The Pensacola journal. (Pensacola, Fla.) 1898-1985, 1919-02-25
Talks on u S. Public
Health Service
Results Of Improper Disposal Of Flu
man Wastes.

There are number of diseases which
result from bad sanitary conditions
such as have been described in this
city. The most to be feared is typhoid
fever. This disease goes by many
names such as low fever. "intermit-
tent fever" .remittent fever" ty-
phoid malaria typhoid pneumonia"
and the English call IT '"enteric
Nevertheless the real disease is
caused by a definite germ and does not
arise spontaneously from filth al
though carried from the sick person to
the next victim by infected filth.
On good authority It IS stated that
this disease constitutes one OF the
most serious sanitary problems in the
United States to-day" Bringing the
problem down to home affairs we must
remember that there were thirty
deaths reported officially Tor this com
munity for last summer. Probably if
the whole truth was known there We're
more. Anyhow with that figure We ar
rive at the fact that there We're at
least three hundred cases because FOR
each typhoid death recorded there are
q least ten cases.
Considering a population of 10000
we thus see that there was one out
OF every thousand people who dwelt
in this city died Of this preventative
disease and ono out of every hundred
who had it. Away back in 1919 in the
American cities where cases and deaths
are correctly reported the rate OF
deaths of 1S.5 per 10000 population
was considered excessive. There has
been Improvement since TIM Con
slider then the rate OF Pensacola in COM
parison 80 deaths per 10000 or 100
per 1o0000-over times too many even
if we accept as inevitable the city rate
as given.
II may be said that all these condt-
Ilohs have nothing to do with fhf.,
oiscase- But let Us consider how
tSphold IS spread We know that tile
germs shed by the sick or ~ carriers
chose who have recovered from the
lever but still carry the germ around)
pass TO the Well in variety of ways.
they enter the mouth with some ar
lcIe of food or drink or are simply
carried there by infected fingers. one
does not need to have mere than ever
age imagination to realize how this can
take place. The we'll must take care
81 the sick and thus they come in con-
tact
Your water supply may be consider
ed safe but it will bear watching Ice
should always be looked upon with
suspicion. While cows do not have
typhoid still the dairyman may have.
sickness in his. home. or he or his help
he wa liking" cases, or be carried
and thereby his milk infects many of
his customers. In L we'll severed or a
clean community, such as Pensacola
should be, where the discharges of the
sick are carefully disposed of every fo@-
cases are due TO being carried by flies.
This can be readily he understood
While on the other hand when hu-
man wastes are simply allowed to lay
exposed where flies can swarm and
breed, practically all cases are due TO
thesei Insects. The problem then, if 1t is
to be solved, narrows down to this
we must keep the excreta of a out OF
the mouth of 3.
IL Pensacola will follow the plan,
that has been made for the orgnfza-
ton of a department for health there
need not he the heavy recurrence OF
typhoid fever that has obtained in past
summers.
Professor Sedquick than whom there
is no better authority, says that "cv-
cry case OF typhoid fever comes from
somebody's ignorance or neglect a
prominent physician at one of our
great medical schools who has the
courageous convictions of the old
school states that for every case of ty-
phoid somebody should be jailed and
for every death somebody should he
hanged