Michigan State Board Of Health

The regular meeting of this board was held at Lansing, July 12, all the tneiuliers being present. Hon. LeRoy Parker was elected president of the board for the ensuiiig two years. SMALL-POX. Dr. Jacokes spoke of an immigrant tramp-burglar who came down with the small-pox while confined In thejail at Fontiac. He and another prisoner in the jail were removed to the temporai"y hospital. The prisoner stole the clothes of tko immigrant, and, leaving nis own, ran away. Some one stole the prisoner's cast-offi clothes and bedding after supposed disinfection, and by this means small-pox was communicated to more tlmu 16 persons. He als reported that a second immigrant brought small-pox near Pontiac, but the disease was restricted. Dr. Kellogg reported that an immigrant sick with small-pox had recently been put off a M. 0. R. R. train at Battle Creek. He remained about tke depot all day before it was discovered that he hád small-po. He was Uien removed to a tent-hospital. Dr. A ery reported an out-break of mall-pox apparently brought by an immigrant Dane, who was vaccinated and not sick himself, to a camp in Montcalm county. The immigrant slept with and gave the disease to a country man who was vaccinated before his arrival in this country six years ago. The disease was light, the man not being confined to his bed at all, and finally he went to a family of fiye unvaccinated persons, all of whom had the disease lightly. There were other cases in the neighborhood coming from the same source. The immigrant prebably brought the contagión in his clothing from some infected city or immigrant on the jouniey.as he said there was no small-pox on board the ship on which he carne, though there were cases of diphtheria on board. A communication was received from the American public health association asking the influence of this board to secure legislation making it a criminal offense for any person to communicate any communicable diseiise, such as small-pox, scarlet fever, or venereal diseases. and giving to boards of health and health officials the same power in the prevention and suppression of other diseases as they now possess in cases of small-pox. The secretary presented a resolution of the American public health association, asking the Michigan board to use its influence to secure general vaccination. TIIE CHICAGO SANITARY CONFEREÍÍCE. liy direction of the board, the secretary attended the conference of delegates from local and state boards of health, held at Chicago, June 29, for the purpose of devising mean for preventing tho introduction of small-pox and other diseases by immigrante. The action of the sanitary conference to prevent the spread of small-pox, was indersed, and RESOLTJTIONS WERE ADOPTED requesting the national board of health to secure, if possible, the vaccinnation of immigrante before they land in this country; calling upon the local board of health to secure a careful inspection of all immigrante entering and remaining within their jurisdiction, and a prompt vaccinnation or revaccination with pure and fresli bovine virus of all persons not protected against small-pox; calling attention to the need of estabi ishing a quarantine at Port Iluron; also. asking the national board of health toaidin preventing tho introduction of smalL-pox and other communicable diseases by immigrante landing at eastern ports. VACCINNATION FOR VARIOTJS DrSEASES. Dr. Lystor, committce on epidemics and other diseases, read a translatiou of two important papers recently published in France, on the causation of certain cammunicable diseases, which gave details of successful methods of making viruses which can be used in vaccination, and are effective in preventing deaths from these diseases. He was requested to embody his remarks and so rauch of the translation as was essential, in a paper for publication. Dr. Baker had paid some attention to the same subject in connection witk diseases of animáis, affecting the public health. He mentioned a paper by Prof. Law of Cornell university, suggesting that these protective viruses all seemed to be made in accordance with a general law, namely, by their cultivation in fluids with access of free oxygen, and this gives us great hope of soon being able to make protective vaccination for many of the most dangerous diseases in animáis and mankind. Dr. Baker reported the investigation of an outbreak of a new disease in England, traced to the eating of American hams. The cause of the disease proved to be a virus which was used to inocúlate animáis of various kinds and reproduced the same disease in them. Froai accounts it seems probable that it is no more nor less than our hog cholera. The symptoms closely resemble in some respects the disease known last winter in this country as "winter cholera." SANITARY ASSOCIATIONS. Dr. Jacokes referred to the Pontiac Sanitary Association and the work it was doing for public health in that city. Dr. Kellogg reported the formation of a sanitary association at Battle Creek as a fruit of the recent sanitary convention held there by this board. Among the subjects brought before the association was that of impure water. He had examined a sample of water used at an eating house, among the boarders at which were seven cases of typhoid fever last year. It contained a large amount of organic matter. Also a sample containing organic matter and a large amount of chloride of sodium, used by a family in which there had been much illness. The request of the sanitary convention at Jiattle Creek, that this board issue a circular on criminal abortion.was referred to Dr. Kellogg as special committee. FUTURE rUBLICATIONS. Drs. Lysler and Baker reported their revisión of the document on the restriction and prevention of diphthsria, and different points were discussed, amended, the document adopted, and 30,000 copies will be printed and the document stereotyped so that local boards of health may secure any number of copies at cost of paper and press-' work. Drs. Baker and Kellogg were appointed a special committee to prepare a tract on disinfection, which shall give the best method adapted to each disease and to each article to be disinfeeted, and which shall cali attention to the many useless substances now employed for such purposes. The document heretofore issue. 1 on the treatment of the drowned being out of print, it was referred to a 1 mittee for revisión, with a view to its publication. Dr. Baker was instructed to prepare a paper on the best meUiods of constructing hospital for communicable diseases, avoiding the use of the name 'pest-house." LEOISLATICN UPON IIKALTH. IIob. Leroy Parker, committee on legislation, made a report relativo to public health acts passed by the last legislatura, giving the titles of 48 acts bearing directly or indirectly oh public health systeras, mentioningthe subjects of each act. These acts give increased powers to local boards of health, additional appropnatioHs to the state board of healtn, authorize the board of control of state swamp lands to appropriate lands to drain overflowed land, etc. The board authorized the purchase of additional meterological instrumenta for the use of the board's observers in different parta of the state. The Secretary reported that in one northern township, where the health offlcer was not a physician, the locaal oftlcers applied to this office for a physician to be sent to aid in stopping the spread of the disease; and by direction of the secretary of the state board, Dr. Ilawxhurst, ex-health offlcer of West Bay City, went there at the expense of the township, and has reported that the outbreak lias been stopped. The usual number of complaiüts bave been received of sickness caused by flooding rivera for the purpose of running logs in the northern part of the state. In answering these the Secretary has used Mr. Parker's paper on the powers and duties of local boards of health. EXAMINATION IN SANITARY SCIENCES. The fee for examination in sanitary science was changed frorn $10 to $1. It was voted that applicants unable to be present at thia meeting may be examined at the meeting of the board, October 11, 1881. Application to be made to the secretary at Lansing. GLUCOSE SUGAIt AND S Y KUPS. Several samples of sugar and syrup, manufactured at the Michigan grape sugar factory at Detroit, were presented to the board and partially examined. NOTICES OF CONTAGIOUS DISEASES TO 8CIIO Lfl. The secretary presented samples of notices of contagious and infectious diseases sent by the health officers of Grand Rapids and Tecumseh to the superintendents of schools in those cities. and suggested that if the health offleer of each city would send such notices to superintendent, it would be a very important public health measure. The secretary was directed to present hereafter at each meeting of the board a resume of the action of other state boards óf health. The board adjourned to meet October 11.