LOS ANGELES, CAL.

Communicable Diseases in Animals-Notification, Care of in Stables, Isolation (Ordinance Adopted May 1, 1912).

SECTION 50. It shall be unlawful for any person having under treatment, or owning, or having possession, control, or knowledge of any animal affected with glanders, farcy, tuberculosis, or anthrax, or with any other infectious or contagious disease, to fail, refuse, or neglect to report, in writing, to the health commissioner immediately upon obtaining knowledge that such animal is so affected, giving the location of such animal, the name of the disease with which the same is affected, and the name and address of the owner of such animal.

SEC. 51. It shall be unlawful for any person, firm, or corporation to establish, conduct, or maintain any stable, hospital, or other place for the treatment of diseased horses or other animals within the city of Los Angeles without first applying for and receiving a permit, in writing, from the health commissioner so to do.

SEC. 52. It shall be unlawful for any person, firm, or corporation owning or having the control or possession of any animal affected with glanders, farcy, tuberculosis, or anthrax, or with any other infectious or contagious disease, to permit such animal to go or to be in or upon any public street, alley, or other public place, or to come in contact with any other animal not so affected.

PUBLIC HEALTH REPORTS

VOL. XXVIII.

MARCH 7, 1913.

No. 10.

SMALLPOX IN THE UNITED STATES.

PREVALENCE DURING JULY, AUGUST, AND SEPTEMBER, 1912.

Information regarding the reported prevalence of smallpox during the third quarter of the calendar year 1912 is available for the District of Columbia and the 32 States enumerated in the tables on pages 455-460. Cases of smallpox were notified in all the States reporting to the Surgeon General, with the exception of Arizona, the District of Columbia, Florida, and Maryland.

A summary of cases and of deaths reported in each State will be found given by States and by months on page 455. A table giving cases and deaths by counties and by months will be found beginning on page 455.

During the third quarter of the year, 2,070 cases of smallpox, with 58 deaths, were reported in the 32 States reporting. In Pennsylvania 30 deaths and 197 cases were reported; in Texas 11 deaths and 76 cases; and in California 11 deaths and 138 cases. Kansas reported 2 deaths and 56 cases, while Utah reported 2 deaths and 234 cases. Illinois reported 1 death and 100 cases, Wisconsin 1 death and 108

cases.

Of the 197 cases reported in Pennsylvania 44 occurred at Carbondale between August 10 and September 7.

A virulent outbreak of smallpox occurred in the city of Pittsburgh, 29 of the 30 deaths reported in the State having been in that city. The 11 deaths reported in California occurred in Los Angeles County, where 62 cases were notified, giving a case mortality rate of 17.74 per cent.

Of the 11 deaths reported in Texas 9 occurred in Dallas County, where 46 cases were notified-giving a case mortality rate of 19.17 per cent; and 2 deaths were reported in Hood County, from 27 cases-giving a case mortality rate of 7.4 per cent.

With the exception of the outbreaks of virulent smallpox noted in California, Pennsylvania, and Texas, the disease as reported in the other States was of the mild type. In Illinois 100 cases were reported, with but 1 death; in Kansas 56 cases, with 2 deaths; in Utah 234 cases, with 2 deaths; in Wisconsin 108 cases, with 1 death. In 21 States a total of 1,164 cases were reported without a death.

The largest numbers of cases were reported in the following States: Utah 234 cases, Pennsylvania 197, Washington 185, Minnesota 164, North Carolina 147, California 138, Wisconsin 108, Ohio 106, Illinois 100, New York 100. The smallest numbers were reported as follows: Wyoming, 1 case; New Jersey, 2 cases; Connecticut, 10 cases; Massachusetts and Oklahoma, 15 each; Oregon and Vermont, 20 each; Colorado, 21 cases; North Carolina, 27 cases, and South Dakota, 28

cases.

Smallpox was also present in States not enumerated in the table, but information regarding the number of cases occurring in them has not been available.

During the first quarter of 1912 there were reported 8,850 cases of smallpox with 81 deaths; during the second quarter 5,734 cases, with 53 deaths.

The reports from Minnesota for the third quarter of 1912 gave the vaccination histories of the patients in detail as follows: Of 164 cases notified 2 of the patients had been vaccinated within 7 years preceding the attack, 6 had been last vaccinated more than 7 years preceding the attack, and 120 had never been successfully vaccinated. In 36 cases the vaccination history had not been obtained.

PLAGUE.

A NOTE IN REGARD TO INFECTED HOUSES.

By VICTOR G. HEISER, Passed Assistant Surgeon, United States Public Health Service, chief quarantine officer and director of health for the Philippine Islands.

During the month of December, in connection with the plague suppression measures which were carried out in Manila by the bureau of health, a very interesting experiment was made. On December 17 a case of human plague, occurred at No. 4 Calle Barraca. As soon as the case was removed, and before disinfection, 2 guinea pigs free from fleas were placed in a wire cage, and this cage was put at the place where the man had been sleeping. The cage was left there for a

period of three hours. It is perhaps of interest to note that it is customary for the Filipinos to sleep on a mat which is spread upon the floor. On December 21 one of the guinea pigs died of typical plague, the diagnosis being bacteriologically confirmed. A most careful search was made of the pigs for fleas after the cage was removed, but none could be found.

A similar experiment was carried on in a house on Calle Cabildo, and another in a house on Calle San Fernando, in both of which human cases of plague had occurred. Before the cages were placed, however, the routine disinfection measures of the bureau of health, which consist of spraying with kerosene and thorough washing down with a larvicide, were carried out. In neither of these instances did the guinea pigs contract plague. From the foregoing it would appear that the insecticidal and disinfecting measures as carried out in Manila are effective.

PELLAGRA.

A REPORT ON ITS EPIDEMIOLOGY.

By R. M. GRIMM, Passed Assistant Surgeon, United States Public Health Service.

The following article is a report upon pellagra field work undertaken during the summers of 1911 and 1912 under the orders of the Surgeon General of the United States Public Health Service. Some of the data collected in this work has been previously reported, but it was thought well to bring together into one article all of the data collected in my epidemiological work up to the present time. This report is intended to be mainly a presentation of facts as recorded during the study of the disease from the standpoint of its epidemiology.

The method followed in the work was to visit pellagrous communities and interview the health officers and local physicians. With their assistance data were collected by interviewing pellagrins, by taking reports of cases and deaths, and by getting reports of facts or conditions pertaining to the disease in the various communities. Whenever possible the pellagrins were visited at their homes in company with the family physician, and during these visits notes were taken upon the home environment of the pellagrins and upon any condition which seemed to have a probable bearing on the disease. For each case a 5 by 8 inch card was used. This was found to be fairly satisfactory for recording and filing the data. In all, 25 counties were visited-3 in Kentucky, 7 in South Carolina, and 15 in