Report on an epidemic of typhoid fever in Forestville / by Herbert E. Smith.

  • Smith, Herbert E. (Herbert Eugene), 1857-1933.
Date:
1899
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Report on an epidemic of typhoid fever in Forestville / by Herbert E. Smith. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by the Harvey Cushing/John Hay Whitney Medical Library at Yale University, through the Medical Heritage Library. The original may be consulted at the Harvey Cushing/John Hay Whitney Medical Library at Yale University.

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    Report on an Epidemic of Typhoid Fever in Forestville. BY HERBERT E. SMITH, M.D. About the middle of April word was received at the office of the State Board of Health from Dr. H. D. Brennan, the Health Officer of Bristol, that there was a considerable outbreak of typhoid fever in Forestville. By direction of Dr. C. A. Linds- ley, the Secretary of the State Board of Health, I visited Forest- ville on April 28th, for the purpose of making an inquiry con- cerning the nature and extent of the outbreak and the source of the infection. My investigations begun on that day were continued at a subsequent visit, and by conferences and cor- respondence with Dr. H. D. Brennan, the Health Officer, with Dr. Charles M. Kent of Forestville, and with several physicians residing in Bristol and Plainville, who had seen cases occur- ring in Forestville. My thanks are due to all of these gentle- men for the courtesy of their prompt assistance. Forestville is a village of about 1,500 inhabitants, located in the town of Bristol, fifteen miles west of Hartford on the High- land division of the New York, New Haven and Hartford Rail- road. It is in a farming district, but the village contains some factories, the chief of which is the burner factory of the Bristol Clock and Brass Co. The village is not supplied with water from the Bristol water works, but has a small local system owned by private parties which will be more fully described later. There is no sewage system; the use of cesspools and privies being the common method of sewage disposal. In order to obtain information concerning the cases of typhoid fever which had occurred in Forestville, letters of inquiry, with the necessary blanks, were sent to the physicians practicing in the village. The data of cases given below are all derived from these reports. Previous to the outbreak in March there had been no recog- nized cases of typhoid fever in Forestville during the year, and