The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1922-05-03
Gives Address Before Members
of Kansas Medical Society.
MORE DIFFICULT IN FUTURE
Early Diagnosis and Prompt
Treatment Are the Weapons.
He Praises Work of Kansas
State Board of Health.

to individual efforts, is the greatest
factor" DIR. Thomas Parran, of the
United States Public Health Service.
said today in addressing the annual
meeting of the Kansas Medical society.
For example, the supplying OF pure
water to a city, thru the action of its
government; in the south the elimina-
ton of the mosquito. which transmits
the yellow fever. thru the draining and
oiling of swamps; the control of rats,
thru governmental action. in the pre-
vention Of bubonic plague, and similar
projects. Progress has been made in
the control of environmental santa
ton, rather than in the control OF dis
cases which are transmitted thru
intimate, personal contact, especially
.he respiratory infections. These must
be suppressed thru the interest, &C
tivity. and cooperation OF every in
dividual citizen. and not thru the ac-
ton of the majority of the community
where il Is necessary to elicit the
active corporation of individuals, pro-
Eress in disease control has not been
50 great
Must Take Offensive.
Formerly, public health authorities
worked only thru defensive means
isolation of infected cases. quarantine.
Vow the public health officers must
take the offensive.
Disease infection follows a chain.
from the source to the victim It must
be the object ofthe health department
TO bTeak InaI Cnaln at It's NtdhGSL
link whether il be the source of in
fection. the isolation Of cases, the
raising of the general standards of
health so that the bodily resistance of
the persons exposed, is raised
Progress in public health will be
more difficult in the future than it has
been in the past. We have four great
plaques in this country today-plagues
as real, as insidious, as hidden. as diff
ffcult of control if less dramatic
than the Black Plague which swept
Europe in the Middle Ages.
These include tuberculosis. social
disease. cancer and detectives. mental
and physical
DR.. Parran declared that the two
weapons in the hands of the medical
profession and the public in fighting
these plaques. are early diagnosis. and
prompt and competent treatment
To Fight for Better Health.
"These lie. specially with the medical
profession, which possesses the su-
perior knowledge necessary to the
recognition of the diseases and its
Treatment he declared The public
looks to the MEDICAL profession to take
the lead in all the fight for better
health, because of the superior know
ledge of its members. They are ex-
pected not only to take the active lead
I'm the fight. but also to arouse public
sentiment and interest in the work"
Doctor Parran quoted figures from
reports of the Kansas state board of
health. to show the progress which
has been made in the last decade in
combating some of the diseases.
There has been a decrease OF IS
per cent in the death rate per thou
sand. in Kansas. from tuberculosis. in
the ten years from 1911 to 1921,
Doctor Parran said. There were 307
fewer deaths from tuberculosis in
1921 than in 1911; there were 3.S77
fewer active cases in the state In a
study of LOCO deaths from tuberculo-
made hy- the state hoard of health
OF Kansas. it is shown that the cost
TO the state. in 1921, of tuberculosis,
was s6.250.0O0. That was a saving of
S2,0ST.600 over the cost in 1911.
T. b. Killed 7sS I'm 1921.
still. tuberculosis killed IT'S per-
sons in Kansas in 1921. There are to-
day more than 5000 active cases in
the state-on the streets, in the
schools. all Of them sources of infec-
"Of 1000 cases studied in Kansas.
50 per cent died within a month after
they were reported, and % per cent
within six months. altho the average
duration OF the illness and infective
period was forty months.
Progress has also been rapid in
Kansas in combating typhoid fever.
In 1911, the death rate in this state
from typhoid. was 2O.6 per 1000 pop
ulation. In 1921, it was SIS per 1 900.
Typhoid Cost State s1,6SS 200.
Estimating the value of a human
life to the state as $4,000, the cost of
typhoid fever to the state in 1911, was |
S4.Ts5.oo0. In 1921 it was 1858, 900 |
"a saving of more than SS.OO0,OOO to |
the state.
These figures. and the figures OH
tuberculosis. show the value to the !
state Of the board of health. 1t has I
paid for itself many times over. Kan /
sas has a board Of health which has
been held up as a. model to all the 4
other states of the Union, as shown I
state. and the low death rate from /
preyentable diseases. Kansas is 9n- 4
deed fortunate in its board of health. 4
zone Of the primary needs of the
public health service at the present 1
time Is adequate machinery-locall
the taxpayer to differentiate between /
true and false economy. and to recog-
nize that the hampering of local or
state boards of health by lack of
FUNDS, is indeed false economy.
The public must be brought to real
fze that public health Improvement is
economically profitable. it is good
Business. as we'll as humanitarily ap-
Cannot stand still.
Public health work cannot stand
still 1t goes either forward or back
ward Retrogression and real ex-
health are hampered in their forward
PROCESS by the lack of funds.
The local board OF health is the
keystone in the structure of public
health. The next objective of the
public health workers must be indi-
Vddual hygiene. Progress has been
made along the lines OF community
effort The need now remains to reach
the individuals"
Doctor Parran opened his talk by
q declaring that the medical profession
" the only one which stands for ideals
which fully realized. mean the elm
nation of itself The elimination OF
disease, he pointed out. would mean
The elimination of the profession.
.-Pnhlic health Wnrlr Il 1nn Naars