The Brattleboro daily reformer. (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1913-1955, 1918-04-29
Laboratory of iyuiene.


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 con
freres in the early eighties. Up to this
time efforts TO control infections were
rewarded with comparatively little
success. Following discovery of the
specific cause of diphtheria typhoid
fever. tuberculosis and many other
epidemic diseases, the utter inn
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
specific treatment of these cases it
became of thesutmost Importance TO
the infected individuals that 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 tc
the highest efficiency by much prac.
tice. These conditions could only be
hoped for in a public health labora.
nnfVDnAaFment was d0TsuaaGe at this
very time in having a man who haG
been a student of Robert Koch anc
was familiar with the work of Pas
teur and other German and French
| sacteriologists. Dr. ]. H. Linsley wa:
able to give timely advice to the state
board OF health at that time wrest.
ling with an epidemic of diphtheris
and thus Vermont was one OF the
first to develop its state laboratory
This institution once established anC
equipped il was natural that other
chemical, meteorological, pathological
and general scientific analyses foune
desirable by various departments o.
town, county or state should be IN
dertaken by this institution. Thus
from being a restricted Laboratory
giving assistance to the board o;
health in epdemics, the laborator,
has become the scientific workshop o
| the state and not only renders es
sential assistance in the diagnosis o
diphtheria, tuberculosis, typhoid fever
malaria, poliomyehtis, meningitis
syphilis. gonorrhoea, pneumonia
whooping cough and the other infec
tions to which the human family i
subject. but also determines in man,
of these diseases. the length Of tim
that the individual is dangerous
tine. 1t makes chemical and bac
THEOLOGICAL examinations of water O
both public and private supplies t
determine the conditions dangerous t
public health. All the examination
necessary TO determine that tn
foods drugs confectionery an
liquors sold to the public in our mar
| htIS pure, NuOttSolllt anu u NC
the claims, are made here.
Successive legislative enactment
have made it the duty of the labora
tory to make examinations to deter
mine the presence and assist in tn
control of communicable diseases i
cattle, horses, poultry AMI swine.
has been the policy of he institu
ton to make for the department c
| agriculture any examinations Of dis
eased tissue from any animal on re
quest OF the commissioner or any c
the veterinarians even though nc
specified by law An act of the leg
islature provides for examination c
paints at the laboratory and any tow
is entitled through its paint inspeC
. to, to send samples, of paint, and o
| for analysis. The prosecution {
| homicides often involves question
, | requiring an experimental, chemics
, | or pathological examination. Thes
examinations are made at the labora
tory or by members Of its staff.
, | the trial of these cases the member
of the staff are available rs witnes
ses without fees. Late legislation Ia
given to the laboratory s aft the in
, | spection duties involved in the san
, tary control OF food establishments q
/ | well as that formerly done in cor
: nection with the pure food control
During the month of March the1
: were 6S2 examinations made at tn
laboratory.