White Pine news weekly mining review. [volume] (East Ely, Nev.) 1910-1920, 1915-01-17

ing cough claimed two victims. If
We had a law compelling every COM
municable disease to be subject to
quarantine, these children probably
would have been alive today. The
latest research concerning the meth
cd of the transmission of this dis
cas- seems to point to the fact
that it is passed along from child
to child by the nasal and mouth
discharges in its early catarrhal
stages, that is, when the child seems
to have something worse than a bad
cold. After the "whoop" is estab-
lished there seems TO be little dan
ger of communicating II 10 others.
Undoubtedly %whooping cough is dif-
flcult of diagnosis before the "whoops
appears. but | have found that al
most every mother has suspected
this disease before the "whoop" ap-
peared and she should be compelled
to keep her child at home until the
diagnosis is established. Ely's cpl
denies of whooping o h are get
ting worse each year and the disease
Is actually gaining IN v~irulence. This
year the authorities should see to
its quarantine. In the absence OF
efficient state health laws White
Pine county should safeguard Its
own public health until the State
Board of Health is empowered and
compelled to do so. Our present
state health law, while a s I'M
provement over the one it replaced,
needs many additions and improve.
ments to make it of practicable use
to Nevada citizens.
Next. let us consider the SIX
deaths from d~iarrhoea in infants.
Five of these babies were OF Aus
trian parents, the other was a son
of Italy. All OF these babies e
wanted. they were all loved; every
thing within the knowledge OF the
parents was done to save these child
rem, but the parents were improper
ly educated in their care. They did
the best they could according 10
their lights. ! saw personally three
of these children; all were in the
last stages of starvation. They a
had enough food, but it was not OF
the right kind mol properly prepared
and it was dirty, not dirty from
the standpoint of the parents, bur
for a delicate infant, indescribably
filthy. The unclean methods OF
preparing and serving the food had
led to intestinal infection, the food
taken. while sufficient in quaint
ty was no longer absorbed mol
made use of by the tissues and the
child entered upon a slow starva'
ton. | haven't a doubt that all OF
these children could have been saved
had they been placed in charge OF
a competent nurse at the beginning
OF the trouble and at less expense
to the parents than they were put to
for physicians services after hope
of cure was remote il not entirely
gone. Thus could the prompt regis
tration of births become important
as SdicEh diu y thS htoiNh
child and the community in general
If our law compelled every county
to employ a local health officer at q
salary adequate to justify the civ
ing of his entire time to the prob
lens OF municipal health. and to
whom il Would be required to report
every birth within forty-eight hours
of its occurrence, the family in ad-
verse circumstances could be given
instruction in hygiene and sanitation
which might result In the saving OF
the life of their child. Every moth
er welcomes advice concerning the
proper care of her children, and 1t
seems to me that the state owes no
higher duty to its citizens than to
provide a source where this advice
and help can be secured for the
asking. Our state university is set
ting the example and showing the
way towards better methods of con-
serving the public health. and in
fact Is doing more for that cause
than the board appointed for that
purpose is empowered or compelled
TO do.
Tuning now to the accidental
deaths. These were reduced from
rs in 1918 to IL in 1914. Safety
first was undoubtedly responsible
for conaiderab le of this decreaso In