The Waterbury Democrat., 1934-01-27


 TUBERCULOSIs-PNEUMoN
 Tuberculosis took toll of S9 Waterburians last year. Bronchial pneumonia and lobar pneumonia resulted in 95 deaths, many of them occurring in the local hos pitaIs. Four out of four cases of cerebe spinal meningitis resulted fatally.
 INFANT MORTALITY RATE
 The most impressive feature in the whole two decades of effort to- ward health advancement is shown in the decrease in the death rate among children. The infant mol : tality rate has been reduced from 149 in 1910 to 55.3 in 1933 This triumph has been due not alone to progress in medical science but in a large part to public education, and to sanitary measures. Under the present system nurses are dis patched from the local health de- partment to attend confinement cases. These nurses take particular pains that the infant is well cared for not only from a sanitary stand point but in every other way. They watch the progress made by each newly-arrived child until it has reached the stage where very little guidance is needed other than q mothers care.
 Thirty years ago the death rate for infants under one year was es- timated at 215 per 1000 children born-practically one child out of every four born in Waterbury dy- inO hafnCn if old At that time deaths from diar- rhoeal diseases, occurring every summer, were specially numerous
 Out of the 962 deaths here last year 496 were females and 466 males. Twenty-four were colored Seventy-five white babies and two colored babies died under one year. Inspection of the birth statistics on file in the City Hall reveals that 720 male babies and 636 female babies were born last year. Of this total 1881 were white and 25 col ored. Five thousand, three hundred and seventy eight infants died within one year following birth.
 INFANTILE PARALYSIS
 Only 33 cases of poliomyelitis Gnfantile paralysis) were encoun- tered locally since 1910, seven be- ing reported last year with no deaths. This dreaded disease caus- ed IF deaths here in 1881, the year of the epidemic. Only three deaths occurred statewide last year from this much-feared disease.
 SCARLET FEVER
 There has been steady decline in this city in the annual number of cases of scarlet fever. Not only have the cases decreased but the old type of what was known as malignant fever is very infrequent- ly encountered nowadays. Cam paigns against filth and other germ breeding agencies have almost eliminated the terrible disease or at least the terrible havoc it once caused. There have been only six deaths from scarlet fever here in eight years.
 This does not mean that the dis ease can be put aside as of no consequence, according to health authorities. They point out that other diseases have been known to grow progressively milder as he years march on and to become less and less frequent, until some un- usual event like a war or an epi- demic in some distant country changed the situation and in creased the virulence of the germ that causes the disease.
 Eternal vigilance is therefore needed, they claim, in maintaining proper safeguards to prevent the spread of this disease as well as that of other communicable dis eases. For many years the cause of scarlet fever has been very actively debated. and more and more it came to be felt by host of observ- CTS abroad and in this country, that the streptococcus, which is a form of bacteria that has the appearance of minute circle and which is all ways associated with a group of companions of the same kind stretched out in a>sort of chain. is the injecting organism.
 In more recent. years there has been some definite work done es- pecially by American observers who have verified these results and who have prepared serum which is known as scarlet fever antitoXin, which can be used in the treatment of severe cases. They have also prepared some mixtures of the products of these germs in solu- tiOns that are so dilute and weak that if injected under the skin of child they cannot possibly do any harm. But if the child is sus- ceptible to scarlet fever the test solution produces a redness at the place. where the injection. was made to show, unquestionably. that the child is actually susceptible,
 MEASLES
 Although many mothers did not realize the fact until recent yeilrs it has long been established that measles formerly was as dangerous to life as scarlet fever. Thousands of parents who were terrified whom q child came down with scarlet fever accepted measles as matter of course and calmly saw this dis ease pass from one child to an- other until all in the family had It. Nevertheless, as may be perceived, measles has levied heavy toll of death. In the epidemic of 1928 a total of go succumbed to the dis ease. Similar epidemics had oc- cured in 1911, 1913, 1919 and 1926. There has been no death here. however, from this particular disease in the past two years. DiPHTHERlA ,ih .c Noted advancement has been made locally in the bnttle against diphtheria. Antitoxin has played q big part In keeping the diphtheri,i death rate down and t Is hoped that more experience in It's use will permit the health authorities to ab. solutely control the spread of the disease, or nt least hold it ln check in it's terrible effect upon human fife the world over.
 In one of hls annual reports pr Godfrey said in referring to dIph' therin and scarlet fever.
 "it is gratifying t0 note thai thero is q favorable deGrense ln the number of dlphtherIa and scarlet fever cases. The lmmunisntlon or children nt the presBch0oi clinics and ln the schools has been r pow. erfuI factor ln tho prevention of f1ala AaaaaaA N