Evening star., 1955-09-11
By JOHN McKELwAY

Deadly diseases lurk in the
depths of the polluted Potomac.
But how much harm they're
causing Is less than good guess.
It is not as simple. for exam
pie, to trace a case Of typhoid
fever in the District to the Po-
tomac as it was for an English
physician to rub out q cholera
epidemic in England in ls49.
At that time, nothing was
known about either the cause Of
the terrific illness or how it got
around. A DIR. John Snow was
called in to look over severe
outbreak Of cholera in London.
He found that almost all the
victims lived in st. James Parish
and that they drank water from
the same well. He told the yes
trymen they could end the epi-
dernic just by removing the han
die of the Broad Street Pump.
He was right. And the evidence
that cholera is q waterborne
disease an denters the body by
way of the mouth resulted in
eventual control of the disease.
Can't Tie 1t to River
Put unless 10 persons come
down with typhoid fever after
swimming on Hams Point.
Health Department doctors and
engineers can only suggest that
polluted water may be the cause
of an average Of 10 cases Of
typhoid fever each year in the
District.
Samplings of The Potomac are
not as yet sensitive enough to
pick UP actual disease-causing
organisms like the typhoid fever
bug. But health engineers put
two and two together when they
find, as they regularly do In the
Potomac, "coliform" organisms.
For, it has been found. these
organisms keep bad company.
It's the kind of company that
can be responsible for, beside
cholera and typhoid fever,
amoebic dysentery. diarrhea. In
fectious hepatitis. hookworm,
tapeworm, many still underlined
gastro-intestinal disorders, eye,
ear, nose, throat and skin infec-
tions.
Even If one refuses to swim
in the Potomac, there Is some
chance he can pick up an ILL
ness Matched in the pollution,
Gilbert v. Levin, public health
engineer at the Health Depart
nent, explains.
For these organisms have a
way of getting out of the Po-
tomac. They can climb" up a
fishing line. a fly. a pair OF oars.
rats, the bottom of boats, or any
number of insects.
Yet the organisms, before they
do any damage, might travel
blocks from the Potomac and
destroy any evidence Of their
origin.
Air Pollution Possible
A recent scientific study, ex-
planned by Mr.. Levin, suggests
that air pollution might follow
water pollution-a study which
blames. Of all things, those HARM
less-looking bubbles that rise and
pop in water and can be taken
as one sign of the presence of
sewage.
Sewage gas breeds these bub-
bles whcih rise slowly to the
surface Of the water. Their
harm. according to the study. is
In their ability to collect on the
trip to the surface numerous
organisms which may or may
not be capable of causing dis
ease. At the surface they burst.
And 1t is a definite possibility
they seed the air with germs
which are CARED away for an
unknown distance by the wind.
So far, man is waging a sue
cessful battle against the minute
bugs which-if they ever got to-
gether-could easily destroy most
Of us. But as public health en-
gineers point out. allowing pollu-
tion is inviting attack and one
Of the weakest lines of defense is
the Potomac River.
Need Ambulance Uniforms
Most people who work in the
wide field Of medicine find them
selves usually dressed In white.
But % ambulance drivers for
the Health Department dress
like spectators at accidents.
At least at times their job Is
made more difficult when police
treat them as part of the usual
collection of spectators. on the
grounds they are dressed like
everybody else except the doctor
and the policeman.
This has led the Health De-
partment to repeatedly ask the
Commissioners for uniforms for
the drivers. The estimated cost
would be $2.28s. The request has
been repeatedly knocked out of
the departments budget.
THE amount of prestige" the