The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1917-03-08

county tne laboratory would be our
chief aid in sustaining or disproving
our suspicious. This has occurred in
other counties of the state.
You can well remember when the
4 approach of dIphtheria was as much
/ dreaded by the mothers as infanUile
paralysis is now. That was before
anttoXin was discovered. If a family
attacked by diphtheria got by without
the loss of one or more children it was
considered very fortunate, indeed.
AntitoXin has changed all that. Now
the health officer has a difficult task u
getting the sick and contacts to remain
at home till the infectious stage has
passed.
Last year diphtheria presented itself
in epidemic proportions on various &C.
casions in different parts of the county.
In every instance "swabs" were made
of all school children's threats and the
infected ones sent home and kept isolat-
ed till all danger of injecting others
had passed. This method kept the
schools going, prevented panics because
the people knew something was being
done, and oftentimes gave the families
advance information as to the
probability of their children becoming
sick with diptheria within the next day
or two. If child was not sick but had
diphtheria germs in its throat there was
a strong chance that diphtheria would
develop. If diphtheria did not develop
the case become a carrier" and was
detained for further observation and
more swabs. The information was
usually taken advantage of and an i'm
munizing dose of antitoxin administered.
If the laboratory has done nothing
else than to give the school and health
officers a procedure by which they
can prevent this school closing nuisance
1t has been worth while. And that is
one thing that it can do without a
doubt.
When the laboratory was established
the postage on container for suspect
ed tuberculosis was eighteen cents but
under a recent ruling of the postal
authorities the postage has been re-
duced to five cents. 1t only costs five
cents to ascertain whether persistent
cough is due to a bad cold" or
tuberculosis. 1t costs now but FIVE
cents to learn whether a ''sore throat
Is tonsilitis or diphtheria. Other con-
tanners are reduced accordingly. There
is now no excuse to be in doubt about
these serious affections.
There have been seven hundred and
twenty eight Ops examinations made
for Garrett County during the past
year. This total includes examinations
made for the diagnosis of diphtheria,
typhoid fever, dysentery, para-typhoid
fever, tuberculosis consumption and
examinations of public and private
supplies of water as we'll as n.
supplies.
This work mas cost Garrett Count,
ZIG SUM VI lWGulF UOlldTS month. ne
regular commercial price of this labora-
tory work based on laboratory charges
out of the state would haye cost the
county $2435. And this done out of
the state would have occasioned so
much delay that the results would have
been of very little value.
The work in the schools alone in the
prevention of diphtheria would have
cost six times as much as the whole
work for the county cost for the year.
Very truly yours,
r. H. RILEY,
Deputy State Health Officer First
Sanitary District.
Report of examinations made for
Garrett county during the year 1916, by
the Cooperative Laboratory, Cumber-
land, Md, and regular commercial
cost of same, based on current price
list of the Lederle Laboratories, New
York City.
Commercial