Atlanta tri-weekly journal. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1920-19??, 1920-05-22
BLOCKADlNG EUROPE'S
PLAQUES
By Frederic ]. HaSkin


| ice, has called conference of health
officials from the different states to
meet here this month:
So far, the United States has prac-
| tically escaped the war diseases now
sweeping Europe and Asia. DR.. Cum
ming and other health experts hold,
however. that happiness over this
fact should be tempered with eau
the onl.- safety lies in building bar
ricades between them and our own
| shores.
! Every port of the United States is
thus protected against European
| germs. Quarantine rules form the
mine fields. United States health Of
| ticers in European ports. form an
| intelligence corps which keeps this
country informed as to the presence
and strength of this enemy which is
| no reSpector of covenants of peace.
| Steamship lines are Tightening up on
| health requirements applying to their
| passengers. But with it all we are
not invulnerable, and unless by
| giene and disease prevention cam
very few war germs may slip past
! the health inspectors and find con-
| genial homes overe here and multi
ply with disastrous swiftness.
Typhus Fever
The diseases most feared by the
public health service are typhus fever
and beubonic plague, especially the
| latter. Typhus fever, carried by
body lice, better known as coolies,
| thriveS where sanitation is poor and
dirt is plentiful. In southern Europe
water and clean clothes are. so un-
| believably scare that conditions are
ideal for the deadly cootie to do it's
| work. But over here, the public
health service points out, soap and
water are an institution, and as such
are our best home protection against
typhus. There are despite soap con-
sumption on Saturday nights, coolies
at large in this country, which shows
| that our boosted cleanliness is not
all that it might be. But ours are
| healthy coolies and so are COMPARE
lively harmless.
The United States escaped the war
! cootie largely through the thorough
ness of the war department. Sol
diers returned from Europe, and
their uniforms as well, were put
through numerous purifying cere-
monies, beginning in Europe, con-
| tinued on board the transports and
intensified during debarkation and de-
| mobilization in this country. AS a
| result, men just back from a disease
! infested continent were scattered all
| over our country, and not a case of
| typhuS was ever reported as a result
of their coming.
The nearest home of the typhus
carrying cootie, and probably a more
| dangerous source than Europe, so far
| as the United States is concerned, is
| Mexico Revolutions in Mexico pro-
| duce on a small scale a similar sit
| uatlon to that which now exists in
Europe. Fighting makes it necessary
| that soldiers concentrate in camps
and cause civilians to abandon normal
living, thus creating conditions under
which typhus spreads.
The Mexican Menace
Frequent epldemics of typhus in
| Mexico are a constant source of
worry to our border states. Several
thousand Mexicans cross and recross
Inc III line every month, and while
louise, them every time they come
In, few undoubtedly get over with
out this formality and proceed to the
mining and lumber camps of the
west, carrying their coolies with
them.
Typhus infected coolies, once set
loose in a country, SO distribute
themselves in trains, cars, theaters
and homes that literally nobody is
saIe. Moreover, recent figures show
typhus to be fatal. An apprecia-
ton Of these two facts will cause
| Inc cltlzen to agree with the pub
nc health service and the war de-
partment that the typhus cootie can
1mmigra ton into the United States,
Bubonic plague, the other main
death dealing disease abroad, is more
common in the United States thar
tyP3hius: The plague is primarily
from fIeas. carrying the Infection.
Many Mediterranean ports are now
reported as being infected by rats
ff edfed rggad from plague. These in
On oh
they, get ashore and start new out
breaks. If an infected flea gets a
human being the disease is trans
mltted TO him. In view of increased
activity in trade, the health officials
are much worried over the prospects
OF ships carrying plague infected
rats into our ports.
RAT DISTRIBUTION
1t is estimated that there is one
rat to every person in the world,
but the rodents do not seem to be
Equally g1 distributed. New Orleans.
s Gs aad for has sx More than its
lighting plague because of them. In
L q. he tnH campaign has destr- "
ed over 100000 rats in that city.
~ these, 496,537 were examined in
laboratories and 1853 were found to
pc infected. San Francisco also
mas, carried on a war with rats and
with ground squirrels. The latter
animals In addition to rats. arc now
KNOWN to be carriers of plague.
.Bubonic plague is not so danger
Gus as typhus. the death rate being
approximately twenty-five per cent,
but. similar disease called pneu-
mon1c plague, recently appeared in
ty per cent. This deadly complaint
attacks the lungs and is something
Ike, influenza, though it is an en-
tirely different disease. 1t is so
linn NJ
The east is said to have been the
origin of a good many of Europes
epidemic diseases. China and Japan.
because of overcrowding, have long
mad their pest diseases. but Europe
an an, countries kept them out by watch
full quarantine. During the war, how
ever, men from all parts of the
globe, met in. Europe, bringing as
one doctor said. their diseases with
them. The armies did not suffer so
much as did the civilians from these
conventions of germs, for they were
inoculated, and vaccinated and
otherwise protected. Then soldiers
and ana refugees went back to their
were taken, as by this country, they
carried diseases with them.
Lax governmental conditions in
Europe are having their effect on
ing the United States. Before the
war, immigrants from Russia, for
example, came to this country by
way of Germany, and were sent
through quarantine stations at Bre-
men, or Hamburg. Now, this filter is
removed, and we get at our ports
from Russia a higher percentage OF
persons suffering from infectious
diseases.
EUROPE DISEASE RIDDEN
There are no reliable figures on
the number of people in Europe and
Asia suffering from plague. Oc
casionalIy an isolated figure is given
out, like that sponsored by Mr..
Davidson of the Red Cross, which
stated that there are now about $780,
600 cases of typhus in Poland and
in the area held by Polish troops.
More, often the announcement IS