The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1914-07-25
REPORT s E'|l
RATE SEEMS h|g|||
HEALTH AUTHORITIES A1GU1
ny MISLEADING sTATEsfEssxo
/ OF TYPHOID STATISTICS.

Reports from Washington that Viz
ginia has moro typhoid than any Stato
In. the Union have caused more amuAess
| ment than indignation at the cfhcsss
OF the State board of health whefe
an accurate ard comparative recnrd
j CT Virginia's typhoid. kept 1T all times
shows the Commonwealth well In Ad~
vance OF other Southern States In the
prevention of typhoid.
! AS well as health officers can run
| the report to earth, 1t seems to have
had its origin in recent bulletin of
1.-THE United States public health SER
vice, in which were published the res
cent figures for typhoid fever In some
itwenty-nine States. Nirginiaas report
was, as usual, full and accurate, cow
ported by pfA sicians and health Of
! ficers to the State. but the very full
ness Of the report was usnd aghtHef
Virginia IS the figures Of twenfy-ntnAs
states most of them In the NOrtnss
were published in Washington papers
as the figures for the entire TINTED
States
The State card of health yesterday
issued the tclle VIM statement OH the
subject: "Tbe statement IS not nnlys
withcut adequate foundation. but at
most Certainly untrue, and does tho
State great injustice. There afN
only few States in the Union which
collect statistics Of the cases OF tvs
phoid fever occurring Within thssr;
limits which are OF any ~aiue only
,tw.enty-nine Of the t@rt% eight states
make any report whatever to the fed
eral public health service and only
four Of the twenty mine represent STA
tistics which are even approxinateIy
complete These four, Naryland.
Utah, Nevada and Virginia, have, of
course. the highest reported number o.
cases in proportion r. the popula -iofts
since their reports are most Completes
hat thnrr- IS ma evidence whatever that=
they actually have more typhoid than
the other States If the Union In
fact. from the deaths which are &C.
cur0tely reported from these states
It would seem that they have even
}ess typhoid than other stdtes Win
siuliler climatic conditions
Instead OF having the worst ty.;
phuid rate M the Union. Virginia has
perhaps the best rate OF any State Or
like climate In only two Southeru
states are accurate statistics Of birtna5
tand deaths kept, in Virginia and In
/ Kentucky Virgiuias Uphold rate -
below shat OF kentucky and our gem
cral death-rate for 1918 as reported
by the censas bureau. Is below thar
OF the Unitea States registration area
T which includes those communities IN
which health work has reached il
highest level. Our reports OF deltns
are complete while thAse OF nther,
/ Southern Safes. with the exception.
| of Kentucky. do s5t include even a
| reg sonable percentage of the deaths
occurring in rural districts Compari-
son is. in consequence, unfair TO Wis
GINA
This does not mean that the huara
Is satisfied with our present typhoid
/ rate The number of cases Occurring
/ in the state has been reduced by about
4 900 per annum in the last five years,
but further public cooperation ana
the application IL y few simple princi-
/ pies will enable the State still fur-
! Their to lower the rate. and in tins
completely eradicate 1t. Not tff-s~ teas
important part Of our work has been
{coilecting Of accurate information as ~
Just how much typhoid fever there y
j In the State and where the cases &C.
| cur. without this information. no
effective work of prevention can be
| accomplished The State board of
| health wants information regarding
itvphoid o,Abreaks at the earliest pos-
sible moment after their appearances.
| ind urges every Citizen to aid II his
work by reporting without delay any
/ cases which occur in his. neighborhoods