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

208 THE HEALTH BULLETIN.under favorable conditions outside ofthe body.These conditions which most favorthe prolongation of its life outside ofthe body are darkness, moisture, andordinary temperatures. It dies in afew minutes when exposed to directsunlight, when not deeply imbeddedin the albuminous discharges fromthe lesions which are characteristicof the disease. In the human bodythe commonest form of tuberculosis isconsumption, or tuberculosis of thelungs, but it may occur in any partor organ of the body, especially in thebones, joints and lymph glands of children,in which structures it is knownrespectively as white swelling of bonesand joints, and scrofula. It is a verycommon cause of hunchback and ofmeningitis in children.The tubercle bacillus in the bodystimulates the growth of cells which,under the influence of toxins or poisonswhich are elaborated by the bacillus,die, disintegrate, and are givenoff from the body in the form of dischargesthat are peculiar to the organor tissue in which the lesion is located,e. g., from the lungs as sputum, fromscrofulous glands and white swellingas pus, and from the intestines in thefeces. All these discharges are capableof starting the disease in thehealthy, whether by being taken intothe stomach, inhaled in the lungs, orby the inoculation of open superficialcuts and wounds.PredisposingCauses.Approximately ten per cent of allcases of tuberculosis occurring inchildren have resulted from the ingestionof milk or meat from tuberculousanimals. Tuberculosis is not inheritedas was formerly supposed. It is alwaysacquired through infection fromsome other case by the transmissionof the tubercle bacillus either directlyor indirectly. Because it is a germdisease it is preventable and curable,not unavoidable and fatal as until recentlyit has been regarded. All peopleare not equally susceptible to thedisease. Those who are in a weakenedphysical condition, or who lackproper and sufficient food, or who areaddicted to the use of alcohol, or whohave suffered from grippe, colds,measles, typhoid, pleurisy, etc., or whotake insufficient rest, or exercise toolittle in the open air, or sleep in closerooms, or work in a moist, dark ord sty atmosphere, are predisposed tothe disease.While tuberculosis is not essentiallya disease of the poor and destitute, itis with this class of people that it ismost prevalent.Commonest Early Symptoms.The commonest early symptoms ofthe disease are persistent cough orcold lasting a month or longer, hoarseness,loss of weight and appetite, rundownfeeling, slight fever in the afternoons,night sweats, spitting of bloodor streaks of blood in the sputum.Any one, or any combination of thesesymptoms, should lead one to suspecttuberculosis, and he should consult aphysician immediately. If the physiciancan not find a cause for thesesymptoms, in nine cases out of tenthey should be attributed to tuberculosis.It is most important that thedisease be recognized early so thattimely treatment may be begun. Mostcases of tuberculosis that have beendiagnosed in the incipient or very earlystage, under modern methods of treatment,are cured.Tuberculosis in Cliildren.Tuberculosis is a house disease, adisease of the home. It runs in families,not because inherited, but becauseof home association. It is probablethat most infections occur in childhood,though the disease may not developto the point of recognition untillate in life. It is acquired by childrenthrough kissing, caressing, use ofcommon eating utensils, and fromplaying on an infected floor. A consumptivein the family may be themeans of transmitting the disease notonly through spitting, but by coughing,sneezing, and even by- speakinginto the face of another.How TuberculosisMay Be Prevented.The sputum wiiich a consumptiveraises should be received in a cuspidorcontaining an antiseptic solution, orhe should cough or spit into a napkinor on to a paper held before his face,and these should then be thoroughlydisinfected or burned. The preventionand treatment of tuberculosis rest uponthe principles that have been setforth above. They are: