss Whitneys vehe-
mence is directed toward the lack Of
registration in the State
The method Of obtainiu7 inforpls-
ton on the mortality from tubercu-
| losis. or rather tn impossiblity ~
getting accurate data. should be a
reproach TO every citizen The book
| keeping of humanity is absolutely
neglected This almost entire absence
Of reliable vital statistics is a great
| hindrance to the progress Of the Grad
ication Of tuberculosis.
Il have been asked many times dur
| ing my survey whether tuberculosis In
| Georgia is on the increase. No one
knows Accurate records Of dea tbs
and their causes alone could answer
this and Of these were have none.
Does II not seem appalling that
| Georgia knows nothing Of the great
loss Of life within its borders each
year. that 1T hurtles on, planning
| progress and expansion. while many
| thousand lives are needlessly saCri-
| feed and no heed paid to the loss
| The material value Of these lives is an
economic problem we'll worth consid-
! erine
The big problem which Georgia.
along with other Southern States. IS
| facing Is the Susceptibility Of the negro
to tuberculosis. the factors which
cause his enormous death rate, the
conditions under which he lives and
the menace he is to the community
as a carrier and transmitter Of the
disease"
The work Of the State with its Alto
SanitariUm and its prison and inst tu-
| tional trea tment is recounted Miss
! Whitney finds the facilities very mea-
| ger as compared 70 the necessity. The
work OF the Atlanta Anti Tuberculo-
| sis Association rs commended