Twin city review. [volume] (Champaign, Ill.) 19??-1929, 1925-09-11
HEALTH GRAMS
Observation-Disclosures.

Observation-Disclosures.
Il is reported that when the tourist
season closes this fall SOME l2,OO0,o0Ol
persons will have returned from auto
mobile excursions averaging 1000
miles distance and 80 days duration.
At the same time the typhoid fever
incidence throughout the country is
markedly higher than last year. In
Illinois il j. twice as great. Touring
and typhoid seem 70 be definitely re
lated.
Locating the source Of typhoid fever
infections has been very difficult this
year, according 10 health officers.
Cases have been widely scattered, very
few local epidemlcs being reported.
Il is felt that automobiles figure in
the increased typhoid incidence in two
ways. Typhoid carriers may travel
widely from time 10 time. coming into
/ contact with scores Of people whom
they would never see but for the motor
car. Automobiles also take people,
who otherwise would remain at home,
into country towns and byways where
they drink water from polluted sources
and eat unsanitary food.
An epidemic of typhoid fever usual.
ly has a single source that can be
more or less readily located and elm
mated. Sporadic, widely distributed
cases, like those occurring this year
in many places, indicate a multiplicity
of sources which are difficult to locate
and hard to control. The situation
resolves itself into a personal matter
Ii people wish 10 avoid this disease
thew must learn to eat and drink from
sources known to be clean and sani-
tary or else sterilize foods and water
before consuming them.
| In the cities it is rather an easy
matter TO control water and milk sup
plies and thereby insure reasonable
safely at all times. The multitude of
private water supplies available along
highways and the innumerable as well
as unsanitary sandwich counters that
skirt the principal automobile routes
make it impossible for health depart.
ments, as now organized, to either in
spect or impose any sort of sanitary
regulations. Every motorist must be-
come a sanitarian and hygienist ON
| his own account or else take the chance
which seems now to be expensive in
numerous instances.
Smallpox is another disease that
thrives on a travelling public. People
who refuse to be vacclnated but insist
uDon travelling not only endanger their
own health and lives, NUT that of
whole communities where vaccination
| is not practiced.
A malignant tyne Of smallpox has
/ l., ha
| for the past two or three years. Out
breaks varying from a few score TO
several hundred cases have occurred
! in Missouri, Kansas, Iowa, Minnesota,
! Colorado, Wisconsin, Michigan and IL
linois since 1922. AT Cedar Rapids
IL our of 55 patients died this sum
mer. Nobody protected by a recent
| successful vaccination has caught the
disease to date.
The school bells have called 5000
| Illinois children TO the classroom for
| the first time. From now until spring
it will pay the parents to watch the
health margin of hese chilrren very
closely. Every normal child loves to
| learn and measure full up TO his COM
/ panions. Physical defects and illness
sometimes cause a child to get undue
credit for being "bone-head."
An hour with an oculist will mean
| more to the education of a child who
has defective vision than a month with
teacher who doesn't appreciate his
condition. Likewise, a child with dis
eased tonsile will profit more by an
operation than by keeping hours az
| ter school with the teacher.
A movement is on foot in Chicago
favoring the operation OF the public
schools throughout the entire year,
shortening the daily classroom hours
and distributing vacation periods.
sufficient medical supervision, the "lan
is a good one for several reasons.
One is that the children Will have
greater opportunity for out-of-door
| life, which is votal to health, Is con
centrated largely in the summer vaca-
ton period. =.
A scar of successful vaccination
against smallpox and record Of i'm
munity against diphtheria ought to be
considered as a part of the school
child's equipment no less definitely
than books and pencils. Schools are
maintained for teaching children how
to be successful in life. Certainly one
Of the greatest factors in success Is
good health. Avoiding preyentable dis
ease which not only interferes with
school progress, but which may per
manently impair health, must there
fore be regarded as an important FAC
Z a