The Washington times., 1936-01-17
Approves instruction Classes For Prospective Brides
Health
Constant War
On Typhoid
By LOGAN CLENDENING, NJ. D.

Few of us realize how painstak.
ing and careful is the work of the
modern public health officer.
have been interested in the
report recently of some problems
presented to students of public
health in training, in order that
they may work out a practical
procedure to be instituted in the
face of different situations. One
of these, for instance, was as
follows:
The health officer of a Cali
fornia city of $4,000 population
does his own archaeological work.
Disposal of excreta is by sewers.
except in the suburbs, where old,
fashioned latrineS are in use. The
water supply comes from a stream
that is not certainly safe, but
there is an efficient chlorinating
apparatus which is checked by the
laboratory every Tuesday and Fri
day.
Two-thirds of the milk sold in
the city is pasteurized. No case
of typhoid fever has been reported
during the last six months. On 2
certain day case of typhoid fever
is reported by a practicing psys.
clan. The question is, what i'm.
mediate steps are Indicated?
Quarantine
The answer is that the first
thing to do is to handle the ind.
vidual case because it is a positive
focus. John Smith, the patient
should be hospitalized and quaran,
tined.
The objects liable to have been
contaminated by the patien,
should be disinfected. John Smith
has wife and four children,
none of whom have had typhoid
fever. They should all be immu,
nized by course of anti.typhoid
incubation.
A few weeks before he became
sick, John went hunting at a
ranch 20 miles out of town, where
the drinking water comes from q
shallow well.
A little later. James Jones q
friend OF John Smith, comes down
with typhoid fever. They were on
the same hunting trip and they
also lunched together at a rest
aurant. 1t also appears that at
this restaurant there is a new
cook who had typhoid fever a wear
ago. John and James receive
their milk from a dairy and the
milk is not pasteurized.
Here are three possibilities.
That the infection came from the
water on the ranch: that The cook
in the restaurant is a carrier. and
that the dairy milk is contamtn.
ated. The health officer should
proceed to investigate these re-
ports, and the sale of milk from
the dairy should be prohibited
until the investigation is com.
pleted.
Locating Source
A few days afterward. six other
cases, widely scattered, are re-.
ported. Only two of them Use
milk from the dairy. This new
development apparently excludes
the dairy, the possibility of a car,
r1er. and infection of the water
on the ranch, because none of the
last patients had drunk it.
All the cases apparently re.
ceived their infection about the
same time, so it looks as If the
city water supply were at fault.
The man at the water purifica.
ton plant is questioned and ad.
mlts that on a Saturday after
noon the cylinders had run out
OF gas in his determination appa.
ratus and new supply could not
be obtained until Monday. Raw
water, known to be habitually un.
safe, was distributed to the COM
munity for two days.
EDITORS NOTE: Six pam.
phlets by DR.. Clendening can nov
be obtained by sending 10 cents
in coin, for each, and a self-ad.
dressed envelope stamped with a
three-cent stamp, to DR.. Logan
Clendening, in care of this paper.
The pamphlets are: indigestion
and Constipation" Reducing and
Gaining" Infant Feeding" In
Structions for the Treatment of
Diabetes" Feminine Hygiene
and THE Care of the Hair and
Skin"