Essex County herald. [volume] (Guildhall, Vt.) 1873-1964, 1918-04-26
Laboratory OF Hygiene.

Laboratory OF Hygiene.
Included with the report of the
state laboratory for March is a brief
historical and descriptive account of
the work of the laboratory, from
which the following is quoted:
The growth of the public health
laboratory idea was an inevitable
development of the great increase in
our knowledge of communicable dis
eases which followed the discoveries
OF Pasteur, Koch and other on
freres in the early eighties. Up to this
time efforts to control infections were
rewarded with comparatively little
success. Following a discovery of the
specific cause of diphtheria typhoid
fever, tuberculosis and many other
epidemic diseases, the utter i'm
portance Of making a diagnosis OF
these infections from symptoms was
brought home and with this, the rea-
son of the failure of previous meth
DDS of control, was made very evil
dent. Later with the development of
a specific treatment of these cases it
became of the utmost Importance to
the infected individuals that a dag
nosis be made as early as possible,
even before the clinical symptoms be-
came characteristic. The detection of
the specific bacteria of disease was
early found to be beyond the abilities
of the general practitioner.
Such work could only be done in
well equipped laboratories and by
men specially trained and kept up to
the highest efficiency by much prac-
tice. These conditions could only be
hoped for in a public health labora-
tory. Vermont was fortunate at this
very time in having a man who had
been a student of Robert Koch and
was familiar with the work of Pas
teur and other German and French
psychologists. DR.. J. H. Linsley was
able to give timely advice to the state
board Of health at that time wrest-
ling with an epidemic of diphtheria
and thus Vermont was one of the
first to develop its state laboratory.
This institution once established and
equipped it was natural that other
chemical, archaeological, pathological
and general scientific analyses found
desirable by various departments of
town, county or state should be I'M
dertaken by this institution. Thus
from being a restricted laboratory
giving assistance to the board OF
health in epidemics, the laboratory
has become the scientific workshop of
the state and not only renders es-
sential assistance in the diagnosis OF
diphtheria, tuberculosis, typhoid fever.
malaria, poliomyelitis. meningitis,
syphilis. go~norrhoea, pneumonia,
%whooping cough and the other infec-
tons to which the human family Is
subject, but also determines in many
of these diseases. the length OF time
that the individual Is dangerous.
hence the proper period Of Quaran-
tine. II makes chemical and bac-
THEOLOGICAL examinations of water OF
both public and private supplies to
determine the conditions dangerous to
public health. All the examinations
necessary to determine THAT the
foods, drugs. confectionery and
liquors sold to the public in our mar
kets are pure. wholesome and true to
the claims, are made here,
Successive legislative enactments
have made It the duty Of the labora-
tory to make examinations TO deter
mine the presence and assist IN the
control of communicable diseases In
cattle. horses, poultry and swine. 1t
has been the policy Of the fnstitu-
ton to make for the department OF
agriculture any examinations u dis
eased tissue from any animal Gun re-
quest of the commissioner or any OF
the veterinarians even though not
specified by law. An act Of the leg
islature provides for examination OF
paints at the laboratory and any town
is entitled through its paint inspec-
to, to send samples, Of paint. and oil
for analysis. The prosecution of
homicides often involves questions
requiring an expert medical. chemical
or pathological examination. These
examinations are made at the labOra-
tory or by members Of its STAFF. In
the trial of these cases the members
of the staff are available as witness
ses without fees. Late legislation has
given to the laboratory staff the in
spection duties involved in the sani-
tary control Of food establishments as
well as that formerly done in con-
nection with the pure food control"
During the month Of March there
were 6S2 examinations made at the