The Aberdeen weekly. [volume] (Aberdeen, Miss.) 1878-1933, 1919-02-14
HEALTH TALKS.
By the County Health Officer
THE prevention and cure of


pie matter when the health officer
can have the cooperation of the
people, the intelligent cooperation,
for here we have an infection ol
which we know the parasite and its
life history, its mode of entrance and
exit into and from the body, and we
possess a satisfactory cure for the
disease within reach of all. The
trouble il that we have 20 much ig.
norance. apathy, poverty and un-
cleanliness to deal with before sat
isfactory prevention, much less erad-
ication. can be achieved Hook
worm disease presents a sanitary
problem Of first magnitude in Mis-
sissippi DIR. Stiles estimates that
in this country 100000 individuals
have the infection from the Potomac
to the Mississippi.
Almost all animals have hook
worm, but each host species has a
different kind of hookworm; that is,
the hookworms of the dog, horse,
fox, etc, differ from each other and
are specific.
The usual mode of transmission,
perhaps in 80 per cent. of the cases,
is through the skin. The infection
may also be taken by the mouth in
drinking water or solid food. or from
contaminated objects, such az dirty
fingers. 1t is fact the infection
leaves the body exclusively in the
feces. which contain the eggs of the
parasite Hookworms are round
worms and the adult worm lives in
the intestinal tract, usually in the
small intestine 1t attaches itself
to the intestinal wall, sucks blood
eats the lining and produces a pois-
onous substance which Injuries the
yerson. The female worm lays a
prodigious number of eggs in a never
ending stream. which pass from the
person in the feces. This Is why it
is absolutely necessary that tly-proof
privies be built at every home so
that polluting the ground will be
impossible. Stiles found that the
negro is the great reservoir for hook
worm disease. in that he Is frequent
ly infected but slightly affected. Per-
haps the negro has had the disease
so many generations in Afric that he
has become immune to the effects
of it. 1t is thought that the infec-
tion was brought to America through
the negro slave trade. Hookworm
disease lowers resistance and greatly
increases the chances of infections,
especially tuberculosis. | want to
see the people of Monroe and all the
other counties of the South get rid
of this devitalizing disease that
payes the way for tuberculosis as
often We can very materially lower
our death rate from tuberculosis by
eradicating hookworm disease. for
with redder, richer, better blood we
could fight off tuberculosis. | know
10 tn ! 4 Ia1c
county with tuberculosis most likely
brought on by haying bodily resist
ence lowered by hookworm infection
for the whole family and all their
neighbors were found to be heavily
infected. | am thankful that our
State Board of Health realizes fully
the great Importance of eradicating
hookworm disease from the state,
All progressiyes citizens now see
why this is of utmost importance in
the prevention of disease and only
the uninformed and densely ignor-
ant now fail to appreciate the brave
efforts of those in authority to help
the fellow who stands in greatest
need of assistance. yet who looks
upon these honest efforts az species
of graft. | was called by physi-
clan of this county TO see destitute
family near Aberdeen last Septem-
Der, and upon my arrival | found
the wife having bowel hemorrages
from very yirulent typhoid infec-
ton. A y year old daughter lay
on the bed with her with the same
disease, almost burning up with fe-
fer. This man had six other chill
dren and a niece in the house of
three rooms. The house was un-
screened. the surroundings filthy
and unsightly. He had no privy at
all. to say nothing of a hy-proof one,
and the xraota ,,,af+ar errv,, tLac, -