SIXTEENTH REPORT (EIGHTH BIENNIAL) OF THE STATE BOARD OF HEALTH AND VITAL STATISTICS OF MINNESOTA, 1895-96. CONTAINING REPORT OF THE WORK OF THE BOARD BY THE SECRETARY WITH APPENDICES. ST. PAUL, MINN.: 1898. OFFICE OF THE STATE BOARD OF HEALTH ST. PAUL, MINN., Jan. 1, 1897. To His Excellency, David M. Clough, Governor; SIR: I have the honor to transmit herewith the report of the work of the State Board of Health and Vital Statistics for the period of two years, from Jan. 1, 1895, to Jan. 1, 1897. It includes: First-The report of the work of the board by the secretary. Third Statistics of glanders in the state. Sixth-Statistics of work of the inspector of live stock at New Brighton, Minn. Seventh-Statistics of inter-state notifications of infectious disease. Eighth Statistics of immigrants exposed to infectious disease en route to Minnesota. Ninth-Graphic charts, showing the comparative mortality in Minnesota, from diphtheria, enteric fever, tubercular disease and diarrhoeal diseases of children. The "Fifth Biennial Report," by the secretary, on "Vital Statistics of the State of Minnesota," for the years 1894 and 1895, is published separately. Very respectfully, your obedient servant, CHARLES N. HEWITT, Secretary and Executive Officer. MEMBERS OF THE STATE BOARD OF HEALTH AND VITAL STATISTICS. FRANKLIN STAPLES, M. D., President, HENRY HUTCHINSON, M. D., Vice President, F. F. WESBROOK, M. D., Bacteriologist, Winona. St. Paul. CHARLES N. HEWITT, M. D., Secretary and Executive Officer, Minneapolis. St. Paul. Rochester. Duluth. Minneapolis. Albert Lea. All official correspondence should be addressed to the Secretary, the executive officer of the Board, 515 Pioneer Press Building, St. Paul, Minn. 174023 REPORT OF THE SECRETARY FOR THE YEARS 1895 AND 1896. I respectfully submit the following report of the work done by the board for the years 1895 and 1896: The public health service of Minnesota consists of the state board of health and 1,782 local boards (40 in cities, 3 in boroughs, 333 in villages, and 1,400 in townships). In addition to these there are 22 village boards which are in direct communication and coöperation with the state board that have made no reports. The duties of the state and local boards, as prescribed by law, are mutually interdependent and helpful. Their relations are de fined chiefly in chapter 132, Laws of 1883, as amended. The value of this association has been amply demonstrated by experience, both in every-day work and in emergency. Besides its work within the state, the state board early found it necessary to obtain information as to the existence of infectious diseases beyond our borders, and the danger to which our population might be exposed from them. This danger is of two general sorts: First, from other states, and, second, from other countries, both through travel and immigration. To forfend as far as possible the first danger, importation from other states, your secretary, in 1879, proposed an agreement between state boards of health for mutual notification of such diseases. This plan was finally adopted by other state boards in 1886, and has been in partial operation since. Full details of this agreement will be found in Appendix 5, secretary's report, fourteenth report of this board. The difficulty, then and now, is, that, while in Minnesota notification of infectious disease is obligatory by local boards to the secretary of the state board, it is not so for most of the other states, and therefore their state boards have no immediate and accurate knowledge of the local existence of infectious diseases within their borders. I am glad to report that other states are gradually following the example of Minnesota, and as their number increase so will the value of the notification. Eighty-seven reports have been received in 189596 from twenty-one states, reporting the existence of smallpox (in Appendix I.) |