The Bismarck tribune., 1933-01-17
President Of State Association
Says Next Few Years Are
Very Important

Says Next Few Years Are
Very important
A resume Of the fight on tubercu-
losts In North Dakota Is contained in
the annual report Of DR.. Fannie
Dunn Quain, president Of the state
Tuberculosis Association, presented
at . meeting here Monday. The re-
port follows in full.
By DIR. FANNIE DUNN GUAM
President North Dakota Tuberculosis
Association
This message is to bring greetings
to all North Dakota people who are
interested In the fight against tuber.
culosis.
We are thankful to report that we
nave accomplished what we thought
1t would be impossible to dove have
done q good piece OF work on three
1ourths Of the money we thought nec-
essary. We wish to thank you for
Your cooperation. It has made this
accomplishment possible.
The Pennant and newspapers have
told you about the seal sale OF 1851
now It fell off rs per cent from the
sale OF 1890 This loss was experienced
IN practically every state So we
made the best Of 1t and we, in North
Dakota, have come through the year
without tncurring any new debts.
The work we have done has not
been as much as In some previous
years, but the work, We feel, has been
done better than ever before. Our
seal sale returns for 1888 are not COM
plete and the 1883 budget cannot be
made, but since our audit Is finished
the executive committee thought it
pest to have q conference at this
time.
In these lean years. when there is
80 much cry for bread, some will ask,
why Fight tuberculosis in North
Dakota?" We must remember that
these are the years that are especial
" suited to tuberculosis development.
It thrtves best when people are poor
~ led. thinly clad and miserably
housed. and then the germ lives on
wherever 1t is spread, long after the
distributor has passed. This fact
makes US fear that there will be more
tuberculosis in North Dakota during
the next 10 years than ever before.
Great Gains Recorded
up to the time Of the panic we had
made great gains in the fight against
the disease. We had cut the death
rate about SO per cent. There was
only one group where no gain was
shown and that was the teen age
group. Among these young people
tuberculosis has been on the increase.
To combat this increase those inter-
ested In tuberculosis prevention have
made intensive studies Of tuberculo-
sis in early life.
The Won Pirquet and Mantoux tests
tor tuberculosis have been made avail.
able to large groups Of school chill
0ren and the attendants at rural
clinics. and the results have been
studied.
In states where these tests have
been made We find that in well-to-do
rural communities only five per cent
OF the children between the ages Of
five and Is years react to the test in
homes where there Is no source Of in
lection. such as tuberculosis relatives.
while 81 per cent react when there
IS q known source Of infection In
the home circle.
North Dakota has not had the ad-
vantage Of these tests because of lack
Of funds. The only opportunity for
such tests was lost because we did not
know Of the drouth area immuniza-
ton project in time to arrange for
these tests to be given at clinics held
In that area.
One more test would have added
very little to the cost Of the project
while the machinery Of operation was
already set up. As it was the nurses
working on the project used about
$4,000 Of seal funds belonging to
counties Of the area during or after
the clinics.
Stress Preventative Work
What We have done to combat high
school tuberculosis in the state is the
preventative work Of Camp Grassick
and furnishing classes In hygiene with
authentic information for class room
use. At camp we have demonstrat-
ed that enough resistance can be built
up to take . child through the fol-
lowing school year without illness of
sufficient severity to keep him out
OF school.
We hope that he has learned health
habits that will continue to build him
up to meet the high school strain.
Parents do not stop to compare their
high school years with those of the
present day or they would check some
OF the non-eSsential activities that
bring about real fatigue in the boys
and girls and may open avenues OF
infection.
Camp 0rassick could not operate