Richmond times-dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1914-current, 1916-08-10
DANGER FROM TYPHOID
MUCH LESS IMMINENT
Yesterday Brought Only Three New
Cases, Raising Total to
Eighty-Scven.
LEVY SAYS WAITER is PURE
Disease Is by No Means Epidemic,
Says Chief Health Oiliccr-Dcmand
for Serum Quickly ENhausts Ship
mcnt of 800 Boxes.

With the list Of cases in Richmond
| increased by only three. bringing the
! total number now under treatment to
| cighty-scvcn. officials of the Health
/ Department Yesterday believed the
! ishng. AS to the disease being
| epidemic. such a chara CT CREATION was
| classified as absurd No general cause
! of infection has been established
when tho number Of typhoid reports
received by the department. became
larger than usual attention was at once
turned toward the City's water supply,
ana on July 20 Chief Health officer
Levy. who has been placed in entire
charge OF the Settling Basin by the
Administrative Board. directed tho ad-
dition Of more chlorine To the water.
The publication plant in use was found
TO lie Inadequate To supply the quantity
Of chlorine which DR.. Levy considered
necessary. He accordingly ordered Il
new chlorinator, which has been in
stalled and is now III operation. How
ever, to guard against all risk. lime
and liquid chlorine were added Ivy old
fashioned methods until the new APP
paratus was set UP and placed in
working order.
WATER Is SAFE, BUT
BOILING Is RECOMMENDED
Or. Levy declares Richmond's water
to he safe. AS a further safeguard he
insists that all drinking water be
boiled. whether it comes from the city's
system or from any other source
With an outbreak of typhoid fever
said DR. Levy 1--WE always look first
toward the water as cause of the
trouble. am strongly inclined to the
belief that some of the cases of typhoid
in the city may have been due to in
lection from drinking water. and have
thought so from the very outset. That
was why az once set about the work
OF bringing ii to the highest possible
state of publication"
DR. Levy is equally certain that all
of tho cases We're not caused by water.
One group Of cases was traced directly
to Il soda water fountain. -Four others.
ii was found upon investigation, be-
came infected NJ camp near the city.
Several trained nurses have been
stricken with the disease through nurs-
ing patients who contracted ii out OF
town and were brought here for treat
ment.
Tho fever is not confined to any one
locality, hut cases have developed in
practically every section of the city.
Had the city water supply been con
tam,nated it is pointed out, there would
now exist hundreds where there are
dozens of cases.
40 OCCASION FOR UNDUE
ALAK-i. SAYS LEVY
The disease Is nothing like an
epidemic" declared DIR. Levy. at is
true that we have more cases than
usual in the past few years. but GER
ta!nly not enough TO cause any undue
alarm"
Negroes form only a small proper
tion Of the typhoid patients. DR.. b. T.
Summers. medical inspector of tho
Health Department. said that Of tho
total Of cighty-seven, only seventeen
are colorcd.
The entire staff OF the Health Dc
partmcnt is giving its attention to the
typhoid situation. The Office force is
engaged in distributing cases OF vac
cine, for which there is an enormous
demand. and each shipment is en-
haustcd in few minutes after II is
received. y consignment Of 500 doses
yesterday afternoon disappeared almost
as if by magic. and there were many
diSappo intcd applicants who called af-
ter the supply had given out The city
Is also rapidly consuming tho supplies
received by the state Board OF Health
THREE LABORATORIES
SUPPLY CITS'S DEMANDS
The demand for the serum has
reached such proportions that il is now
being obtained from three scnuratn