General Report of the Board.

VACCINATION.

The Board regrets exceedingly that there is no provision of law that enables boards of health to employ vaccination against small pox. The rule of the State Board of Health providing for vaccination of school children, while it was declared null and void by our supreme court, did a vast amount of good in the state, for it was very generally observed, and as a result the people of the state are probably better protected by vaccination than ever before, but as vaccination runs out, and many children are being born without any protection, the Board does not hesitate to express its belief that if some law is not enacted in the near future to provide for vaccination, the state will be liable to an outbreak of small pox within the next decade that will prove very disastrous. In order for any community to be free from small pox all new born children should be vaccinated, and all persons should be revaccinated every five or seven years, but with no law relating to the matter, only a small proportion of the people will avail themselves of this means of protection. One of the most unaccountable things in the enlightened age in which we live is the fact that there are those who oppose vaccination, and also those high in authority, as in our courts, who are lukewarm in, or are even opposed to its universal practice. When every medical college in the civilized world, nearly all recognized text-books used in colleges that treat of the subject, and ninety-five per cent. of all physicians of all schools teach and practice vaccination as the best known preventive against one of the most loathsome diseases that affect mankind, it certainly seems unaccountable that enough influence can be brought to bear to prevent the enactment of laws that will make its practice universal in any well enlightened commonwealth.

General Report of the Board.

BOVINE TUBERCULOSIS.

The Board desires to call attention to the belief of those who are familiar with the subject that bovine tuberculosis is slowly but surely increasing in our state. This being the case, it becomes highly necessary for some action to be taken to control it. It is well known that milch cows affected with this disease have the germ of tuberculosis in their milk, and that the milk from such cows becomes very dangerous for infants and invalid food, and hence all such milk should be condemned. It has been proposed that the Board, together with the State Veterinarian, and the University Experiment Station, act together and make a general inspection of all large herds of milch cows, test the animals with tuberculine, which is the most reliable test we possess at the present time, and which is almost positive, and thus ascertain what animals are infected; this being done, it is believed the owners will see that it is to their advantage from an economic stand point, as well as a sanitary one, to weed out all infected animals as soon as possible; surely if this is not done milk will be condemned on a large scale, the disease will increase among the herds, and in a few years many herds will be an entire loss to the owners. In other states, notably in Massachusetts and Minnesota, this work has been carried on to a large extent, and owners are co-operating with the health boards in the effort to eradicate the disease. It is observed that blooded stock is infected to a greater extent than any other, and that the disease exists to a far greater degree than is recognized, the Board has no doubt.

On the subject of the "Prevention of Tuberculosis" by Dr. Jas. B. Russell, senior medical officer of Glasgow, Scotland, referring to tuberculosis in milk, he says: "There is no need for argument in reference to the milk of tubercu

lous cows.

General Report of the Board.

The facts are so universally accepted and so grave, that the administrative effects shines through them.

that a tuberculous There is a remarkinfluence of milk in

It is precisely the Glasgow position cow must not be retained in a dairy. able consensus of opinion as to the disseminating tuberculosis, especially amongst the young. The pathologist finds that of the total deaths under ten years of age amongst the mass of the people, about onethird are due to tuberculosis,' and that the usual seat of the disease at that age points to food as the medium of infection. The prevalence of tuberculosis among dairy cows is notorious. Experiment shows that when the udder is affected the milk is virulent. Every authority on the prophylaxis of tuberculosis places the supervision of the milk supply next to the regulation of the expectoration of consumptives in importance." Such a statement from so high an authority should demand our most careful consideration, and warn us of our duty. The Board issued a small pamphlet nearly two years ago on the prevention of tuberculosis, which has had a wide circulation, and it is hoped it has borne good fruit,- now the Board would most urgently solicit the coöperation of all citizens in the effort to eradicate, if possible, bovine tuberculosis, and it is believed this work will not only save many lives, especially among the young, but in the end will be of marked benefit to all dairymen from an economic standpoint. Until one is sure that milk fed to children or invalids is free from tuberculosis, all milk, to be safe, should be sterilized before feeding.

The Board desires to call attention to the report of the Committee of the American Public Health Association on the "Cause and Prevention of Diphtheria," published in this number. As this disease is so common from the highest authority in

in this state, this report, this country on the subject, must be of great value to all

General Report of the Board.

who will study it, and it is hoped that all health officers will make a careful study of the report. The Board would also call attention to a paper entitled "Some Thoughts Relative to Sanitary Legislation," also published in this number, and read before the last meeting of the American Public Health Association, by the Secretary of this Board, which it is believed will merit careful reading by all who are interested in the subject.

SOLON MARKS, M D., President,

C. H. MARQUARDT, M. D.,

F. H. BODENIUS, M. D.,

G. W. HARRISON, M. D.,

J. H. MCNEEL, M. D.,

Q. O. SUTHERLAND, M. D.,

U. O. B. WINGATE, M. D., Secretary,

Members of the Wisconsin State Board of Health.

On the Cause and Prevention of Diphtheria.

REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE OF THE AMERICAN PUBLIC HEALTH ASSOCIATION, ON THE CAUSE AND PREVENTION OF DIPHTHERIA.*

Read by DR. J. J. KINYOUN, Chairman, at the meeting held at Buffalo, N. Y., September, 1896.

Your committee has the honor to submit, for your consideration, the following report:

It is intended in this report to give a short resume of the status of diphtheria during the year.

It is now almost a universally accepted fact that the bacillus diphtheria is the sole cause of this disease. Formerly, the bacillus diphtheria was supposed to cause only inflammation of the upper air-passages, which are accompanied by a pseudo-membrane. This belief is slowly

changing, and the term diphtheria has a broader application; for it has been satisfactorily demonstrated that many of the inflammatory affections of the nose and throat not accompanied by a false membrane, were nevertheless caused by the diphtheria germ.

While this is not being accepted as rapidly by the medical profession and laity as the health officer could wish, the number of adherents to this belief is gradually increasing.

By reason of the microscopic and culture test, we have now two classes of diphtheritic infection to deal with, the one presenting the classical and typical symptons - the clinical diphtheria the other, where the symptoms are slight or absent, with the bacillus present, the so-called laboratory diphtheria.

Viewed from a public health standpoint this last form is, perhaps, more dangerous than the former.

The so-called membranous croup is yet, we regret to state, a most serious disturbing factor in our fight against diphthe*From the Journal of the American Public Health Association, January, 1897.