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TYPHOID FEVER AT PLYMOUTH, PENNSYLVANIA.
256 of last month, the recent mortality from diarrhoea may be considered to have been satisfactorily low. In London the deaths referred to this cause in the four weeks were 952, and 14 below the average number in the corresponding periods of the ten years 1875-84, after correction for increase of population. -
SUNDAY TELEGRAMS AND MEDICAL PRACTICE. FROM all time the Sabbatic law, where it has not been
interfered with by sacerdotal innovation, has allowed that necessary work is compatible with full religious observance. Medical attendance is very frequently such a virtuous necessity. In cases of urgency it is pre-eminently so, and there is probably no one who will deny that to facilitate in any way the practice of our art in any such case is in itself an act of duty not without relationship to worship. Many such facilities exist, but some remain to be conceded. Among the latter we are reminded by the observations of a contemporary that Sunday telegraphic communication is one. Yet accidents and crises of illness make no halt during the week. They happen and call for care on Sunday as on other days. They may require that the highly skilled opinion and action of some distant practitioner should be added to that at the instant available. There is obviously, therefore, good reason for the complaints of consulting physicians and surgeons that serious difficulty and risk to health are implied in the absence of telegraphic communication between Saturday night and Monday morning. It is not necessary to awake the whole telegraphic system to activity in order to satisfy this need. If the central offices in the various lesser metropolitan districts were understood to be capable of acting if required, and the country towns and sister cities were put in a similar state of readiness, a remedy would be found at no great sacrifice of rest. It is understood, of course, that the telegraphic staff would work in relays, and also that messengers as well as machinery would be available on occasion.
reservoirs, all of which were frozen
and all but empty at titdate in question. The stream is a small one, and at one pointa dwelling is situated about eighty feet from its bed. In thi. dwelling a case of typhoid fever, which lasted from Januar; to March, had occurred ; and the excreta had been regularly deposited in the ground towards the stream. Until the thaw and rain referred to, the mass of typhoid excreta wa, frozen; but when the frost abated, the long accumulationof infectious refuse was suddenly swept by the rain into the lower reservoir, and within fifteen days an epidemic resulte, which, amongst 8000 people, caused 1200 attacks of typhoid fever and 100 deaths. We have here another of the proof:, which have so often come to us from America, to the effect that the infection of typhoid fever is not destroyed b] freezing, and that the process of freezing only affects it in so far as it holds it in store until it has opportunity of gaining access to the human system. When held in ice, its potency is found to be in no way diminished when that ice
is melted by being mixed with drinks, or otherwise used for human consumption;and in the instance now under con. sideration the frozen mass retained all its power for mis. chief, only awaiting the thaw which admitted it into the general water-supply of the town. Another point of interest is indicated in the report : mere filth, such as was contained in the sewage-befouled river, is often quite powerless to produce typhoid fever, whereas a comparatively small pro. portion of the excreta of a typhoid patient is potent for widespread mischief. -
’AN WE
INSULT TO THE MEDICAL PROFESSION."
disposed to throw obstacles in the wayof of law, aimed to prevent wrong-doing by members of the medical profession. In spite of the protestations, fulsome enough sometimes, which are ready on the to the effect that the medical prolips of the multitude fession is an " honourable" one and the like, some persons are always willing to cast dirt upon our cloth if the opportunity offers. Mr. Stansfeld may or maynot TYPHOID FEVER AT PLYMOUTH, have intended to offer an insult to " an honourable profes" AN epidemic of typhoid fever is reported from Plymouth, sion by the clause he brought in to prevent medical men Lucerne county, Pennsylvania, by Drs. French and Shake- from doing an act so utterly despicable that it is inconcei,speare, which presents several points of interest. The town able that any man should be guilty of it. It would be idle of Plymouth, during nine months out of the twelve, is to assert that the act has not been done. Notoriously supplied from a mountain stream, and in periods of drought there have been poisoners and craven wretches of other the water is pumped direct into the mains from the criminal sorts in the medical profession, but we never Susquehana river. About March 20th last the mountain remember to have heard that any member of Parissupply became to a large extent suspended owing to severe ment proposed to enact a special clause prohibiting murder frost, and the water company had to pump direct from the by medical men. If Mr. Stansfeld did not indite the river into the lower streets of the town, whilst the upper clause to which we refer out of a heart full of contempt " streets were still supplied from the reservoirs of the mountain for the profession he deigns to call honourable," we can stream. A thaw, followed by rain, ensued on March 26th, only assume that he has a strange way of expressing I1Ì3 when the river supply was abandoned. During the brief feelings, at least when drafting clauses for Bills before period in which the river water had been resorted to, the Parliament. The rejection of the clause by a large majority surface of the Susquehana was deeply frozen, and its volume was creditable to the House of Commons, though it would was otherwise diminished. About two miles above the have been more commendable if, instead of fifty member the Plymouth pumping-station sewage of 30,000 people at voting in its favour, its author had been left in a minority Wilkes-Barre found its way into the stream, and was rapidly consisting of the "tellers only." That medical men are not in swept by the mouth of the Plymouth mains ; garbage and the habit of prostituting their knowledge of anatomy to the mine refuse also had access to the river. On April 10th the basest of purposes, it is wholly unnecessary to affirm; butz epidemic commenced, some fifty cases occuring daily up to there were need to make a special enactment against heinou: April 20th. At first sight the relation of the foul river water wrong-doing of the class Mr. Stansfeld deprecates, it would to the disease seemed evident ; but this turned out not to be have sufficed to say "if any person, &c.," and this should the case. One part of Plymouth, supplied exclusively from have been the more obvious to Mr. Stansfeld, becall5<’ the Susquehana and a few wells, entirely escaped-except, this right honourable gentleman is one of those wh,1 indeed, a few cases amongst persons who had drunk the are strongly impressed with the idea that the wor4mountain water ; and in other parts of the town the amount of " man" should be expunged from most Acts of Parliadisease was distinctly related to the extent to which the latter ment with a view to the equalisation of the sexes ! PM’ water had been used. Indeed, it was the mountain water bably Mr. Stansfeld deemed it quite superfluous to ena( itself that, as the result of the investigation showed, came pro- that no medical woman should commit the vile and filthy minently under suspicion. The mountain stream has four offence against which his clause is fulminated. So do wr: ___
PENNSYLVANIA.
strict
are
not
measures
SUNDAY TELEGRAMS AND MEDICAL PRACTICE. FROM all time the Sabbatic law, where it has not been
interfered with by sacerdotal innovation, has allowed that necessary work is compatible with full religious observance. Medical attendance is very frequently such a virtuous necessity. In cases of urgency it is pre-eminently so, and there is probably no one who will deny that to facilitate in any way the practice of our art in any such case is in itself an act of duty not without relationship to worship. Many such facilities exist, but some remain to be conceded. Among the latter we are reminded by the observations of a contemporary that Sunday telegraphic communication is one. Yet accidents and crises of illness make no halt during the week. They happen and call for care on Sunday as on other days. They may require that the highly skilled opinion and action of some distant practitioner should be added to that at the instant available. There is obviously, therefore, good reason for the complaints of consulting physicians and surgeons that serious difficulty and risk to health are implied in the absence of telegraphic communication between Saturday night and Monday morning. It is not necessary to awake the whole telegraphic system to activity in order to satisfy this need. If the central offices in the various lesser metropolitan districts were understood to be capable of acting if required, and the country towns and sister cities were put in a similar state of readiness, a remedy would be found at no great sacrifice of rest. It is understood, of course, that the telegraphic staff would work in relays, and also that messengers as well as machinery would be available on occasion.
reservoirs, all of which were frozen
and all but empty at titdate in question. The stream is a small one, and at one pointa dwelling is situated about eighty feet from its bed. In thi. dwelling a case of typhoid fever, which lasted from Januar; to March, had occurred ; and the excreta had been regularly deposited in the ground towards the stream. Until the thaw and rain referred to, the mass of typhoid excreta wa, frozen; but when the frost abated, the long accumulationof infectious refuse was suddenly swept by the rain into the lower reservoir, and within fifteen days an epidemic resulte, which, amongst 8000 people, caused 1200 attacks of typhoid fever and 100 deaths. We have here another of the proof:, which have so often come to us from America, to the effect that the infection of typhoid fever is not destroyed b] freezing, and that the process of freezing only affects it in so far as it holds it in store until it has opportunity of gaining access to the human system. When held in ice, its potency is found to be in no way diminished when that ice
is melted by being mixed with drinks, or otherwise used for human consumption;and in the instance now under con. sideration the frozen mass retained all its power for mis. chief, only awaiting the thaw which admitted it into the general water-supply of the town. Another point of interest is indicated in the report : mere filth, such as was contained in the sewage-befouled river, is often quite powerless to produce typhoid fever, whereas a comparatively small pro. portion of the excreta of a typhoid patient is potent for widespread mischief. -
’AN WE
INSULT TO THE MEDICAL PROFESSION."
disposed to throw obstacles in the wayof of law, aimed to prevent wrong-doing by members of the medical profession. In spite of the protestations, fulsome enough sometimes, which are ready on the to the effect that the medical prolips of the multitude fession is an " honourable" one and the like, some persons are always willing to cast dirt upon our cloth if the opportunity offers. Mr. Stansfeld may or maynot TYPHOID FEVER AT PLYMOUTH, have intended to offer an insult to " an honourable profes" AN epidemic of typhoid fever is reported from Plymouth, sion by the clause he brought in to prevent medical men Lucerne county, Pennsylvania, by Drs. French and Shake- from doing an act so utterly despicable that it is inconcei,speare, which presents several points of interest. The town able that any man should be guilty of it. It would be idle of Plymouth, during nine months out of the twelve, is to assert that the act has not been done. Notoriously supplied from a mountain stream, and in periods of drought there have been poisoners and craven wretches of other the water is pumped direct into the mains from the criminal sorts in the medical profession, but we never Susquehana river. About March 20th last the mountain remember to have heard that any member of Parissupply became to a large extent suspended owing to severe ment proposed to enact a special clause prohibiting murder frost, and the water company had to pump direct from the by medical men. If Mr. Stansfeld did not indite the river into the lower streets of the town, whilst the upper clause to which we refer out of a heart full of contempt " streets were still supplied from the reservoirs of the mountain for the profession he deigns to call honourable," we can stream. A thaw, followed by rain, ensued on March 26th, only assume that he has a strange way of expressing I1Ì3 when the river supply was abandoned. During the brief feelings, at least when drafting clauses for Bills before period in which the river water had been resorted to, the Parliament. The rejection of the clause by a large majority surface of the Susquehana was deeply frozen, and its volume was creditable to the House of Commons, though it would was otherwise diminished. About two miles above the have been more commendable if, instead of fifty member the Plymouth pumping-station sewage of 30,000 people at voting in its favour, its author had been left in a minority Wilkes-Barre found its way into the stream, and was rapidly consisting of the "tellers only." That medical men are not in swept by the mouth of the Plymouth mains ; garbage and the habit of prostituting their knowledge of anatomy to the mine refuse also had access to the river. On April 10th the basest of purposes, it is wholly unnecessary to affirm; butz epidemic commenced, some fifty cases occuring daily up to there were need to make a special enactment against heinou: April 20th. At first sight the relation of the foul river water wrong-doing of the class Mr. Stansfeld deprecates, it would to the disease seemed evident ; but this turned out not to be have sufficed to say "if any person, &c.," and this should the case. One part of Plymouth, supplied exclusively from have been the more obvious to Mr. Stansfeld, becall5<’ the Susquehana and a few wells, entirely escaped-except, this right honourable gentleman is one of those wh,1 indeed, a few cases amongst persons who had drunk the are strongly impressed with the idea that the wor4mountain water ; and in other parts of the town the amount of " man" should be expunged from most Acts of Parliadisease was distinctly related to the extent to which the latter ment with a view to the equalisation of the sexes ! PM’ water had been used. Indeed, it was the mountain water bably Mr. Stansfeld deemed it quite superfluous to ena( itself that, as the result of the investigation showed, came pro- that no medical woman should commit the vile and filthy minently under suspicion. The mountain stream has four offence against which his clause is fulminated. So do wr: ___
PENNSYLVANIA.
strict
are
not
measures