The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1915-07-12
HEAVY TOLL TAKEN BY
PREvEhTABlE DISEASE
United states Public Health Service
Gives Instruction For Deereas-
ing Typhoid Fever.

Washington, D. c.. July i1.--Four
hundred thousand persons incapacitat-
ed. and thirty thousand lives lost
this is the heavy toll exacted In the
United States each year by the scourge
of typhoid fever. And typhoid fever
is a preventable disease.
recent bulletin of the United
states Public Health Service entitled
Typhoid Fever-Its Causatton and
Prevention" states that whiting the
past ten years few of our communities
having as many as two thousand per-.
sons have remained free from this dis
ease for any period of twelve consecu-
tive months. In recent times the rate
of it's prevalence for the United States
as a whole has been from two TO ave
times as high as In some of the coun-
tries of Europe. In these European
countries the typhoid rate was for
merly higher than the present figures
for the United States. Their great re-
auctions in the ravages of the dis
ease have heen brought about by Inn
proyements in sanitary conditions.
In many American cities there has
occurred within the last twenty years
considerable reduction of typhoid
fever. Due In a large part to i'm
proved sanitary conditions in the cities.
the typhoid rate for some entire States
has shown a material decrease. For
the country as whole, according to
available figures. the rate has been
reduced about Atty per cent in the
past forty years. But the present rate
is about the same as that which pre-
vailed In some of the other advanced
nation of the world thirty years ago.
In other words the United States Is
generation behind the times In re-
spect to the reduction of its typhoid.
Practical and efficient measures for
the prevention of typhoid fever are
definitely known. hut the efforts to
get the people OF the average self-gov-
erning community to carry out these
measures to reasonable extent are
oftentimes decidedly experimental in
character. In many Instances the cost
of modern sanitary improvements has
been an obstacle In the way of ty-
phoid prevention. 1t is often difficult
to convince the governing authorities
that money expended In the protection
of the public health yields large divi-
dends.
In rural communities and small mu.
inequalities another factor---the instruc-
ton and cooperation Of the individual
property owner--enters into the prob
lem. Here every home must have Its
own method Of sewerage disposal, and
In most cases its own water supply.
The Public Health Service bulletin re-
ferred to deals In a comprehensive way
with the construction of wells and
outhouses.
In recent years specific method
for increasing Individual resistance to
typhoid germs has been employed. This
is known as antityphoid incubation
or vaccination" This method has been
used extensively In military organiza-
tions Of the United States. and from
the results obtained II appears that
inoculated persons are. upon equal ex-
pesure to typhoid infection. less than
one-fourth a. likely to develop the dis
ease as those who have not been in
ocuiated and who have previously had
the disease. The average duration of
protection given by incubation has
not been determined. but Is supposed TO
be about two years.
1t IL pointed out however, that the
protection given by antityphoid inoc-
ulation 10 relative. not absolute, and
that such incubation is not to be re-
Rarded as a substitute for sanitation.