Worcester Democrat and the ledger-enterprise. (Pocomoke City, Md.) 1921-1953, 1925-01-03
Best Gift Is Health
Says State Official
New Year Message of DR.. Full
ton Is Emphasis On Avoid
able Death Rate.

When asked for New Years mes
sage to the people of Maryland, DR..
John S. Fulton, Director Of the State
Department of Health, said the best
gift that he could wish the people
of the State was good, strong vigor-
Gus health for each Individual and for
the State as a whole.
Zone of the wisest Of our sanitar-
ians" he continued, Summed up this
whole question of health, both for the
individual and for the community, by
saying, Look out we'll for the health
rate and the death rate will lose its
Significance This is the idea that
has gradually gained stronger and
stronger hold. When Public Health
Departments were first established in
this country and abroad, the avowed
purpose was to cut down the number
of avoidable deaths, and nearly all
activities were expressed in terms of
mortality. Now, the emphasis is laid
on health, definite and positive health.
Now, Departments of Health are or
ganized, as our own in Maryland is,
not only to fight disease, but to con-
serve health.
"When there is an outbreak of any
serious communicable disease in this
State, the efforts of the Department
are Immediately directed two ways:
first, to prevent avoidable loss of life,
second, to protect what we call the
Contacts For instance, if case of
smallpox is reported to the Depart
ment, the first care is to see that the
patient is receiving proper attention.
AT the same time, every contact
that is, every person who has had
anything to do with the patient suf-
fering with the disease, is located if
possible, and is Notwithstanding
ed against the disease. Similar steps
are taken in connection with diphthe-
ria, and with typhoid fever.
"These things go like clockwork,
and the people of Maryland have no
idea, am sure, of the amount of pro-
tective work that is being done for
them by the guardians of the States
health. Every part of the Depart
ment has it's share in the work of con-
servaticn and protection, but refer
ence to the work of single Bureau
will serve to give you something like
an adequate understanding of what
gets on in the Health Department
day by day, up to three hundred and
siXty-five or siXty-siX days per an
mum. Modern laboratory methods fur
nish accuracy of diagnosis for more
precise, more convincing and more de-
tailed than was possible twenty years
ago. In these days physicians have re-
course to laboratory tests in kind and
variety. Epidemics are fewer; far
Their parart, in time and space, and
very rarely reach large dimensions.
The Bureau of Bacteriology of the
State Department of Health, through
the central laboratory and the branch
es, is easily accessible to every part
of the State and it is possible for it
to give a report within a few hours,
On every test or analysis that is made.
During 1924, the Bureau made nearly
10000 such tests.
Laboratory findings not on y con-
firm the diagnosis of physicians OF
Health officer in cases of commune
cable diseases, but they are of the
utmost value in locating the presence
of disease neutrality-suspicious. who are
apparently healthy themselves but
who carry and spread the germs of
communicable diseases, like diphthe-
ria and typhoid. When carriers have
been located, protective measures can
of course, be Immediately instituted.
Maryland has been especially fortu-
nate this last year in not having any
serious epidemics, and in having a
marked decrease in certain diseases
notably typhoid and diphtheria. Let
us hope for an equally good-and
o,,o,, n hottor vaar-for 1923