[Infectious diseases 171]

City and State Supervision.—­If you live in the city your physician should notify the health board who will probably send someone to instruct you regarding cautions and some cities have private rules, laws, etc., for them to follow while under quarantine.  A copy is usually furnished also to your close neighbors.  Also some of the state departments of health have made up pamphlets which are circulated free on request dealing with the sanitary science of infectious and contagious diseases.  Some colleges use these same pamphlets in their study of sanitary science.  Much valuable information is contained in them.  Comparatively few people learn of these pamphlets.  For the benefit of those who have not read or seen them we quote from their scarlet fever subjects as follows: 

How to avoid and prevent scarlet fever.

Do not let a child go near a case of scarlet fever.  This is especially important to be observed.

Children are in much greater danger of death from scarlet fever than are adults; but adult persons often get and spread the disease, and sometimes die from it.  Mild cases in adults may cause fatal cases among children.  Unless your services are needed keep away from the disease yourself.  If you do visit a case, bathe yourself and change and disinfect your clothing and hair, beard, if any, and hands before you go where there is a child.  Do not permit any person or thing or a dog or cat, or other animal to come from a case of scarlet fever to a child.  No cat or dog should be permitted to enter the sick room.

Do not permit a child to wear or handle clothing worn by a person during sickness or convalescence from scarlet fever.

Beware of any person who has sore throat.  Do not kiss or come near to such a person.  Do not drink from the same cup, blow the same whistle, or put his pen or pencil in your mouth.  Whenever a child has sore throat and fever, and especially when this is accompanied by a rash on the body, the child and attendant should immediately be isolated until the physician has seen it and determined whether it has scarlet fever.  Strict quarantine should be established and maintained throughout the course of the disease.  Exposed persons should be isolated until such time has elapsed as may prove that they are not infected.  The period of incubation, that is the interval of time between exposure to the contagion of scarlet fever and the first sign of the disease in the person so exposed, varies.  In many cases it appears in seven days, in some cases in fourteen days, and in some cases twenty-one days; the average period is about nine days.  Quarantine of persons exposed should not be raised under four weeks.

[172 Mothers’ remedies]

Children believed to be uninfected may be sent away from the house in which there is scarlet fever to families in which there are no persons liable to the disease, or to previously disinfected convalescent wards in hospitals; but in either case they should be isolated from the public until the expiration of the period of incubation.  This time may vary, but for full protection to the public isolation should be observed for four weeks.