Oxford eagle. (Oxford, Lafayette Co., Miss.) 1876-current, 1915-08-19
Typhoid Fever IN Mississippi.

r
Typhoid fever IL an ever pre-
sent disease in the State of Mis-
sissippi. When we stop to con-
slider the means by which this
disease is contracted it il n dis
Z grace to the people OF this State
to have continually in their midst
typhoid fever.
That you may realize the i'm
portance OF doing something at
once to stop the ravages Of
typhoid fever. it Is necessary that
you know something about the
conditions in this State. During
the year 1914, typhoid FOYER
caused 625 deaths a. compared
with 65e during the preceding
year.
The typhoid death rate per 100.
600 population for the year 1914
(32 % showed a slight reduction
over that (35.0) for the proceed
ing year. The white rate was
30.7 and the negro rate 81. 8.
Both the white and negro rates
were higher than that Of 25.6 for
the Registration Area for the
period 1906 1910.
;. Cases of typhoid fever were
reported from every county in
the State during the year 1914,
and deaths occurred from this
cause IN every county except
George and jefferson. The larg-.
est number of deaths reported
from any one county was Lauder
dale Y, the next largest number
OF deaths q, occurred In WASH
ingtoa County. The counties
that had ten or more deaths dur
ing the year were 10 follws:
Adams IA. Clarke 10, Forrest 10, +
Grenada II, Harrison Is. Kinds
Ii. Holmes l3, Jones 10, Lafa-
yette IA. Lee 10, LeFlore u, 4
Madison IS, Marion IA, Marshall
Is, Newton Is, Pamela 10. Pom
totoc IL, Simpson 10, Sunflower
Ia, TaIlahatchie Il, Tate Is.
Union 10. Warren IL and yaIo-
busha 10.
The eaornity can be better
understood when you are told
that at the time thar the 1910
Federal Census was taken
there were 337 incorporated VII
lagos, towns and cities in the
State, and that il all of these
deaths should have been confin-
ed to any one of 224 of these
municipalities, typhoid fever
caused sufficient number of
deaths to have wiped out any one
of these municipalities.
There Is only one way in which
you can contract typhoid fever,
and that is 70 get into your in
festival tract some of the bowel
discharges from some person that ,
has or had typhoid fever. The J
different ways IN which this
disease is communicated is by
pollution Of the water supply,
that Is, permitting these dis i
charges to drain in 10 the well or
other source from which drink
ing water Is supplied; unscreen-
ed closets that make it possible
for the house-fly 70 come in con-
tact with closet contents, and
then have access to food supply !
or containers in which foods are J
placed by contact with linen soil
ed by some person suffering with
typhoid fever; by having some /
one that Is preparing foods whose
hands have been contaminated
by handling linen soiled by some !
one suffering with typhoid fever:
or foods prepared by some one
that has had typhoid fever and
still discharging tie typhoid {
germs, such people are kown as 9
typhoid carriers.
Ii has been said that K il a !
crime 20 have typhoid fever. It'll
you are wiling 10 accept this a
statement, then you will have to
agree that Mississippi is crime
ridden. It is not necessarily the
person that has typhoid that has
committed the crime. The res
possibility for tie crime in many
cases should rest on the Of
Gcials, this is especially true in !
corporations. IL IS the duty of !
the corporate officials TO see that
the public water supply Is not
contaminated. and if the people
supplied from individuals wells. ]
then il is the duty OF some off,
cial 70 prevent the contamination
Of the wells by requiring that
sanitary closets &c installed. The |
matter Of screening closets Is the
duty Of some ofIlcial. In the
rural sections, every family must,
in order that their family be pro- /
tected against typhoid fever. look
after their own premises. II fy-
phoid fever Is contracted at home,
then the responsibility for having
this disease In the family must
rest on the head Of the house, as
be alone Is responsible for the
con iitions which make It possible
to be injected
With conditions IS they are to-
Gay, 1t would be impossible to
have an epidemic OF TYPHOID fever
N practically any portion of the
State When confronted with
such condition. il is not always
possible to stop the spread of this
disease by doption of sanitary
measures until many more CAGES
OF the disease develop.
When an epidemic occurs, it is
the duty of every person to at
once be yaccInated against tv-