Tag Archives: Dr. C. E. Ferguson

VERY FEW NEW CASES
The Smallpox Situation In Dif-
ferent Parts Of The State

Dr. Hurty Says the Disease Is Yet in a
Mild Form-Cases in the City
-At Clay City.

Dr. J. N. Hurty, of the State Board of Health, in speaking of the smallpox conditions last night said that a number of new cases had been reported to him from Putnam, Clay and Miami counties and that in his opinion the conditions were becoming serious. “You might as well say,” said he, “it is going to be everywhere. Might as well locate it everywhere in the State, for that is what it is coming to.” He said all precautions necessary were being taken to prevent the spread of the disease, but the people, and especially those living in Clay county, think on account of the present mild form of the disease there is but little danger and that they are at liberty to carry the disease wherever they see fit to go, with no regard for the quarantine. A large majority of the cases reported have been traced to Clay City. One case at Peru and another from Putnam county reported yesterday were in families members of which had recently come from Clay City.

“The death rate,” said Dr. Hurty, “will be greatly increased this year. Possibly not from deaths by smallpox, which is now of a mild form, but from the after effects, just the same as with the grip. You know people used, seven or eight years ago, to laugh at the grip and the papers were full of cartons on the subject. But during the last few years they have learned that the grip in no joke. In fact, it has been shown to be more fatal than a number of other diseases more dreaded. It will be the same with smallpox. I think, though, the people will understand this after awhile and we will get it stopped.”

Dr. Hurty said he had been advised yesterday that a doctor in Vanderburg county had been fined there a day or two ago for not reporting a case of smallpox to the Board of Health.

In Indianapolis there have been no new cases reported. A. C. Burnham and wife, of 330 North Beville avenue, were removed yesterday from their home to the contagious pavilion at the City Hospital, where they will be cared for better than at home. The house was closed and will be disinfected to-day. It will then be disinfected two or three times and the quarantine raised, thus relieving the city of the expense of keeping up the quarantine. Burnham and his wife have the disease in a very mild form and as it was found soon after breaking out it is thought few exposures resulted and there will be no new cases develop from this source.

City Sanitarian Clark said the matter of building a pesthouse would be presented to the city authorities this morning, with rough plans of the building, which will, as now considered, accommodate thirty to fifty patients and it is thought the necessary permission to use the grounds will be given. The contagion pavilion at the hospital, which is not connected in any way with other wards at the hospital, will accommodate at least twenty patients.

Drs. Hurty, Clark, Ridpath and Ferguson, who were called upon to investigate a case in the home of a man named Leffingwell, on Linwood avenue, near Michigan street, reported yesterday that the afflicted child had chickenpox instead of smallpox.

Smallpox at Clay City.
Special to the Indianapolis Journal.
CLAY CITY, Ind., Jan. 21. – Health Officer Dr. Modesitt has had considerable difficulty in trying to keep smallpox suspects off the street, but with the aid of deputies he is getting them pretty well under control. The doctor is working day and night to secure the enforcement of the order and the people, with a few exceptions, are aiding him in the attempt to confine the disease to places where it now exists.

A few new cases are being reported, but mostly in localities where it already existed. The older cases are all reported better and but few are confined to their beds. No deaths have occurred. All outgoing mails are being disinfected. Every precaution is being taken to prevent the persons who have the disease and those from houses where it exists from going to the postoffice.

Five cases just east of here, in Owen county, were reported to Dr. Modesitt this morning and he reported them to the Spencer Health Board. A few cases have been reported here from Centerville, Jasonville and from the country west of here four miles. As far as heard from they are all mild cases.

Refuse to Get Excited.
Special to the Indianapolis Journal.
TERRE HAUTE, Ind., Jan 21. – Terre Haute physicians and public at large refuse to be excited over the reports made by the Indianapolis doctors of the spread of smallpox in this part of the State. The physicians say there have been cases of chickenpox here and that one case, now isolated, may be smallpox, but they believe that it is not true, as asserted, that all of the cases at Clay City could have been smallpox. It is possible that the appearance of smallpox and chickenpox is a coincidence. Reports have been received from many places near here of chickenpox, and in some instances it has been so prevalent that schools were closed for lack of attendance.

Smallpox in De Kalb County.
Special to the Indianapolis Journal.
BUTLER, Ind., Jan 21. – A great many cases of smallpox have developed twelve miles south of this city. Members of the Tracy, Bishop and Furnace families are down with the disease. Hicksville, O., physicians have had charge of the cases and failed to report them to the Indiana authorities. Much excitement is manifest.

“A Few New Cases,” The Indianapolis Journal (Indianapolis, Indiana), 22 January 1900, p. 8, col. 4; digital image, Chronicling America (http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/ : accessed 6 December 2014).

Smallpox Epidemic, Part VI

Smallpox Epidemic, Part III

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WILL DISINFECT MAILS

Dr. Hurty Receives Word From
Government Official

The Postmaster at Lesterville Has
Smallpox and Is Still at Work –
the Developments

The smallpox situation in Clay county has excited the attention of the government authorities at Washington. Late yesterday afternoon Dr. Hurty, secrety of the State Board of Health, received a telegram from Gen. Walter Wyman, chief of the marine service at Washigton [sic], stating that the government would disinfect the mails at all points designated by the Indiana Board of Health. The telegram received was in reply to a message sent by Dr. Hurty to the authorities at Washington, informing them that the postmaster at Lesterville had smallpox and was continuing in the performance of his duties, with an utter disregard of the fact that he might be spreading the contagion all over the United States.

Yesterday reports were brought in from Washington county by Dr. Ferguson, who was sent to investigate rumors of smallpox. He says that the disease is prevailing to an alarming extent and he earnestly advised Dr. Hurty to establish a rigid quarantine. The authorizes at Clay City advised the State Board of Health yesterday morning that many of the citizens of the town were escaping to other towns despite the strict measures of quarantine in force. Dr. Hurty immediately telephoned Dr. Davis, the president of the board at Richmond, advising him of the situation and asking that a meeting of the board be called.

In speaking of a communication in one of the afternoon papers from the citizens of Clay City in which they express themselves as being highly indignant of Dr. Hurty for causing such excitement throught the State over the smallpox situation, when in reality the disease is very mild, resulting in no fatalies, Dr. Hurty said that is was not the policy of the State Board of Health to wait for fatalities before taking action, and the citizens of Clay City would have to abide by the action of the board.

Cases of Smallpox Reported.
Special to the Indianapolis Journal.

TERRE HAUTE, Ind., Jan. 17. – Several cases of what is believed to be the same disease, thought to have been chicken-pox at Clay City, but declared by Dr. Hurty to be smallpox, have been reported north of town. The persons afflicted came from Clay City, and the symptoms of their disease are the same as in the hundred or more cases reported at Clay City.

Clay City Is Not Excited.
To the Editor of the Indianapolis Journal

An undue amount of excitement has been caused by the published reports concerning the prevalence of smallpox at this place. The News of yesterday says: “Residents of the town are almost panic-stricken, but the quarantine prevents them from escaping.” It also states that the population of the town in 700, and that the disease had attacked nearly a third of the population. There has been no excitement here. There has been no quarantine, and people have not tried to escape. There have been between 200 and 300 cases, beginning with the early part of the fall. The physicians have treated for chickenpox and cured every case. We have a population of about 2,500, instead of 700. Many of the patients never went to bed or even quit work.

The Journal’s informant was in error when he stated that “when the citizens of the town became aware that the disease had been diagnosed as smallpox, they became frantic with fear and excitement, and many rushed home and began packing their effects, with the intention of escaping from the town but they were too late. Acting under the instructions of Dr. Hurty the officials immediately began the enforcement of the quarantine laws and no citizen who had come in contact with the disease was permitted to leave.” The utmost freedom prevails as to the coming and going of our citizens – no person being denied the privilege of going where he pleases. No one has heard of any person attempting to get away on account of Dr. Hurty’s announcement. The disease, whatever it is, is not half so severe as many cases of vaccination. There have been no fatalities from the disease.

A great injustice has been done our town by these exaggerated statements, and in order that the public may know the true condition of affairs your informant offers the above correction, without denying any official statement by Dr. Hurty. Our physicians report no cases of the confluent form.
M. MARKLE
Clay City, Ind., Jan. 15

“Will Disinfect Mails,” The Indianapolis Journal (Indianapolis, Indiana), 18 January 1900, p. 4, col. 7; digital image, Chronicling America (http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/ : accessed 6 December 2014).

Smallpox Epidemic, Part II

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ARE HUNDREDS OF CASES

Dr. Hurty, State Health Offi-
cer, Returns From Clay City

Nine Children in One Family with
Smallpox-The Disease Has Spread
to Several Counties.

Dr. Hurty, of the State Board of Health, returned from Clay City, the hotbed of the smallpox epidemic, yesterday, and reports a most alarming state of affairs. He said that there were hundreds of cases, and many of them were of the confluent form, which is exceedingly dangerous. Said he: “It is a common sight to see little children walking along the streets of Clay City with their faces broken out with the eruptive sores of smallpox.”

Smallpox is everywhere in Clay City. It one turns to the right he is confronted with a whole row of houses in every one of which there are to be found one or more cases of fully developed smallpox. The same conditions prevail on every side and Dr. Hurty said that in one instance he found nine children in one family who were smitten with the disease at the same time.

The family referred to is that of George Burkhart, a veteran of the civil war. In speaking of these cases Dr. Hurty said that the fact that Burkhart, who was vaccinated during the war, did not have the disease was very good evidence that the epidemic was really smallpox. Two of the Burkhart children, Blanche and Mona, have the confluent form of smallpox and it is a very grave question as to their recovery.

Under a misapprehension of the nature of the disease the public schools were continued until nearly two-thirds of the children were inoculated, and it was a common sight to see the little ones going daily to their lessons with their faces broken out with smallpox in the pustular stage. The young, however, are not the only ones who are attacked with the dreadful scourge, for even in the churches there were seen scores of adults whose faces were solid masses of oozing poison. The only excuse to be offered for this apparent criminal neglect on the part of the local board of health is the fact that it was advised by physicians diagnosing the disease that it was nothing more than chickenpox and as a consequence its apprehensions were not aroused until informed by Dr. Hurty of the real nature of the disease. When the Town Council awoke to the fact that the epidemic was really smallpox, the members immediately arranged for a called meeting at which they passed resolutions instructing the health officer to do all he could to prevent the further spread of the disease, and authorizing him to appoint as many deputies as he saw fit, necessary to the preservation of the strictest quarantine. Many new cases of the disease are reported from the district schools in the neighborhood of Clay City and the disease is rapidly spreading throughout the county.

Just prior to Dr. Hurty’s return he was summoned to a meeting of the County Council and he urged upon the members the necessity of doing all they could to stamp out the disease, advising them to instruct the county health officer, by deputies, to inspect all the schools, give free vaccination and quarantine every person who had come in contact with the disease. One of the peculiarities of the disease is its rapid spread, and there is some fear that is may become epidemic throughout the State. Smallpox is reported in Clay, Noble, Jackson, Owen, Green and Scott counties, and unless rigid enforcement of the quarantine law is observed the disease is likely to get beyond control. While Dr. Hurty was in Clay City, Dr. C. E. Ferguson, the diagnostician of the city of Indianapolis, was summoned to Brownstown, Jackson county, where he found a well-developed case of smallpox in the eruptive state. When Dr. Ferguson returned from Brownstown he found a telegram awaiting him from Dr. Hurty bidding him hasten to Scottsburg. The local board of health of that place wired the State Board of Health that it was in urgent need of aid. Dr. Hurty said on his arrival yesterday that he was somewhat at a loss to understand the urgency of the request from Scottsburg, but supposed the disease must be raging in that neighborhood.

The first person known to have the disease in Clay City was Herbert Wiltse, who two weeks after returning home from a street fair in Washington, Daviess county, was taken very sick and afterward went through all the stages of smallpox. His neighbors, believing that he had chickenpox, did not hesitate to visit him and in their manner the disease has been spread all over the country.

“Are Hundreds of Cases,” The Indianapolis Journal (Indianapolis, Indiana), 17 January 1900, p. 8, col. 6; digitial image, Chronicling America (http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/ : accessed 6 December 2014).