The Health bulletin [serial] - University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

;
June, 1927
The Health Bulletin
tension of sewer lines had a great deal
to do with the reduction in typhoid. In
fact, next to the increasingly safe milk
supply provided, the water purification
and sewage disposal was the chief
cause in this wonderful record.
As a clincher to the figures produced
in his article, the editor of the Bulletin
closes by stating that these studies offer
"definite numerical data on the effectiveness
of water cleansing and disinfecting
processes and serves to augment
previous data. It should help to demonstrate
to the few still skeptical in the
matter the direct dependence of typhoid
fever mortality upon the quality of public
water supplies. These facts also
prove quite conclusively the efficacy of
the water cleansing and disinfection
procedures which have gained such
headway in American cities during the
past twenty years."
PREVENT TYPHOID FEVER AND COLITIS THIS SUMMER
The death rate from typhoid in North
Carolina during the past several years
has been constantly coming down lower
and lower. This is due to a great many
causes, and no one item should receive
more than its proportion of credit for
the reduction in typhoid fever in the
State of North Carolina. It is only
proper, however, to give a good portion
of credit to achieving such good results
to about four or five major causes.
First, improvement in the economic
status of the people as a whole, allowing
them to provide better and safer
food and living facilities, including the
wide-spread habit now happily existing,
of screening the houses ; second a safer
water supply through the State, and a
better and safer public milk supply
third, the increasing use of vaccination
against typhoid, especially the thorough
job done by the average physician and
health ofiicer for all contacts immediately
after being exposed to an initial
case of typhoid fever in a family. This
takes care of the carrier type source of
infection in which the food supply and
the water supply has not become generally
contaminated before discovery
of the disease. Fourth, the building of
sanitary privies, and a better educated
public opinion with reference to sanitary
matters in general.
These same agencies, with the exception
of vaccination, of course, have to
some extent had a favorable effect on
the prevalence of colitis among the
babies of the State. This has not, however,
resulted in such material reduction
as would be desirable. Colitis is
spread chiefly through polluted water
and contaminated food, especially milk
which is given to babies. A pre-disposing
cause might be said to be the effect
sometimes of excessive hot weather at
h
the time of exposure to the infected
food or water. Right now in the month
of June we would like to urge upon all
people who have not already done so,
to see that the houses are thoroughly
screened against flies and mosquitoes,
and provide for a pure water supply
and a pure and uncontaminated milk
supply.
The water supplied by public utilities
companies, and cities and towns of the
State operating their own plants, are
under the sanitary supervision of the
State Board of Health. This applies
also to the watersheds from which
water is procured for these public supplies.
Therefore this is not so much
the responsibility of the general public,
except to see that their officials are
thoroughly efficient and on the job
every minute of the twenty-four hours,
as it is for the individual home owner
who provides his own water supply, to
be alert and active in protecting himself
and his family. The water from
ordinary wells is very easily jwlluted.
The old type open well, with a bucket
and chain or the primitive well sweep
and bucket, has long ago been found
guilty of great danger on account of
the ease with which the water may
become contaminated from surface
causes. We refer, of course, to the open
type well with ordinary wood curbing
and not to the cement wells with covered
tops and pumps by which the
water is drawn. It is a well-known fact,
however, that all types of well water
are more or less dangerous. This is because
fissures in the rocks underneath
the ground or breaks in the well casing,
even when iron or cement, may let in
pollution, and diseases like typhoid and
colitis may be the result.