The Birmingham age-herald., 1924-02-24
COUNTY FROM DISEASES
 BY SANITATION
Many Communities 2 And :. Industrial Plants Take In Work
FIGHT ON MOSQUITOES
 AND WATER TOOK LEAD
Typhoid, Malaria, Diphtheria, ]. Meningitis And Other Mala- ' dies Greatly Reduced

r Fifteen towns and villages in Jeffer- ron county, with a total population of Approximately 25,000, have been safe guarded from communicable diseases, such as typhoid fever, through the ef- forts of w. A. Hardenbergh, director of rural sanitation with the Birming- ham health department for the last two years. He is one of Dr. J. D. Dowl- tng's department chiefs.
 Not content with this, plans are be- ing made to carry on the work of sani- tation on a still larger scale this and succeeding years.
 "If we can keep at sanitation at the same rate that we have for the past two years," Hardenberg predicted, i've ought soon to have the upper hand on typhoid fever, which is now the most formidable of those rural diseases that yield readily to health work.
 Wide Territory
 "The work has not been easy because Jefferson county is a big territory, em- bracing as it does HOO square miles . and containing 150;OO0 people outside of the city limits of Birmingham"
 Hardenbergh is graduate of Union college, Schenectady, N. Y., and saw two and one-half years service in the World war as engineer in charge of mosquito control, water supplies and sewerage at Camp Wheeler, Camp Beauregard and Camp Bowie. He holds the rank of major in the officers re- serve corps.
 The campaign against the more prev alent communicable diseases, typhoid, diptheria, scarlet fever, smallpox and meningitis, was started two years ago. Leeds, 8 town of $500 people, was the first to adopt sanitary measures, which were fostered by the Atlas Portland Cement company there and town off cials. As a result, in 1923, the total deaths from all causes at Leeds was re- duced 90 per cent and typhoid cases cut down 80 per cent.
 ! Interest Grows
 Brookside was the second, a town of 300 population, to raise funds for the work, at the instance of Mayor J. S. Cambron, and the citizens themselves did the work. Brookside has had only one case of typhoid in two years. Edgewood, of 1000 population, next adopted better health measures and was closely followed by Rosedale, me- gro settlement, lying between Edge wood and Birmingham.
 Big corporations at this time awoke to the benefits of the health work and began installing sanitation in the min ing camps and settlements at their own expense.
 In the order named, the Alabama Fuel and Iron company, adopted sani- tation methods of garbage disposal at Overton mines, 1,200 population; the Imperial Coal and Coke company at Bradford, 1,S00, and at Majestic, 1000 {; Franklin Coal Mining company at Pow hatan, 300; Gulf States Steel company, at shannon mines, 1000, and the Re- public Iron and Steel company at Raj mund and Spaulding camps, totaling 1,500 population. s'
 Individuals Paid
 At the same time, individuals paid for the work at Warrior, 1000; the which Hardenbergh declared was the neatest town in the state Mayor Thom- ason and citizens at Tarrant City, 2,000.
 As fortunate as Jefferson county is in a good many ways,v Hardenbergh continued, that very fact contributes, perhaps, to disease. Limestone is here to aid our industries, but limestone formations are notorious for their treachery in regard to water supplies. Almost over night a heretofore safe spring or well may become polluted and U source of danger. So it is an inn portant part of this divisions work to examine and inspect the many water supplies throughout the country-in- dustrial villages, schools, convict camps, etc, included"
 The Imperial Coal and Coke company has installed purifying system for the water system at Bradford. The Ala bama company has done likewise at Lewisburg and so has the Porter Coal company at Porter.
 Work In Schools
 Besides urging the installation of san- itary fixtures the nursing service of the health department has protected 1000 persons-mostly school children-with anti-typhoid vaccinations. More than fifty of the most important schools of the county were visited.
 The methods used for preventing ty- rhoid entirely prevents hookworm and inateriaily affects many other diseases, including tuberculosis, according to lHardenbergh. Diptheria anti-toxin has been given to rural schools and is q lifetime protection against the disease. Scarlet fever can only be controlled by quarantine.
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