Rensselaer Semi-Weekly Republican, Volume 22, Number 25, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 14 December 1900 — About Diphtheria. [ARTICLE]

About Diphtheria.

A Letter Prom Dr- Hurty Secretary of the State Board of Health. Editor Republican, Rensselaer, lod., Dear Sir: — Diphtheria, a preventable disease, at the present time prevails in almost every County of the State. Schools are closed in the endeavor to prevent the disease from spreading and there are all too many deaths with anxiety, apprehension, suffering and sorrow. This disease prevails in your own County and your people will certainly be thhnkful for any information which will aid them in prevention. The situation will' be understood when it- is known that diphtheria is due to a very smalt plant (microbe) which finds lodgment in the throats of children, and in the process of growth, it builds up a membrane and elaborates a poison. The membrane may grow to such a degree as to strangle the child and at the same time the poison is absorbed and poisons the heart. If then, it is possible to keep the little plant (microbe) out of the throat of the child, it is possible to keep away diphtheria. The farmer succeeds in keeping weeds out of his ground by continually plowing and cultivating and we can keep the diphtheria weed out of the throats of our children by continually applying certain precautions. When diphtheria prevails, even to a slight degree, in your neighborhood: Do not go to meetings in crowded places. Do not permit your children to go to day school, Sunday School, picnics, parties or entertainments. Do not permit your children to roam the streets. Do not fail to supply good, nourishing food to children and give them plenty of fresh air. Do not go into a house where there is a case of Diphtheria, and do not come in contact with any person who has entered the house. Do not eat or drink in the same room with the sick person, if Diphtheria is in the house, and do not let any one else use the same cup, plate, glass, spoon, knife or fork used by the sick person until they are thoroughly boiled in water.

Do not expose children to Diphtheria in any way. When grown people are obliged to go into the room of a person who has Diphtheria they should bathe and change their clothing before they go where children are. Do not let children use a closet in which the discharges from Diphtheria patients are thrown. Do not permit children to live in the house where Diphtheria exists, if it is possible to send them away.

Do not permit dogs, cats, canary birds or other pets to remain in a room where a person has Diphtheria for animals may easily have the disease and carry it to other houses. If Diphtheria exifcts in your house, remember you owe an obligation to your neighbor not to infliot the disease upon him. Therefore obey willingly the imposed quarantine. As one attack of Diphtheria does not prevent its recurrence, be sure not to spread the disease lest it return again to

plague you. It is wise if Diphtheria exists in the neighborhood, to be on the safe side and take it for granted that when any one has sore throat, foul breath and fever, it is diphtheria. A mistake which is sometimes double in its consequence is for physicians to declare that membraneous croup is not diphtheria, It is possible for a membrane which is not Diptheretic to grow

upon the larynx, but this is so rarely true that as a rule, we must consider membraneous croup, as diphtheria of the larynx. The rules of the State Board of Health declare that membraneous croup is Diphtheria and this settles the legal status of the questionWe hope you will publish this letter if you think it is of auy value and will benefit the people of the community. Very truly yours, Dr. J. N. Hurty, Indianapolis, Ind. Secretary. Dec. 10th.