Federal Official on Tour. Smallpox. MORBIDITY.* Ten cases of smallpox were reported, the distribution being as follows: Calaveras County 1, Newport Beach 1, Oakland 5, San Francisco 2, San Jose 1. Typhoid Fever. Mr. W. S. Frisbee of the Department of Chemistry, Bureau of Agriculture, is visiting all of the states maintaining food and drug departments in order to stimulate cooperation in food and drug control between federal and state agencies. While in California he discussed with Fourteen cases of typhoid fever have the State Board of Health a number of been reported, Los Angeles reporting 4 food and drug problems that are pecu-cases and San Francisco 2. The followliar to California and in which the Department of Agriculture is deeply inter器 ested. Section 16. Public Health Act. All physicians, nurses, clergymen, attendants, owners, proprietors managers, employees, and persons living in or visiting any sick person in any hotel, lodging house, house, building, office, structure, or other place where any person shall be ill of any infectious, contagious, or communicable disease, shall promptly report such fact to the county, city and county, city, or other local health board or health officer, together with the name of the person, if known, and place where such person is confined, and nature of the disease, if known. ing localities each reported one case: Dengue. Torrance, Los Angeles County, reported one case of dengue. Cerebrospinal Meningitis. Two cases of cerebrospinal meningitis have been reported, one from Orange County and one from Palo Alto. Poliomyelitis. Two cases of poliomyelitis have been reported, one from Fresno County and one from Los Angeles. Epidemic Encephalitis. Los Angeles reported one case of epidemic encephalitis. *From reports received to date for last week. Entered as second-class matter February 21, 1922, at the post office at Sacramento, California, under the Vol. I, No. 40 This Is Cancer Week. NOVEMBER 18, 1922 GUY P. JONES to Rule 7a of the Regulations of the State Board of Health for the Enforcement of an Act Rabies, shall either be destroyed or quarantined to Prevent the Introduction and Spread of for a period of three months. Venereal Disease Regulations Health officers are advised of the amendments to the Regulations for the Prevention of Syphilis and Gonococcus Infections, adopted by the California State Board of Health at its meeting held November 4, 1922. Rule 5, paragraph 2, of the regulations is amended to read as follows: In a recent issue of the WEEKLY BULLETIN it was shown that the cancer mortality rate has increased from 76.3 per hundred thousand population in 1906 to 112.1 per hundred thousand population in 1921. No less than 4025 Californians died of cancer last year. The chief factor in the reduction of this high death rate lies in the education of the public as to the seriousness of the disease and also regarding the necessity of securing expert medical advice as soon as there may be any suspicion that unfavorable symptoms exist. Cancer week is to be conducted throughout In such investigations said health officers are the United States and Canada this week, hereby vested with full powers of inspection, and public health nurses and health examination, isolation and disinfection of all persons, places and things, and as such inspecofficers are urged to assist in the cam-tors said local health officers are hereby directed: paign of education. If the general public learns that cancer in its early stages is a curable disease, great progress in cancer control can be made. Rabies Regulations Amended. The regulations for the control of rabies were amended by the California State Board of Health at its regular meeting held November 4th. Under this resolution any dog known to have been bitten by a rabid dog, unless previously immunized within a period of six months, shall be either destroyed or quarantined for a period of three months. The text of the resolution reads as follows: Resolved, That any dog known to have been bitten by a rabid dog, unless previously immunized within a period of six months, according amended to read as follows: (b) To isolate such persons whenever in the County Quarantined for Rabies. At the request of the health officers of Orange County a quarantine against dogs, under the meaning of the Act to Rabies, was established by the California Prevent the Introduction and Spread of State Board of Health at its regular meeting, November 4th. This means that all dogs within the county must be kept under leash, in closed cage or paddock, during the period that the quarantine is in force. The establishment of the quarantine was necessary because of the prevalence of rabies in Orange County and vicinity. Through the proper enforcement of the quarantine it is believed that the disease may soon be brought under control. Safeguarding Children Against that the so-called "minor" communicable diseases may produce more serious afterresults than do the more spectacular diseases that strike terror to the average mother's heart. The California State Board of Health, together with many health officers throughout the state, are engaged in an active campaign for the control of all communicable diseases common to children, and it is believed that as a result of this campaign the year 1922 will show considerable reductions in their prevalence and in the number of fatalities due to these diseases. If ten years can be If the four diseases that are so com- added to the life of an individual by mon in children-diphtheria, measles, safeguarding him against these diseases, scarlet fever and whooping cough-- it is surely worth the expenditure of could be entirely suppressed, it is safe to work, time and money in unlimited say that the average length of life would quantities. be increased by at least ten years. These four diseases are probably responsible for most of the after-effects that produce serious results in adult life. There were 31,954 cases of these diseases reported in California last year, causing the death of 1081 children. There were 14,131 cases of measles, with 129 deaths; 9448 cases of diphtheria, with 644 deaths; 5570 cases of scarlet fever, with 117 deaths; and 2805 cases of whooping cough, with 191 deaths. The number of cases that actually occurred, however, is without doubt twice as great. This means that in future years approximately 65,000 adults will be physically handicapped as a result of suffering from one of these four diseases last year. Hygiene Defined. ex The Journal of the American Public Health Association, in its November issue, advises that technical words quickly popularized ought to be guarded with special care lest they get out of bounds and become perverted or tended beyond their original and legitimate meaning. The words vitamin, serum, vaccinate and preventive medicine are used as illustrations of the sort of words that often run wild. The Journal refers to the late Professor Wm. T. Sedgwick's definition of the word hygiene, "the whole science and art of the conservation and promotion of Research workers have shown that health, both in individuals and in comthe after-results of the communicable munities," and states that we need such diseases of childhood constitute an an inclusive word in our vocabulary. important public health problem. In- Hygiene may then be used with the juries inflicted by the communicable disqualifying adjectives "personal" or "pubeases of childhood on the kidneys, the nervous system, the circulatory and the pulmonary systems are usually permanent. In comparison with the large number of handicapped adults that these four diseases produce, the number of deaths caused by them each year is relatively insignificant. The real cause of death for many adults who die of heart, kidney or pulmonary diseases may be found in the contraction of one of these four diseases during infancy. lic," according to its sphere and scope. The definitions as given in the following paragraph from the Journal are very clear and exact. If all individuals engaged in public health work were to use these terms as defined there would be much less confusion. "Public hygiene has three main subdivisions: (1) Sanitation, which embodies all the laws and practices which promote the health of groups of people or communities by modifying or controlling the One of the most important phases of surroundings. (2) Preventive medicine, public health work in California lies in which deals exclusively with medical the prevention of diphtheria, scarlet practices that distinctly tend to conserve fever, measles and whooping cough. the health of groups of people. (3) California children should be safe-Demography, which furnishes the nuguarded against these diseases just as merical data relating to all the vital zealously as they should be safeguarded phenomena of populations. It also comagainst leprosy, smallpox, or any other prehends epidemiology, which attempts FOURTH PRENATAL TALK. CARE OF SKIN, TEETH AND HAIR. LEILA TRIMMER, M.D. Making California Clean California's tourist crop is by no means its main crop, but it is a fact that tourists by the thousands flock to this State every year to enjoy California's marvelous natural resources. Making California clean for these guests and keeping Care of the skin and teeth is of prime importance in the effort to approach the 100 per cent standard of health. Nor-it clean during their sojourns has come mally, the skin throws off one pint of water daily, containing bodily waste products, and in this way assisting the organs of elimination. By cleansing the skin by means of warm baths two or three times a week the skin is kept working. These baths should never be hot. They should be slightly warmer than the skin and taken before retiring, to prevent chilling, which is dangerous when the bodily chemistry is at all disturbed or overtaxed. Daily, a cool sponge or quick bath is stimulating to the skin. The main object is to wet the entire surface so that it may be briskly rubbed by a rough towel. If a cool plunge is habitual, it may be continued if there is good reaction and no shock. Alcohol rubs do not further the skin elimination; rather seem check it. to It is estimated that 2/10 grams of calcium oxide, in the last two months 6/10 grams, are daily supplied for the child's bony parts. If the maternal chemical balance is such that this is not easily supplied, the teeth become decalci fied and cavities enlarge rapidly. One of the early symptoms of indigestion is an increase in the secretions in the mouth and stomach. If neglected, acid eructations from the stomach help to increase the decay of the teeth. The use of milk of magnesia or lime water, or, if the gums are inflamed, an alkaline antiseptic is necessary. Early visits to the dentist for dental repairs of beginning cavities and special care of inflamed gums by the dentist should not be neglected. to be one of the most important pieces of public health work undertaken in this State. The sanitation of cities, and of country districts as well, is necessary in order to safeguard the health of tourists and home folks, too. The phenomenal growth of automobile touring has led to a wonderful increase in camping. Nearly every city in California now maintains a municipal automobile camp. Two or three years ago there were only half a dozen such institutions in the State. Today, in addition to the municipal places, hundreds of private automobile camps are in operation. All of these serve useful public health purposes, since they encourage the concentration of campers in fixed locations, thereby doing away with promiscuous camping along streams, which constitutes a real health menace. To maintain a high standard of sanitation and to supply expert advice relative to sanitary equipment and maintenance is the chief aim of the California State Board of Health with relation to the conduct of these camps, both municipal and private. Tourists who leave dirty camps, litter up the highways and disfigure the communities through which they travel are not welcome, and whenever health officers encounter such individuals they take steps the playgrounds of California must be immediately to impress upon them that kept clean in order that they may be enjoyed at all times by everyone. Californians are proud of their State, not only because of its vast natural resources, but they are also proud of their cities. Most of these municipalities are endeavoring to maintain a high state of sanitation. More attention than ever bcfore is now being paid to adequate waste The hair increases in growth in the disposal; the elimination of rats, flies prenatal period, owing to increased skin and mosquitoes; the abatement of comactivity. It usually drops out somewhat mon nuisances; the protection of foodat the completion of the period. There-stuffs against dust, dirt and insects; and fore, massage and stimulating lotions are in order during the last months, when the skin activity is lessened. the provision of pure milk and water supplies. These are all common factors in making California cities better places Again we are emphasizing what the within which to live, and these factors prospective mother must do for herself are of great importance in helping tourto conserve and improve her health at ists from other states to arrive at decithis important time of her life.-Sansions in finding locations for settling Francisco Call. permanently. It is a conspicuous fact that such persons are selecting the cleanest towns within which to take up their permanent residences. In the rural districts machinery for promotion of sanitation is, of necessity, more limited. Health officers in the rural districts are accomplishing considerable along these lines with the small appropriations available. There should be more work of this nature provided in the country districts. The promotion of local sanitation is a factor in keeping people well and its value also shows itself from the standpoint of dollars and cents. No community can afford to keep house in slovenly. fashion, and those communities that would be "healthy, wealthy and wise" are not engaging in intermittent clean-up campaigns but are engaged in promoting community sanitation in a regular and routine manner. Making California clean and keeping California clean is real business, and is worthy the expenditure of time, effort and money. Smallpox. MORBIDITY.* Eight cases of smallpox were reported, three being from Dunsmuir and one each from Hayward, Mendocino County, Pasadena, Shasta County and Sutter County. Typhoid. Seventeen cases of typhoid fever were reported, the distribution being as follows: Colusa County 2, Elsinore 1, Oakland 1, Redding 1, San Francisco 5, San Joaquin County 3, Santa Cruz 1, Siskiyou County 1, Stanislaus County 1, Whittier 1. Cerebrospinal Meningitis. Fresno and Oakland each reported one case of cerebrospinal meningitis. *From reports received to date for last week. IT IS IN THE POWER OF MAN TO MAKE ALL INFECTIOUS DISEASES TO DISAPPEAR FROM THE WORLD-PASTEUR. Section 16. Public Health Act. All physlelans, nurses, clergymen, attendants, owners, proprietors, managers, employees, and persons living in or visiting any sick person in any hotel, lodging house, house, building, office, structure, or other place where any person shall be ill of any infectious, contagious, or communicable disease, shall promptly report such fast to the county, city and county, city, or other local health board or health officer, together with the name of the person, If known, and place where such person is confined, and nature of the disease, if known. |