Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1916-08-25
PARALYSIS IN VERMONT.
President of State Board Reviews Epi-
demic in This state-First Outbreak
in 1894.

One might infer from Washington
newspaper dispatches that there are 10
cases of infantile paralysis in vermont.
This is not so and the president OF the
State board of health, DIR. G. ). Caver-
ly of Rutland, says that there mas beea
but one case and that has not been
diagnosed absolutely as poliomyelitis'
The case is in Underhill.
The quarterly bulletin issued in June
by the state board Of health is de-
voted largely to q review of the paraly-
sis epidemics in this state by DR.. Cav
erly. He prefaces the statistical data
with the following statement.
Vermont has had an unusual exper-
fence with this disease. In the summer
of 1894, the first considerable outbrea k
that had been reported occurred In this
state. This outbreak, comprising 1872
cases, was confined almost exclusively
to the valley of the Otter on the west
side of the Green mountains.
"From 1894 to 1910, nothing ap-
preaching an epidemic of this disease
appeared in the state. In the latter
year, following u rather severe outbreak
i'll the Connecticut valley in Massachu-
sets, the same valley in Vermont was
invaded. Of 80 cases occurring in that
year, 81 occurred OH the east side of
the Green mountains.
"This disease was ma le a reportablc
one al chat time under the regulations
of the state board of health. The full
quarantine was enforced in these cases.
This quarantine is the same as practised
in the state with the other major in
fections, like scarlet fever and diph-
liberia.
"The disease, without doubt, has
been as fully reported since 1910 as was
possible with the imperfect knowledge
we have of its diagnostic points. The
profession of the state has been gener-
ally aware of the possibility of local
outbreaks, especially in rural communi-
ties, and has co-operated very generally
with the state board of health in iden-
tifying these cases and applying pre-
ventive measures.
"In 1911, there were 81 cases report
ed in the state, % of these were on the
west side of the Green Mountains and
10 of them in the same valley in which
the original epidemic of 1894 occurred.
Gin 1912, there were only 13 cases
reported in the state and these were
quite widely scattered with no epidemic
focus. Eight of these were in the Con
nccticut valley and five on the west
side of the Green mountains.
Gin 1913, AZ cases were reported in
the state. Forty of these occurred in
the northwestern section of the state,
and 81 in Hardwick and its Immediate
vicinity. 1t should be noted that the
last cases in this 1913 outbreak oc-
CURED in the town of Barton, only
about % miles from Hardwick Since
1910, the Passumpsic Barton valley il
Caledonia and Orleans counties has fur.
nished the chief foci of this disease in
Vermont.
"The epidemic of 1914, in the mum.
Der of cases, as well as in mortality
was the severest that has ever occurred
in the state. The epidemic began in
the village of Barton, the first eases oc-
curing respectively on July 9th, 18th
and 22d. The first cases occurred in
the immediate neighborhood of Barton
village, where the last thses in the out
break of 1913 occurred lin the month of
November. No other Gases occurred il
the state, as far as our records go, un.
til the 30th of July when the first case
occurred in Burlington. The earliest
cases in Addison and Franklin counties
were respectively August 10th and Au
gust 14th.
"The outbreak of 1914 was chiefly
felt in the northern half of the state
above the 44th parallel of latitude
Nearly 90 per cent of the 306 cases OF
which we have reports, occurred north
of this line, which passes through Mid
dlebury and Bradford. Scattering cases
only occurred in Rutland, Bennington
Windsor ana Windham counties.
"The medical practitioners of Yer
mont, generally alert to the seriousness
of this disease, had had most unusual
opportunities for studying its variou:
phases. The cases of the disease arc
undoubtedly diagnosed and reported by
the profession with increasing thorough
ness.