Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1915-07-14
FOUR HUNDRED THOUSAND 9TH.
Frs INcAPAclrArEp YEARLY
IN UNITED STATES.
RAvAGES OF DISEASE
SLOWLY DIMINISHING
improved Sanitation and Preventative
Measures Responsible For Decrease
in Fataiities-united> States Half
Century Behind European Countries,
However, in Typhoid Prevention.
Especial Correspondence.)

Washington, July IA story of the
ravages of typhoid fever in the United
States just put out by the United
States public health service reads like
description of the toll Of death ta-
Ken by the European war.
Typhoid fever is a prevautable dis
ease, says the public health service
and yet each year 100000 persons in
this country are incapacita.ed and 3d.
900 lives are lost. The economic mean
ing ot this, to say nothing 81 its other
phases, is worth attention.
The bulletin which the public health
service has issued on this subject is
entitled Typhoid Fever-its Causa-
ton and Prevention" 1t states that
within the past ten years few Amer
lean communities have been free from
this disease for any period Of twelve
consecutive months. In recsn. times.
the rate of prevalence for the United
States has been two to five times as
high as in some of the countries or
Europe. In these European countries
the typhoid rate was formerly higher
than the present figures for tha Cni.-
ed States. Their great reductions in
The ravages of the disease have been
brought about by improvements IN
sanitary conditions.
Decrease in Prevention Of Disease.
The public health service says:
III many American cities there has
occurred within the last twenty years
considerable reduction Of typhoid
fever. Due in a large part TO in-
proved sanitary conditions IN the cit
les, the typhoid rate for some entire
states has shown material decrease.
For the country as a whole, according
to available figures, the rate has been
reduced about 80 per cent IT the past
forty years. But the present rate IS
about the same as that which prevailed
in some Uf the other advanced ma
tons OF the world thirty years ago. In
ether words the United States is
generation behind the times in respect
TO the reduction of its typhoid rate.
practical and efficient measures for
the prevention OF typhoid fever are
definitely known. but the efforts TO get
the people Of the average selt-goVern-
ing community to carry OUT these
measures 10 a reasonable extent are
oftentiE1es decidedly experimental In
character. In many instances the cost
of modern sanitary improvements mas
been al obstacle IN the way Oh "
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.
Individual Property Owner Blamed.
In rural communities and sma!i
municipalities another factor-the in
struction and cooperation of the indi-
vidual property owner--enters into the
problem. Here every home must have
its own method of sewage disposal,
and in most cases its own water sup
ply The public health service bulie-
tin above referred TO deals in com
prehensive 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 crganiza-
tions Of the United States, and from
the results obtained it appears that
inoculated persons are, upon equal ex-
posure TO typhoid infection. less than
one fourth as likely to develop the dis
ease as those who have not been inoc'