Alexandria gazette. [volume] (Alexandria, D.C.) 1834-1974, 1920-12-13
Health Officer Says He Is
Amazed at Actions of
Some Persons
AGAINST RAsHNEss
II is Unlawful to Remove Card Placed
on House Health Offer Judge of
When to Lift Quarantine.

4 Health Officer Louis E. Foulks, IN
speaking recently ABOUT the danger
in disregarding the quarantine cards
plainly posted at the front and back
entrance of every hduse where scar
| let fever diphtheria. small pox and
other contagious diseases made quar-
antineable by law, may be present
saif 81 have oftea been amazed at
! the risk some unthinking people
] take when they deliberately enter
i house where they must first pass by
a large yellow card with the warning
word in heavy black letters. "Dirh.
\ iberia. Or it may be a glaring
scarlet card marked Scarlet Fever
| Yes they will often stop and read the
card ard then pass on in, unless the
door is locked, or some member OF
the family stops them.
One day last winter | was posting
A a house for a case of diphthera. and
had just finished tacking the card or
the front door, when a lady came up
| the STEPS and was about to enter, but
J called her attention to the card and
the fact that the house was under
4 quarantine. She said, "Ch, that's all
| right, doctor / a mnot at all AFRAID
of these children's diseases. On ques-
| tioning her found that she had four
small children at her home just across
the street. I explained TO her that
wtife she might not contract the dis
ease herself yet she certainly could
convey the germs to her own house
and infect her children. When she
finally realized the possible danger,
she declared she would not enter the
house for worlds. as she thought too
much of her own little ones to run
the slightest risk of carrying any
disease into her house.
n another case, doctor phoned.
to me that a child had Just been
brought to his Office. and ne had d.
agnosed the case as memhranous
Group. He gave me the rame ana
address. and l hurried to the house
to place it under quarantine. ] was
greeted at the door by an elderly
lady, to whom explained that |
came to placard the house and show
ed hc,. the yellow diphtheria card. She
looked at it and, said: "Whv doctor.
YOU are mistaken. This is not a case
of d;phtheria, it is Just membranous
Group. and cur doctor will be here
very shortly and do all that is ne">
cssarv. l have seen many cases in
nv time, and | am sure it Is not
contagious" Well, l certainly had a
hard time to explain to her that
..mcmbranous Group" was simply the
common name for laryngeal diphthe-
ria, dangerous form of true diph-
liberia, caused by the germs Of that
disease. Her doctor also explained
It to her when he came later.
II man deliberately exposes him
self to a contagious disease, without
a very good and sufficient reason, we
would call him foolish to say the
very least. But when he does 50
expose himself to infection, and by
50 doing places in jeopardy the
health and even the lives of others
with whom he may later come In
contact | am free to say that such
action is nothing short Of criminal.
In another section of the country,
knew Of case in which sympa-
thetic neighbo.s we~t into house
suarant:ned for diphtheria and actu-
ally kissed the .chila suffering with
the disease! Then they calmly re-
turned to theic own homes to play
with and kiss their own children.
It is needless for me to state that
an epidemic of diphtheria followed in
that section. and several lives were
lost before the disease was finally
placed under effective control.
There seems to be a popular fall
acy that adults do not catch the
various so-called .childrens diseases
To disprove this. i need only men
ton the fact that during the war, w
had many small ep;denrics of diphth
ria. scarlet fever. measles. chicke'
pox and numrs. in our v"rious train
ing camps. and yet practically all tn
men were over p years of age.
When house, is placed unde
quarantine. it is unlawful for an