The Ypsilanti daily press. (Ypsilanti, Mich.) 1928-1962, 1942-12-10

one human being to another and
that in order to protect family,
the patient with tuberculosis in a
household must be detected and
removed from contact with chill
dren.
However, if we are going to
eliminate tuberculosis from the
world it is going to have TO be done
by case finding. | believe within
80 years | could reduce the Incl
dence Of tuberculosis almost to
zero if | had the police power TO
go from house to house every place
in the land and make examina-
tons Of everybody living there and
remove the ones with tuberculosis
to a sanatorium so that they
would not be in contact with the
others.
To a considerable extent We are
doing this at the present time and
the thoroughness with which it is
done is shown in the decline in the
incidence Of tuberculosis. II is no
pleasant job TO remove fathers or
mothers from their children and
have them segregated so that they
very seldom see the children, but
it must be remembered that tuber-
culosis begins in childhood and is
the result of contact With another
human being who already has it.
Chronic Tuberculosis
In this connection it is astonish-
ing to find how many people past
middle age have chronic tubercu-
losis. We think of tuberculosis as
occurring in young people and of
being cured or healed, or of carry
ing the individual off before he has
arrived at the age Of so. However,
this is not true. In some people it
becomes an extremely chronic dis
ease and people may have active
tuberculosis and be able to breathe
out tuberculosis germs until even
q ripe old age.
Most of these people have no
idea that they have tuberculosis:
they know they have a chronic
cough and call it chronic bron-
chitis. 1t is sort of natural to have
grandmother and grandfather take
care Of the baby while mother and
father are out some Saturday or
Sunday afternoon, and this close
contact may be the cause Of active
IN barrtrlocig IN q child
In a routine examination Of 3d.
900 patients at the Philadelphia
General Hospital it was found that
% per cent had tuberculosis of the
lungs; 1000 of these patients were
over 60 years of age and in this
group % per cent we're found to
have tuberculosis of the lungs and
were capable of spreading it to
other human beings.
In a careful study Of 1876 such
patients it was found that so knew
Of a family history of tuberculo-
sis; "a per cent knew of tubercu-
losis in their parents and 80 per
cent knew Of tuberculosis among
their children or grandchildren.
This is a sufficiently startling set
Of statistics to make US realize the
prevalence of tuberculosis in those
of middle age or over.
The symptoms which these pa
tients had and which should make
one suspicious were as follows:
About three-fourths of the pa
tients had a cough; nearly the
same number were subject to
colds; / per cent had pleurisy; 10
per cent complained of weakness;
a small percentage had night
sweats and nervousness and a
fair percentage complained Of
dyspepsia.
QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
f. F. P.:-If you have infam-
nation of the gallbladder is it
harmful to eat butter, milk or
drink alcohol?
Answer: Butter and milk are
inclined to be good for gallbladder
trouble and alcohol in moderate
amounts viii not usually do any
harm.