Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1940-11-03
London Will Provide
Medical Services
For Public Shelters
Every Effort to Be Made
To Prevent Epidemies
In Crowded Zones
By HELEN KIRKPATRICK,

Chicago Daily News Foreisn CORRESPONDENT.
LONDON, Nov. 2.-Medical serv-
Ices will shortly be provided for all
big public shelters, according to an
nouncement of Minister Of Home
Security Herbert Morrison. Every
effort will be made to prevent
epidemics which otherwise might
spread rapidly in shelters in which
as many as 1000 persons are
crowded.
The government also will attempt
to weed out big shelters so the dan
ger Of overcrowding will be mini
mized. Precautions will be taken
to maintain decent sanitary condi-
tons and to prevent persons with
infectious diseases from injecting
other shelter jewellers. Already, in
some of the big public shelters pro-
vided by private institutions, such
as big stores and brewerieS, medical
officers inspect people as they come
in, spray their Threats and try to
check the common cold.
The war inevitably brings the
danger of disease and epidemics
although in the past they have been
largely confined to the war zone.
Now that London is war zone the
authorities necessarily must be con-
cerned to prevent wars pestilences.
The Spanish influenza of the last
war, with its enormous tolls, will be
recalled. At that time London,
which suffered badly, lived in rela-
tive comfort to the London Of today.
Warns of Increase.
Influenza, fevers of the spinal type
and typhoid are diseases which must
be guarded against, according to
medical opinion. The British Med
ical journal, in an article on shell
tiers, warns that a large increase in
infectious diseases must be expected,
whatever precautions we take"
Relying less on miracles than on
ourselves, we should therefore do
all we can to make bad little less
bad without any delusion that we
can make it good" the Medical
journal writes.
One OF the first steps taken in the
army. navy and air services Is the
incubation of men for typhoid,
paratyphoid and tetanus. Many
doctors feel that the civil popula-
ton. which today is subjected to
the same. or often worse, conditions
than the fighting services, also
should be inoculated. The, govern
ment can scarcely make inocula-
tions compulsory, however, owing to
the large number of people who are
opposed to such preventive steps.
But it Is likely that the govern
ment will provide means for those
of the population who wish it to
obtain free or cheap incubation.
incubation for Embassy Staff.
1t is understood that David Bruce,
who spent three months here with
the American Red Cross Committee
intended on his return to the United
States to ask for shipments of main
serums to Britain. All members of
the United States Embassy staff
have been requested by an Embassy
ofnc1al to get typhold lnocula ions
reasonable precautions to teke in
city which is bombed 6aily and
whose water mains must be assumed
liable to damage.
London authorities necessarily
must be concerned to check incipi-
ent epidemics, particularly as Lon
dons hospitals have ranked so high
in the list of damsg ed buildings.
However, long before the war, hos
pitfalls and the medical profession
had an excellent plan for evacuat-
ing to the country. Since the out
break Of the war the hospitals have
been kept cleared for use as casu-
alty-clearing stations and it obvi-
ously would be desirable that they
should be kept for, that purpose.
tCopyriRht 1910 BY Chicago
Daily News. Inc)