The weekly tribune and the Cape County herald. (Cape Girardeau, Mo.) 1914-1918, 1916-07-13
People Can Fight Harder to
Prevent Epidemic Than to
Cure Disease.
GROWN:UPS MAY TAKE
INFANTILE PARALYSIS
Wacth Nose and Throat as The
Most Vital SpOt-Also
Swat The Fly.

the Cape against possible spread cf
the nationwide infantile paralysis cpl
dem;c into this city, Mayor Rage and
members of the Board Of Health yes
terday inaugurated a publicity cam
paign seeking to tell the people what
is best to do in order to avoid the dis
ease.
'The proposition that an ounce of
prevention is worth more than pound
of cure never has been more applicable
than at this time" DR.. r F. Wichter-
ich, president of the Board of Health
said last night.
"The people of the city may do a
lot to keep the disease from ever get
ting a start in the Cape and it is
through the press that they best may
be informed.
a believe that this epidemic that is
raging in the larger cities will spread
to all parts Of the United States before
it is stamped out or runs its course
late in the fall. For that reason, We
should prepare in the Cape to fight it
as much as if we had the disease in
our midst.
81 believe that if the disease be-
comes prevalent enough about Us, it
may be necessary to place a quaran-
tine on all trains and vehicles coming
to the Cape. Several years ago, when
we had a smallpox epidemic, the trains
were met by physicians who examined
every person who got off here.
'That is one step that we could take
in an extreme situation to avoid in
fantile paralysis"
A concise set Of rules for those who
wish to avoid the disease have been
laid down as follows by a member of
the Health Board:
Let these rules apply to every
one. This form of paralysis may at
tack grown-ups as well as children.
2-Disinfect the nose and throat
daily by spraying with an antiseptic.
You take the disease through the nose
and throat and it is important to dis
infect those parts thoroughly every
day.
Eat nothing but cooked foods.
Cook fruit as well as all other foods.
The germ may be introduced in un-
cooked food.
4-Keep away from large gather
ings of people-especially the chill
dren.
Swat the fly hard and make
everything around the home hygien-
ically clean. The cleaner, the more
secure.
6-The first moment you have sus-
picion of the diseases presence call a
doctor"
Symptoms of the disease are found
in severe headache accompanied by
a stiffening of the legs or pains in the
legs. These symptoms Will be accom-
panied by fever.
The germ may be present from 3 to
10 days before it makes its presence
known. and a child who has the dis
ease may go to bed feeling perfectly
well at night and wake up in the
with an advanced stage of
the disease.
Although older people may have the
it is prevalent among children
and babies have the majority of the
cases. The degree of cOntageon is
slight, but it is transferred by infec-
tion through the nose. Cases should
be isolated as soon as they are found.
1t is more important to guard
against the diseases appearance than
attempt to help patient after he gets
it for medical science as yet has been
unable to do much to combat the dis
ease.
The infantile paralysis first was sep
arated from other forms of paralysis
in 1910, and in the last ten years in
the United States there have been
many epidemics. The disease is prev
alent in this country and in Sweden.
In 1907 and 1908 in New York City
there were 1000 cases showing a NOR