State Sanitary Inspector for this district, as it might be better for him to go to the hotel in Cannonsburgh and see that all with whom he may have came in contact be vaccinated; and in case any new cases arise, they be isolated at once. They report to me Dr. Thompson is with you at Johnstown to-day. J. Guy MCCANDLESS, Pittsburgh Board of Health. V. SANITARY NEEDS OF CARBONDALE. CARBONDALE, PA., September, 24th, 1889. Benjamin Lee, M. D., Secretary State Board of Health. DEAR SIR-We the undersigned residents of the city of Carbondale, beg to call your attention to the utter disregard of sanitary laws which have been provided for the protection of people in this city. We are without a board of health, and the authorities decline to assume the duties which the health ordinance provides shall be performed by a sanitary officer, under the direction of a board of health. Diphtheria prevails in many parts of the city to an alarming extent, the disease, too, of a malignant type. Typhoid fever is prevalent, and a number of deaths from this disease have occurred. Public funerals are held, and the bodies are carried to the churches before interment takes place. The attention of the authorities has been called to the violation of law in this particular, but no attempt to prohibit public funerals has been made. We realize the danger to which our families are exposed, and appeal to you for assistance. Will you come to this city prepared to investigate? D. L. BAILEY, M. D. J. B. VAN BERGERY. Pastor Presbyterian Church. S. S. SHIELDS, M .D. Cashier of First National Bank. H. C. WHEELER, M. D. REV. W. HENRY PLATT. JOHN J. FORBES, Superintendent of City Schools. D. L. DAVIS, Pastor of Congregational Church. VI. FALSE CERTIFICATES OF DEATH. (a.) COMPLAINT OF THE STATE BOARD OF HEALTH OF OHIO. COLUMBUS, OHIO, February 14, 1889. Dr. Benjamin Lee, Secretary State Board of Health. DEAR SIR--We have report of thirteen cases of scarlet fever at Fredericksburgh, O., traceable to a corpse shipped from Latrobe, Pa. The following certificate accompanied this corpse. To the Pennsylvania Railroad: LATROBE, January 9th, 1889. This is to certify that this child of Norman Woodruff died with inflamation of the lungs. S. C. CAMPBELL. We would be greatly obliged for an investigation of this matter. (Signed) C. O. PROBST, Secretary. (b.) REPORT OF THE SPECIAL COMMITTEE. The committee appointed to give a hearing to Drs. W. K. Van Kirk of McKeesport, and S. C. Campbell of Latrobe, on the charge of issuing false certificates for the transportation of bodies of persons dead of contagious diseases, beg leave, respectfully, to report that in the case of Dr. Van Kirk, the doctor has appeared personally before the com mittee, in response to the summons of the Board, that his defense is that the certificate was given in the absence of the physician who had attended the case, on the assurance of the mother of the child that it had died of a non-contagious disease, that there was no intention of deception on his part, and that he received no money or other compensation for giving the said certificate. The committee recommend that Dr. Van Kirk be considered as not guilty of the charge of intentional infraction of the regulations of the Board, or deception, but that he be admonished in future to issue no certificates without definite information, either personal or derived from a fellow physician, of the nature of the case. In the case of Dr. S. C. Campbell, that the doctor appeared personally before the committee in obedience to the summons of the Board, that his defense is that he was called to the patient, an infant of about one year of age, when it was within about eight hours of the fatal termination, that it was then suffering from capillary bronchitis, that there was no eruption on the surface, no throat complication, no desquama tion, in short nothing to indicate that the disease was anything more than capillary bronchitis: that the attending physician who left the case in his hands, while absent, had informed him that the child had the scarlet fever some weeks previous, but had recovered when the pre sent illness came on; that he was informed that there were cases of typhoid fever in the house, but was not informed that there had been another case of scarlet fever in the house; and that he gave the certifi cate, for which he received no money or other compensation, believing the cause of death to be as stated in the same, inflammation of the lungs, and with no intent to deceive. The committee would call attention to the fact that the parents and another child, who is said to have had scarlet fever, accompanied the corpse home to Fredericksburg, which leaves room for the supposition that they, or their effects, may have been the source of contagion, rather than the corpse. The committee recommend that Dr. Campbell be considered as not guilty of the charge of intentional deception and fradulent issue, but that he be admonished of the necessity for in future acquainting him self of the entire previous history in any case he may be called upon to certify to as to cause of death, and that in such instance, it is not the immediate cause of death which is to be given, but the disease which produced the condition which was the immediate cause of death, since the former plan would always give opportunity for evasion of the law. Respectfully submitted, DAVID ENGELMAN, Committee. VII-SMALL POX AT WILKES-BARRE. Dr. Benj. Lee, Secretary. WILKES-BARRE, PA.. May 18, 1889. DEAR SIR: I am much pleased to be able to report that the suspected case in Kingston proved to be entirely innocent of small pox or varioloid, and the quarantine has been removed. I regret, however, to be compelled to report that that which we have feared might occur, has now come to pass, viz: the small pox has been introduced into Wilkes-Barre from Nanticoke. The first case was seen by Dr. R. Davis, early on Thursday morning, May 16, and by him reported. Col. Sturdevant, chairman of the sanitary committee, at once placed a guard of two policemen at the house, and put out the flag. A meeting of the sanitary committee was held, and Dr. W. S. Stewart, police surgeon, placed in charge of the patients, with a trained nurse to attend him. The action of the sanitary committee was prompt, energetic and decided. The man affected had been ill a few days before the doctor was called, and the people who were known to have seen him, have since been vaccinated. Subsequent inquiries develope the fact that the patients father-in-law who lives with him, had been ill for about two weeks with a rash, which is now disap pearing, and had not called a physician to attend him. He had visited Nanticoke a week or two before his illness, but was not exposed to the disease so far as he can tell. He visited the mines during the course of his stay and also went into a beer saloon, returning to.Wilkes Barre late the same day. He was quite ill, being in bed about a week, but being poor, and not feeling alarmed on the subject of his illness, did not call a physician. His son-in-law, who has evidently taken the disease from him, does not know whether he has been successfully vaccinated or not. The other inmates of the house are the patient's wife and three children. These have all been re-vaccinated. At a meeting of the sanitary committee, and representation of the poor board held yesterday, arrangements were made to cope with the disease promptly, the poor board assuming the responsibility of providing provisions and medicine, and the sanitary committee assuming all other expenses. This evening I saw another case with Dr. Davis, in the same neighborhood. The patient was a man convalescent from an attack of pneumonia. He seemed at 7 p. m. to be in a dying condition. This has been reported, and a guard will be at once placed and all necessary precautions taken. I have written to the sanitary committee advising immediate vaccination of all school children, especially those in that part of the city. I think a letter from you to the sanitary committee, Col. S. H. Sturdevant, chairman, supplementing my recommendations in regard to vaccination might be advisable. It is to be feared that other cases will appear from exposure to the first, i. e. from the one that did not have medical attendance. All cases will be at once cared for and every effort made to prevent the spread of the disease. Respectfully, LEWIS H. TAYLOR. VIII.-SMALL POX AT KINGSTON, LUZERNE COUNTY. Dr. Benjamin Lee, Secretary. WILKES-BARRE, PA., November 26, 1888. DEAR SIR-Upon receipt of your telegram ordering me to verify the report of small pox in the borough of Kingston, I visited Kingston this afternoon, and learn from the attending physician, Dr. Cross, that there is one case of genuine small pox, though of the modified form, in the borough. The patient is a young man traveling as news agent on the railroad, and he presumably was exposed to the contagion near Buffalo, N. Y. The eruption was out several days before Dr. Cross saw the patient, but as soon as the disease was diagnosed, all proper precautions to prevent its spread were taken. Four others in the family have been ex36 BD. HEALTH. posed and were promptly vaccinated. Four boarders were in the family also; two of them left immediately, and it is not known where they now are; two others had not been in the house for two days previous to the diagnosis, and were allowed to remain at another boarding house whither they had gone. Vaccination has already been quite generally performed in the borough. The family in which the patient lives is an intelligent one, and will readily second all efforts to prevent the disease spreading. Inasmuch as the Kingston borough council has already adopted stringent regulations in regard to small pox, and as they seem abundantly able to cope with the matter themselves, it did not seem necessary to place additional guards in the name of the State Board. Dr. Cross has promised to notify me at once if other cases appear. Very truly, LEWIS H. TAYLOR. IX. SMALL POX AT NANTICOKE, LUZERNE COUNTY. Dr. Benj. Lee, Secretary. WILKES-BARRE, PA., January 7, 1889 DEAR SIR:-Acting upon instructions received from you on Saturday evening, I to-day visited Nanticoke to investigate rumors of small pox. Small pox was first reported to the borough council about December 23, 1888, whereupon Dr. S. Holly was requested by the council to investigate the alleged cases, and report the same to that body. There were two cases; one a child of two years of age, and another aged twelve, neither of which had been vaccinated so far as known. The patients were at once isolated and a guard stationed at the house, allowing no outsiders to enter. A pest house was at once built, at a suitable distance from the centre of the town, the patients removed to it and Dr. Dan. Evans placed in charge. The bedding on which the children were sleeping, together with the effects of the room, was burned and the house cleansed and disinfected. The youngest child died January 1, 1889; the other is improving. No new cases have been developed, and if such should appear, the borough council is amply able to cope with the disease. The prompt and appropriate measures taken by the council have, no doubt, prevented a spread of the disease. These patients were in a family of German Polanders, and is it not known positively whence the contagion came, but it is supposed to have been brought by some emigrant recently from shipboard, as Polanders in this especial part of Nanticoke are constantly entertaining new arrivals of their counrymen, some of whom remain but a short time, and then pass on to other localtities. Respectfully, LEWIS H. TAYLOR. |