208 STATE BOARD OF HEALTH. The Sanitary Examination of Water. A third test, and one easily applied, is for the detection of nitrites that may be present from the oxidation of nitrogenous organic matter in the water. The reagents required are, 1st, acetic acid, and 2d, a dilute solution of starch in which a few grains of iodide of potassium have been dissolved. The test is applied by mixing a small quantity of the acid one-fourth ounce with twice as much starch solution and adding the mixture to half a pint of the water. The production of a blue color indicates the presence of nitrites. The intensity of the color is in some degree a measure of the quantity present. A deep color formed within fifteen minutes indicates dangerous contamination. The above directions are not intended to be understood as methods of water analysis. They are simply, as stated, to be regarded as aids in enabling one to judge of the wholesomeness of water. They are expressly written for those who have had little or no experience in water exami. nation, who can not readily obtain the opinion of one experienced in the work, and who wish to so inform themselves that they may judge somewhat intelligently of the character of drinking water. EXTRACTS FROM CORRESPONDENCE. Following the usual custom we here present a part of the correspondence of the Secretary's office, showing something of what has been accomplished in the line of sanitary work during the year. The showing is one of the most promising that has yet been made in connection with the work of this Board, both as regards what has been done and the promise for the near future. We think that the reader who will take the trouble to compare the extracts here printed with those published in former years, can hardly fail to recognize an advance in practical sanitation that is not less marked than gratifying. The amount of work done, although quite large, is far from being the most satisfactory feature of the record; it is rather in its kind that the reason for congratulation may be found. The removal of nuisances of long standing, the enforcement of statutory provisions concerning slaughter houses and similar places, the frequency of reports to the effect that plans for the introduction of a pure water supply, or for improved systems of drainage and sewerage are being considered or have been adopted and carried into effect either as a whole or in part, and that such improvements are in many instances suggested by the local Boards of Health, these and facts like these are encouraging in the highest degree to the sanitarians in Wisconsin, and give the best ground for assurance that our people are becoming interested in the work, a sure prelude to their recognition of its manifold advantages. As has always been the case, but a small part of the correspondence of the Board can be presented here, and what is given has been condensed to the utmost. The aim, however, has been to present each correspondent's report in his own words, such changes only being made as were neces 14-B. H. Extracts from Correspondence. sary to make the narrative consecutive and coherent. From many reports from which no citations have been here made much information has nevertheless been gathered, which has been incorporated with the Secretary's report, but of which no formal acknowledgment could be made in that connection. Of this character are the figures relating to disease and its distribution, as also other matters of equal importance. The extracts that follow are arranged first according to the counties from which the reports came, and those in each county are placed in alphabetical order. ADAMS COUNTY. Springville. The board of supervisors acts as a Board of Health, but no meetings have been held in the latter capacity. No compensation of any kind is allowed, nor have there been any expenditures for sanitary work, no such work having been undertaken. There has never been a case of contagious disease reported since I have been Health Officer, nor has any effort been made to restrict the spread of such disease even when there was a good deal of it in our midst. I should like to have instructions, or to have the laws in relation to the powers and duties of the town Board of Health and the Health Officer. We are often subject to Scarlet Fever, Diphtheria, etc., and no one appears to know just what to do with regard to them, or how to proceed to isolate a place in a legal way. JOHN WINTERSTEEN, [It would appear from the above report that the health officer was working under unusual difficulty. All that is necessary to isolate a household in which contagious disease Extracts from Correspondence. is present is to notify the head of such household or the person responsible that no member thereof is to leave the premises, or to go beyond such limits as the Health Board may deem proper, and to see that this order is obeyed. Notice of the existence of the disease should also be given to the general public, best by placarding the premises and warning all persons off until the disease shall have come to an end, and the premises have been disinfected. If the directions given by the board are disregarded, it will be in order to enforce them by such means as the board may find most appropriate, and while no undue harshness should be used in so doing, it should be remembered that the public safety is the first consideration, and that individual convenience must give way thereto. Before any measures whatever are taken the Board of Health should make sure of the legality of its own organization. From what is said in this report, there appears to be room for doubt whether any Board of Health has ever been properly constituted in the town. Another matter for consideration is that some authoritative opinion concerning the character of a disease should be had before any steps are taken for restricting the liberty of either an individual or a household. If the Health Officer is not himself a physician, he should obtain the advice of one before proceeding to institute quarantine, and he should fortify himself in the same way in all suspicious cases. When once assured that he has to deal with a case of dangerous disease he should proceed with the greatest firmness, remembering that he has the law behind him, and that matters of life and death, perhaps for numbers, rest in his hands.] Reports from other places in Adams county are comparatively few and meagre. Health Boards have been organized in the majority of the townships, but the formal organization once accomplished, little, if anything, has been done thereafter. In by far the larger number of cases the report Extracts from Correspondence. is that the Board of Health has never been called together, and that no sanitary work has been done, the Health Officer 7 not seeing that any such work was necessary. One Health Officer describes himself as being a farmer of upward of sixty years old, living several miles from the chairman of the board, and without the stimulus to work that would be given by adequate or even inadequate payment for the time that would be requsite for the proper performance of the Health Officer's duties. With his own farm work pressing in addition, but little can be looked for in the way of public service from a man so situated. Fortunately no serious form of contagious disease has visited this portion of the state, Measles being the most important of this class. Of other forms of sickness, Dysentery, Diarrhoea and Pneumonia are reported from several localities, the two first having been the more frequent in occurrence. Upon the whole the sanitary interests of Adams county do not appear to be looked after with the attention and care that their importance demands. ASHLAND COUNTY. Ashland, city.-A Board of Health has been organized here in accordance with the requirements of law, and holds regular monthly sessions. The Health Officer, who is also city physician, has an annual salary of $400. A system of sewerage has been commenced, the whole cost of which will be about $35,000; this work is under the supervision of the city authorities. Under the supervision of the Health Board, the garbage has been removed beyond the city limits and there destroyed. There has been a marked diminution in the amount of Diphtheria, and very few cases of Scarlet Fever. Typhoid Fever has, however, been somewhat frequent, and we have had about six cases of Spinal Meningitis. |