Of the one hundred and thirteen examined, ninety were found to be infected with B. diphtheriae (typical or atypical forms); therefore twenty-three required no treatment, and were isolated only long enough to see that they could safely be passed on. Notes are made of the condition of all throats, as it is thought that where there is chronic inflammation or hypertrophy the bacilli persist longer. The shutting up of the children would appear to be a very great hardship, but, on the contrary, they fare very happy; and that the quietude and rest obtained have proven beneficial is shown by their improvement in general condition. In fact they have become fat. No discontnent is felt by the children, and the work has on this account lost a great deal of its terrors, although the closing of the day schools and strict isolation of such a large part of the population and general interference with routine life is keenly felt. The efforts of the school management and staff are worthy of all praise and deserving of success, whilst the voluntary exile of Dr. McDaniel and the heroic work of Dr. Adair will be in a measure repaid by the very great opportunities for the acquirement of valuable scientific information afforded. This work cannot but reflect credit upon this board and state, and it is indeed a fortunate thing that such amicable coöperation of two of the state boards is possible. TYPHOID FEVER IN THE FIFTEENTH REGIMENT, MINN., U. S. V. A preliminary report on the work of the laboratory in relation to the outbreak of typhoid fever in the 15th Regiment, Minn., U. S. V., was made to this board at its last quarterly meeting, and it was hoped that by the present meeting full data would be at hand for a complete report. That such is not the case is due almost wholly to the fact that the physicians in charge of the patients, after they were sent to the hospitals, although earnestly and frequently appealed to, have failed to furnish essential data, which is in their possession alone. Surgeon Major Dennis' report shows a total of 406 cases of typhoid in the regiment, 346 of which occurred before the departure for Camp Meade. The laboratory examined specimens from but 342 men, not all of whom had typhoid. Of the 342 patients from whom specimens were examined, clinical data has been returned by the attending physicians on but 58. No map or plan has yet been obtained of the State Fair grounds. Of the 342 patients from whom specimens were obtained positive "Widal reactions" were found, one or more times, in 241 cases; negative reactions only were present in 87 cases; and in 14 cases only partial or doubtful reactions were obtained. Of the 241 cases, which at some time gave a positive reaction, only 107 were examined on or before the seventh day. Of these 62 gave positive reactions on days of the disease, as follows: One on the first day of the disease. Seven on the third day of the disease. Twenty-six on the seventh day of the disease. Of the remaining 45 cases 41 were examined only once with negative results before the seventh day, and were not again examined until too late in the disease to make the positive results then obtained of any value in determining the data of the appearance in the blood of the agglutinating substance. The four remaining cases are of special interest, and the record of their examination is given in full. These were apparently all cases of ordinary typhoid fever, neither very mild nor very severe. The disappearance or lightening of the reaction about the latter part of the third week in certain cases in which its first appearance had been delayed has been noted in other cases reported from the laboratory (see Philadelphia Medical Journal, March 26, 1898). Of the fifty-eight cases on which clinical data has been received fifty-six were diagnosed clinically typhoid fever. All these gave the Widal reaction one or more times. One was clinically diagnosed as "convalescent" from typhoid and gave no reaction. The urine in forty-nine of the fifty-eight cases showed the diazo reaction, in five it was noted as "absent" and in two "not tested." The overworked condition of the staffs of the various hospitals made it impossible for them to collect urine or other excreta with aseptic precautions for bacteriological investigation. The workers in the laboratory were altogether too few to study to the best advantage the material most readily collected, and by reason of the sickness of the executive officer of the board in addition to the ordinary duties they were called upon to visit the camps and make suggestions as to isolation, disinfection, etc. Consequently the contemplated examination of various excreta from the patients was not undertaken. The bacillus isolated from the bodies of flies caught at the mess tent of Company H, so far as morphological and cultural appearances go, is not to be distinguished from known typhoid bacilli. But it does not react to known typhoid blood even of most intense reactionary power, and it is so feebly pathogenic to guinea pigs as to leave doubts of the animals having died from the inoculation at all, more especially since the organism has not been recovered at autopsy. The source of this organism, either within or upon the bodies of flies, is such an unknown factor as influencing its biological characteristics that the problem is still unsolved. Efforts are still being made by the use of various culture media, etc., to increase the virulence of the germ, and if possible also to restore on the assumption that it has been lost-its reactionary power to typhoid blood. Such a problem must necessarily be slow of solution, but is well worth the labor which has been and must still be expended on it. It must be remembered, however, that a negative result in this and in other examinations of materials from the camp does not exclude a sink-to-soldier infection. The origin of the first cases will probably never be accurately determined, though facts stated in the laboratory report at the last quarterly meeting of this board would seem to indicate the probable source to have been individual infection in the city of Minneapolis. But the ocular evidence of the probability of infection from the sinks after their contamination was so strong at the times when they were inspected by bacteriologists from the laboratory that the wonder was how any who used them for purposes of defecation could escape infection. Fæces and urine were deposited by the men themselves on many objects with which afterwards the hands or the clothing of other men came in contact. Flies were abundant and must have distributed fæcal material and bacteria over all the rails, etc., of the sinks (probably also to food, etc., at the mess tents). A policy that would have kept the places free from danger would have covered or disinfected immediately after excretion all fæces and urine. This was practically impossible with the men unused as they were to discipline. An effort was made to do so at the sinks, but it was so imperfectly carried out as to leave innumerable opportunities for infection. F. F. WESBROOK, M. D., Director. REPORT OF THE VETERINARY DEPARTMENT FOR THE QUARTER ENDING DEC. 31. 1898. GLANDERS-FARCY. There was a very satisfactory improvement in the glanders-farcy situation during 1898. This may not be apparent at the first glance, but a careful analysis of the following facts and figures will support this statement: During 1897 glanders-farcy was found in twenty-seven counties; in 1898, in thirty counties. During 1897, 391 horses were tested with mallein; during 1898, 381. There were killed during 1897, 180 horses, and during 1898, 165. During the last quarter of 1898 fortyfour horses were killed. A year ago I called the attention of the board to the fact that the disease had been especially prevalent in the western and northwestern counties. The records show that the same condition has been maintained in 1898. The counties in which we have found five or more cases of glanders-farcy, and the number killed in each county, are as follows. Hennepin 32, Yellow Medicine 18, Polk 16, Traverse 12, Marshall 9, Otter Tail 7, Rock 6, Wadena 5, Murray 5. Cases of this disease have been located in twenty-one other counties, as follows: Chippewa, Lyon, Stearns, Hubbard, Clay, Wilkin, Swift, Renville, Jackson, Faribault, Carver, Rice, Goodhue, Wabasha, Mower, Freeborn, Morrison, Aitkin, Ramsey, Anoka and Todd. I am pleased to call your attention to the marked improvement in what was designated last year as the badly infected counties: |