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14
serum or otherwise, will be discovered capable of attacking
the bacillus in the human body, and destroying it.
At the: present we have to depend for treating the disease
almost entirely upon the open-air treatment, combined
with every other means known to science for Tncreasing
the resisting power of the person attacked, in the way of
good food and sanitary surroundings. This is, however,
only to be relied upon as a cure when begun at an early
stage of the disease; in the vast majority of advanced
cases the disease; is at the best only arrested after more
or less destruction of lung tissue and lowered vitality.
The disease is communicated by microbes present in
the expectoration in vast numbers; these gain access to
the lungs, and articles of food, and drink, in the form of
dust after the expectoration has dried; they are also
present in the air of rooms inhabited by consumptive
persons. If all the expectoration could be at once
destroyed as soon as it is coughed up, the disease would
be intercepted at its source, and soon become comparatively
rare. All expectoration should be received into
suitable spittoons and destroyed, and paper handkerchiefs
or rags used, and at once burnt. Rooms used by patients
should be disinfected frequently; windows opened wide
night and day; moist cloths used for cleaning and dusting
instead of brushes and dry cloths. Children especially
should be kept out of the way.
Voluntary notification of the disease has not been
successful, and I believe it will be found necessary to
include it in the list of compulsorily Notifiable Infectious
Diseases, with some modification as regards personal
exposure of the individual affected.
The M.O.H. will be glad if medical men and householders
will kindly notify him. of any persons dying of
the disease, so that rooms which have been used by the
deceased may be properly disinfected before they are again
occupied.
CANCER (MALIGNANT DISEASE).
The number of deaths from, this fell disease was 6.
The victims were all between the age limits of 36 and 76,
5 being over 60. The disease appears to show no