USA > Massachusetts > Middlesex County > Somerville > Report of the city of Somerville 1904 > Part 21
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Regulations.
The following health regulations have been adopted during the year 1904 :-
CITY OF SOMERVILLE. IN BOARD OF HEALTH, October 6, 1904.
Ordered: That the following regulation be and hereby is adopted :-
SECTION 1. The board of health hereby adjudges that pulmonary tuberculosis is an infectious and contagious disease, dangerous to the public health.
SECT. 2. A householder who knows that a person in his family or house is sick with pulmonary tuberculosis shall forthwith give notice thereof to the board of health. Upon the death, recovery, or removal of such person, the householder shall disinfect to the satisfaction of this board such rooms of his house and articles therein as, in the opinion of the board, have been exposed to the infection.
SECT. 3. Said rooms and articles may be fumigated and disinfected by this board or its agent.
SECT. 4. Upon the death, removal, or recovery of a person sick with pulmonary tuberculosis, no person, except members of the imme- diate family of which such sick person was a member, and those whose business calls them there, shall thereafter visit or be permitted by the householder or any occupant thereof to visit the dwelling in which such person was sick as aforesaid, until such dwelling shall have been fumi- gated and disinfected as above provided.
SECT. 5. If a physician knows that a person whom he is called to visit is infected with pulmonary tuberculosis as aforesaid, he shall imme- diately give notice thereof in writing over his own signature to the board of health.
SECT. 6. Whoever violates the provisions of Sections 2 or 4 shall be punished by a fine of not more than one hundred dollars. Whoever vio- lates the provisions of Section 5 shall forfeit not less than fifty dollars nor more than two hundred dollars for each offense.
(Signed)
WILLIAM P. MITCHELL, Clerk.
Copies of the above regulation were sent to all the physi- cians of the city. Thirty-eight dwellings have been fumigated since its adoption.
At the time of the adoption of the health regulation regard- ing tuberculosis, 15,000 of the following circular were ordered to
274
ANNUAL REPORTS.
be printed and distributed at the home of every family in the city :-
BOARD OF HEALTH. CITY HALL, SOMERVILLE, MASS., 1904.
CIRCULAR ON CONSUMPTION.
Consumption (also called phthisis or pulmonary tuberculosis) is an infectious disease; that is, a disease which one person can catch from another person. It is caused by germs which grow in the lungs of con- sumptives, and the sputum or spit which is coughed up contains large numbers of them. When this spit is allowed to dry, the germs are set free and float about in the air, and if inhaled into the lungs of healthy persons, may start the disease in them.
If the spit is destroyed while moist, there is very little danger of spreading the infection. It is therefore of the utmost importance that consumptives should spit into receptacles made for the purpose, contain- ing a solution of carbolic acid (one part to fifteen parts of water), or into pieces of cloth. Such receptacles should be frequently cleansed with scalding water after destroying their contents, and pieces of cloth should be burned before the sputum becomes dry. Handkerchiefs which have been used from necessity should be boiled half an hour before washing.
The patient's clothing, bed-clothing, etc., should not be mixed with the general family wash, nor sent to the public laundry, but should be boiled half an hour and then washed separately.
Under no circumstances should a consumptive spit upon the floors of rooms, public halls, street or railway cars or other vehicles, or in the street.
A healthy person should not sleep in the room with a consumptive.
The kissing of consumptives is dangerous, especially for children. Consumption can be prevented and, in many cases, cured.
The patient should occupy an airy and well-lighted room containing as little furniture as possible. This room should be kept clean by wiping the floor and furniture with damp cloths, which should then be destroyed. Sweeping and dusting should be avoided. The patient should have plenty of nourishing food, fresh air, and sunlight.
After the removal of a patient from the room or house, disinfection must be performed by the board of health, or to the satisfaction of its agents, in accordance with a regulation adopted by this board October 6, 1904.
ALLEN F. CARPENTER, EDMUND S. SPARROW, WESLEY T. LEE, M. D., Board of Health.
CITY OF SOMERVILLE. IN BOARD OF HEALTH, November 3, 1904.
Ordered: That the following regulation be and hereby is adopted :-
Immediately upon the receipt of notice that a teacher or pupil in any school in the city is sick with smallpox, scarlet fever, diphtheria, mem- branous croup, typhus fever, or cholera, the schoolroom in which such teacher or pupil was accustomed to sit, and the dressing-room in which the aforesaid teacher or pupil placed his or her outer garments, shall be fumigated by the board of health or its agent, or to their or his satis- faction.
All books, papers, and other articles which, in the opinion of the board or its agent, have been directly exposed to the contagion, and which cannot be satisfactorily fumigated, shall be burned.
WILLIAM P. MITCHELL, Clerk. (Signed)
275
HEALTH DEPARTMENT.
In compliance with the above regulation, twenty-seven schoolrooms have been fumigated.
Health Department.
CREDIT.
Appropriation
$40,000 00
Receipts :-
Middlesex Paper Co., paper
312 75
Hannibal S. Pond, city offal
1,100 00
Milk fees
131 02
Permit fees
60 00
Total credit
$41,603 77
Expenditures :-
Salaries
$5,200 00
Collecting ashes
17,034 75
Collecting offal
13,882 00
Stable expenses
1,473 75
Wagons, sleds, etc.
638 85
Tools and repairing same
154 19
Harnesses and horse clothing
798 38
Horses and horse doctoring
1,663 98
Horseshoeing
759 11
Hay and grain
4,917 79
Vaccine virus
6 60
Burying dead animals .
122 50
Office expenses
34 89
Books, stationery, printing and postage
223 60
Bacteriological laboratory
26 15
Board of agent's horse .
274 00
Telephones
106 98
Care of contagious disease cases
782 28
Board of superintendent's horse .
123 27
Incidentals
467 91
Total debit
Amount overdrawn
$48,690 98 7,087 21
ALLEN F. CARPENTER, Chairman, EDMUND S. SPARROW, WESLEY T. LEE, M. D.,
Board of Health.
DEBIT.
REPORT OF BACTERIOLOGIST.
Somerville, January 26, 1905.
To the Board of Health of the City of Somerville :-
Gentlemen,-I herewith present the report of the bacteriol- ogist for the year 1904.
During the latter part of December, 1902, in accordance with your vote, a laboratory was established at the city hall and regu- lar bacteriological examinations were commenced upon January 1, 1903, which have been continued during the past year.
During the year 1904 1,429 examinations were made of cul- tures for the diphtheria organism, 124 examinations made of sputum from patients suspected of having tuberculosis, seventy- six examinations to detect the Widal reaction in typhoid fever, and no examinations for making a diagnosis of malaria in patients showing symptoms of that disease.
With the beginning of 1903, your board established regula- tions, which required, in cases of diphtheria, that no patient should be released from quarantine until two consecutive nega- tive cultures had been obtained from the patient, one by the at- tending physician and one by a physician representing the board, thus making the work more extensive than had been previously required. Culture stations were also established at four differ- ent parts of the city, which were later increased to six in number, to more generally accommodate the physicians of the city, at which places, in connection with the laboratory, culture outfits and sputum bottles could be obtained. The outfits for typhoid fever and malaria were to be obtained at the laboratory only. To avoid delay in the examination of specimens, it was required that all specimens should be sent to the laboratory at the city hall, thus obviating any delay through the culture stations. Speci- mens left at the city hall as late as midnight are placed in the incubator immediately, making it possible for a result to be ob- tained early the next morning.
Diphtheria .- Fourteen hundred and twenty-nine cultures have been examined for diphtheria. 629 being in males, and 800 in females. Diphtheria being a disease of children, 537 of these examinations have been made in children under five years of age, 400 in those from five to ten years of age, 231 from ten to twenty, and 261 in adults over twenty years. In thirty-four cases the age of the patient was not stated. Four hundred and six examina- tions were made for the diagnosis of the case, 142 proving posi- tive, and 264 negative. Of the positive results, seventy-two were
277
HEALTH DEPARTMENT.
of cases in which the attending physician's diagnosis of diph- theria was confirmed, eleven in which the clinical diagnosis was not diphtheria, and fifty-nine in which no definite diagnosis was made. Of the 264 negative examinations, thirty-seven were ob- tained in which the clinical diagnosis was diphtheria, ninety-six in which the diagnosis was not diphtheria, and 131 in which no diagnosis had been made.
Nine hundred and ninety-four cultures were taken for re- lease of patients from quarantine, 233 of which were positive, and 761 negative. The importance of taking release cultures is demonstrated by these figures, these patients showing the pres- ence of the bacilli in the throat after the clinical evidence of the disease had disappeared. In twenty-nine examinations there was no growth upon the serum tube.
Tuberculosis .- One hundred and twenty-four examinations have been made of sputum suspected of containing the tubercle bacillus, twenty-eight of which were positive and ninety-six nega- tive. In forty-three cases, a definite diagnosis of this disease had been made by the attending physician, but in twenty-nine of them the organism could not be detected. In the remainder of the cases, fifty-four were stated as not showing evidence of the dis- ease, eleven being positive, and in twenty-seven cases no state- ments were made giving information as to its character, three of which were positive. Fifty-four were males and seventy females. Although printed directions accompany each outfit, telling how the specimen should be obtained, it has not been unusual for specimens to be sent to the laboratory containing only saliva from the mouth, with no excretion from the lungs or bronchial tubes. Physicians should be urged to give definite instructions to each patient, relating to the collection of the sputum, for in some instances a negative report would mislead both physician and patient. Consumption, to-day, is recognized as an infectious disease, and all persons afflicted with it should be instructed in the modern methods for preventing its spread. In some cases this is not done by the attending physician, and during the past year your board has required that this disease be reported to you, as other infectious diseases are, and that printed instructions and advice be sent to each patient ill with the disease. The decrease in the death rate of consumption, and the cure of persons afflicted with it, is due to the improved and intelligent manner with which cases are treated, and the prevention of further spread of the dis- ease is a subject which is of importance to all local boards of health.
Typhoid Fever .- Seventy-six examinations of the blood of patients suspected of having typhoid fever have been made, thirty-two of which proved positive. In eighteen cases a positive diagnosis of this disease had been made by the attending physi- cian ; and in the remainder, no statement was made relating to the diagnosis. Of the negative results, four were diagnosed as typhoid, six were said not to be typhoid, and in thirty-four no
-
278
ANNUAL REPORTS.
diagnosis was made. Fifty-three were males and twenty-three females.
Malaria .- No examinations were made of the blood of patients suspected of having this disease, and the disease cannot be considered as one of prominence in this city.
Summary for Two Years, 1903, 1904. Diphtheria Cultures.
No. examined.
Males
Females
0-5
5-10
10-20
Over 20
Age not No. stated growth
1903
817
387
430
282
199
125
185
26
5
1904
1,429
629
800
537
400
231
261
34
29
For Diagnosis
Clinical Diagnosis Diph. Clin. Diag. not Diph. Clin. Diag. not stated
Positive
Negative
Positive
Negative
Positive
Negative
1903
360
56
35
11
122
27
109
1904
406
72
37
11
96
59
131
For Release
Positive
Negative
1903
95
362
1904.
233
761
Sputum for Tuberculosis.
No. Examined
Males
Females
Positive
Negative
Clin. Diag. Tuberculosis Positive Negative
1903
137
66
71
26
111
15
21
1904
124
54
70
28
96
14
29
Clinical Diagnosis not Tuberculosis Clinical Diagnosis not stated Positive
Negative
Positive
Negative
1903
9
61
2
29
1904
11
43
3
24
Blood for Typhoid Fever.
No. Examined
Males
Females
Positive
Negative
Clin. Diag. Typhoid Fever Positive Negative
1903
72
39
33
27
45
18
7
1904
76
53
23
32
44
18
4
Clinical Diagnosis not Typhoid Fever
Clinical Diagnosis not stated
Positive
Negative
Positive
Negative
1903
2
6
7
32
1904
0
6
14
34
Respectfully submitted,
FRANK L. MORSE,
Bacteriologist.
REPORT OF INSPECTOR OF ANIMALS AND PROVISIONS.
Somerville, January 1, 1905.
To the Honorable, the Mayor, and the Board of Aldermen :-
Gentlemen,-I submit the following report as inspector of animals and provisions for the year ending December 31, 1904.
The following is a statement of the work performed during the year: At the five slaughtering establishments in the city, the number of animals slaughtered was as follows: John P. Squire Corporation, Medford street, 591,332 swine; North Packing and Provision Company, Medford street, 691,004 swine; New Eng- land Dressed Meat and Wool Company, 19,572 cattle, 67,616 calves, 374,938 sheep; Sturtevant & Haley, Somerville avenue, 10,204 cattle; Rachel Gunsenhiser, North street, 603 cattle, 196 calves, and 170 sheep. Total number of animals slaughtered during the year 1904, 1,755,635.
I have inspected, condemned, and caused to be destroyed 502 pounds fowl, 671 pounds pollock, 53 pounds swordfish, 5 boxes smelts, 1,067 mackerel, 1,943 herring, 1,644 pounds cod and haddock, 480 pounds dried fish, 236 pounds halibut, 192 pounds fresh salmon, 129 pounds shad, 53 lobsters, 3 bushels clams, 1 gallon clams, 3 gallons oysters, 440 pounds squash, 29 bushels potatoes, 8 bushels sweet potatoes, 19 bushels greens, 17 bushels vegetables, 42 barrels apples, 4 boxes lemons, 7 boxes oranges, 57 dozen bananas, 675 pounds grapes, 8 bushels pears, 11 crates tomatoes, 192 quarts strawberries, 4,600 pounds fresh beef, 216 pounds corned beef, 39 calves, 192 pounds veal, 14 livers, 192 pounds fresh pork, 175 pounds mutton.
There are 133 cows, 161 swine, 6 goats, and 2 lambs kept in the city for domestic purposes.
I have examined 1,551 horses in stables where contagious disease was reported to exist. Fifty-seven horses were killed on account of contagious disease, and 6 were released.
I have made 832 visits to stores and markets, inspected 812 pedler carts from which fish and provisions are sold. I have also made monthly inspections of stores and bakeries throughout the city, and find them in a much improved condition.
As agent of the society for the prevention of cruelty to ani- mals, I have investigated 186 complaints. Number of animals killed, 59. Number of animals taken from work, 47. Cattle not properly cared for, 25.
Respected submitted,
CHARLES M. BERRY,
Inspector of Animals and Provisions,
REPORT OF INSPECTOR OF MILK AND VINEGAR.
OFFICE OF INSPECTOR OF MILK AND VINEGAR, - 310 Broadway, Somerville, Mass., January 2, 1905.
To the Board of Health :-
Gentlemen,-I herewith submit my annual report for the year ending December 31, 1904.
I have collected and analyzed 955 samples of milk, five samples of cream, and eighteen samples of vinegar. In addition to this, I have examined a few samples of suspected butter, and inspected butter teams as I found them on the street.
One hundred and six notices were sent that milk was below the standard.
The following cases were prosecuted in court :-
1 man, selling milk without a license; found not guilty.
1 storekeeper, milk below the standard; fined $20 00
1 storekeeper, selling milk without registering; fined . 1 00
1 storekeeper, selling milk without registering; fined . 5 00
1
1 milk pedler, selling milk without a license; fined
30 00
1 milk pedler, selling milk without a license; ruled a corpo- ration and found not guilty.
1 storekeeper, selling milk below the standard; placed on file.
1 storekeeper, selling milk below the standard; fined . 10 00
1 storekeeper, selling milk below the standard; fined . .
.00
1 storekeeper, selling milk below the standard; fined . 5 00
1 storekeeper, selling milk below the standard; fined . 5 00
1 storekeeper, selling milk below the standard; fined . 8 00 1 storekeeper, selling milk below the standard; fined . 10 00 1 storekeeper, selling milk below the standard; fined . 15 00 1 storekeeper, selling milk below the standard; fined . 15 00
1 storekeeper, selling milk below the standard; fined .
5 00
1 storekeeper, selling milk below the standard; fined . 15 00 1 milk pedler, selling milk below the standard; fined .
10 00
1 milk pedler, selling milk below the standard . (superior court) ; fined 15 00
1 storekeeper, selling milk below the standard, second offense (superior court) ; fined 100 00
1 storekeeper, selling milk without registering; found not guilty and placed on file.
1 storekeeper, selling milk without registering; found not guilty and placed on file.
Total amount of fines imposed by the courts $274 00
I spent twenty-three days in the police court and five days in the superior court.
I issued 146 licenses to milk pedlers and 114 to stores, a total · of 260.
281
HEALTH DEPARTMENT.
I have paid to the city treasurer $130 for license fees, and $1.02 for stamps.
The inhabitants have consumed about 21,600 quarts of milk a day for the year, and 400 quarts of heavy cream. The milk pedlers deliver daily about 5,400 gallons. About 3,000 cans are delivered from the cars, and 750 cans are brought in teams from near farms. About 125 gallons of heavy cream are delivered daily.
To have any citizen who may think his milk is not up to the standard, and desiring to submit a sample for analysis, I would ask that he be sure and mix the milk well before taking the sample.
I shall be pleased to give to any physicians desiring to know the quality of the milk that their baby patients are being fed analyses of any samples submitted, either of mothers' or cows' ınilk.
My office is open all day, every day in the year, where com- plaints may be made and licenses procured.
Respectfully submitted, -
ز
JULIUS E. RICHARDSON,
Inspector of Milk and Vinegar.
SUPPORT OF POOR DEPARTMENT.
Board of Overseers of the Poor. EDWARD B. WEST, President. ALBERT W. EDMANDS, Vice-president. HERBERT E. MERRILL.
Committees.
ON FINANCE, INVESTIGATION AND RELIEF, AND CITY HOME. - Mr. West, Mr. Edmands, and Mr. Merrill.
Secretary. CORA F. LEWIS.
General Agent. CHARLES C. FOLSOM.
City Physician. ALVAH B. DEARBORN, M. D.
Warden of "City Home." J. FOSTER COLQUHOUN.
Matron of "City Home." MRS. CATHERINE COLQUHOUN.
Office. City Hall Annex, Highland Avenue.
REPORT OF OVERSEERS OF THE POOR.
OFFICE OF THE OVERSEERS OF THE POOR, - Somerville, Mass., December 31, 1904.
To the Honorable, the Mayor, and Board of Aldermen of the City of Somerville :-
Gentlemen,-We beg leave to submit as follows our report for the year 1904.
The work of this year shows a material increase over that of last. The same care has been exercised by the department in investigating and relieving all needy and deserving cases; the liberal allowance from the city has been carefully husbanded, and, so far as we know, few, if any, cases of real suffering or want have not found immediate relief.
Our city is not paying for the support of any insane persons at present, only as we are called to do so in our enlarged state taxes. We think that the feeble-minded, dipsomaniacs, and epi- leptics should be cared and paid for by the state, the same as the insane are at the present time. The state owns the buildings, and has the supervision of these three classes, and we do not see why a distinction should be made in the expense of support. The first of January, 1904, we asked for an appropriation of $17,000. If this amount had been given us, it would have been ample for all our wants, and we should have a balance left.
The board tenders most hearty thanks to his honor, the mayor, and board of aldermen for the very convenient and much- needed addition now being made to the city home, comprising, on the ground floor, the smoke room (outside, but joined to the main building) ; a reading room; a strong room (for police cases) ; and a large basement, with concrete floor, for laundry and general purposes. Above this, and running seventy feet out from the main building, is the floor, divided in the middle by a four-foot aisle, and containing bathroom, a linen room, rooms for the male help. and special rooms for sickness or emergency. Over this is the dormitory, divided into two parts. This is also fitted with closets, and furnishes ample and most excellent ac- commodations for our male inmates. For comfort in summer, as well as winter, for excellent ventilation and light, for open and most cheerful outlook. we feel that the city has secured most sat- isfactory and lasting returns for the comparatively small amount which has been expended.
284
ANNUAL REPORTS.
We cannot speak too highly of our agent, who now for twenty years has most ably and faithfully executed the work of this department. His large experience, excellent judgment, and thorough knowledge of the laws relative to this department make his work specially valuable and necessary to this city. We com- mend, also, as always, the faithful secretary of our board, whose work is neatly and thoroughly done and fully appreciated.
To the warden and matron of the home we would give full credit for the faithful and conscientious work of the year. We recognize that for the warden the long hours and necessary ap- plication have made the satisfactory results of our farming espe- cially trying. We appreciate his efforts, as we do the earnest work and kindly acts of the matron inside the home.
Following are the tables showing the work in detail :-
TABLE NO. 1.
Full Support (during the year).
In our city home (men 16, women 12)
28
In our city home (men 12, women 7), December 31, 1904
19
In private families 2
In Somerville hospital 208
In hospitals in other towns and cities for the sick 46
In Massachusetts school for feeble-minded
5
In hospital for dipsomaniacs 8
In hospital for epileptics . 5
We paid from 1904 appropriation for 103 insane persons supported in the last quarter in 1903 (we were reimbursed for 8).
TABLE NO. 2.
Partial Support (Outdoor Relief).
Families
271
Persons aided
1,180
Burials
19
Permits to Tewksbury almshouse
4
285
SUPPORT OF POOR DEPARTMENT.
TABLE NO. 3. Reimbursements.
Commonwealth of Massachusetts City of Boston
$1,285 64
6
Cambridge
717 17
66
" Chelsea
85 00
6
Everett
122 17
66
Fall River
228 15
66
" Gloucester
66 03
66
Lowell
38 05
66
Marlboro
6 00
66
Medford
37 00
66
Newton
108 00
66
Salem
10 25
66
Springfield
21 25
66
" Worcester
39 30
66
Woburn
72 00
Town of Belmont
10 00
66
Framingham
19 40
6.
Harwich
2 00
10 00
3 20
Guardians, relatives, and individuals
475 75
$4,374 62
OVERSEERS OF THE POOR OF SOMERVILLE. Since the Reorganization in 1885.
Hon. Mark F. Burns, chairman ex-officio 1885
1885 ·
1889
..
Charles S. Lincoln, Esq., chairman . .
1885
1887
Hon. Edward Glines
·
1885 ·
1887 66
Charles G. Brett, president .
1885 April 1893
66
Edward B. West, president
1888
to date* 6.
Daniel C. Stillson
1888 April 1892
64
Hon. Charles G. Pope, chairman ex-officio
1889
1891
Nathan H. Reed, president
Hon. Wm. H. Hodgkins, chairman ex-officio, 1892 James G. Hinckley . May 1892
May 1894 .
to
date*
Ezra D. Souther
1895 Feb.
1898 (Died)
Hon. Albion A. Perry, chairman ex-officio 1896
1898 inclusive
James H. Butler . March 1898
1899
Hon. George O. Proctor, chairman ex-officio, 1899
*Present member.
1890 April 1894 66
1895
1894
Albert W. Edmands, now vice-president May 1893
to
date* 16
Herbert E. Merrill
Canton
140 50
6
Malden
28 45
Haverhill
11 00
Lynn
11 00
Wakefield
Winchester
1888 inclusive
Colonel Herbert E. Hill
.
827 31
286
ANNUAL REPORTS.
TABLE NO. 4.
Somerville Hospital (Patients on City Beds).
Patients having settlement in Somerville .
80
Patients having settlement in other cities or towns ·
40
Patients having no settlement (chargeable to state) · Total number of patients sent to hospital Money paid hospital by the city for patients settled in Somerville
208
Amount reimbursed to the city and paid to the hospital for patients not settled in Somerville
1,290 00
Total paid to the hospital
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