176 MICHIGAN ACADEMY OF SCIENCE. 



for its own welfare, not b}^ compulsion, but by enlightenment, an early 

 vaccination of all infants." 



In 1876 the first attempt was made to commence the important work 

 of placing- upon record the facts relative to the prevalence or absence of 

 smallpox, with a view of eventually learning the conditions which exist 

 during periods of time particularly noticeable either for the prevalence 

 or absence of the disease. 



Local Boards of Health must Imve a Health Officer. 



While the law establishing the State Board also required the health 

 physician, and also the clerk of the local board of health in each township, 

 city and village, at least once in each year to report to the State Board 

 of Health and to make special reports w^henever required to do so by the 

 State Board, yet considerable diflSculty was experienced because of the 

 lack of appointment of health physicians or officers by the local boards 

 of health. Early in 1877, through the influence of the board, a law was 

 passed requiring every towmship board of health to have a health officer, 

 and requiring the name and postoffice address of such health officer to be 

 transmitted to the State Board of Health, and a little later the Attorney 

 General gave an opinion that this law applied to cities and villages where 

 the charter did not conflict. In 1879 a law was passed making the law 

 applicable to cities and villages, unless the charters of such cities and 

 villages contained provisions inconsistent therewith. This law greatly 

 aided the board in its work for the restriction and prevention of smallpox, 

 as it eventually resulted in placing in the records of the office the name 

 of the health officer for nearly every township, city and village in the 

 State. 



Local Boards Urged to Offer Free Vaccination. 



Several outbreaks of smallpox having occurred in some parts of the 

 State during the winter of 1876-7, it became apparent that a more gen- 

 eral vaccination was needed, and in July, 1877, the board adopted a 

 resolution, urging all local boards of health to direct their health officer 

 or physician to offer free vaccination with bovine virus to every child 

 not previously vaccinated, and to all other persons not vaccinated within 

 the last five years, the expense to be paid by the locality. This resolu- 

 tion was largely distributed throughout the State. 



Propagation of Bovine Virus. 



Previous to this, and in January, 1877, a request was made to the 

 board that the State Board of Health and the State Agricultural College 

 should cooperate in the propagation of bovine virus for the use of physi- 

 cians practicing in the State, and the committee to whom the communica- 

 tion was referred afterwards reported that inasmuch as E. L. Griffin, 

 M. D., of Fon du Lac, Wisconsin, was then making a specialty of supply- 

 ing reliable bovine virus at a moderate cost, and had appointed Geo. E. 

 Ranney, M. D., of Lansing, his agent, therefore all inquiries for reliable 

 bovine virus, could, with propriety, be referred to either Dr. Griffin or 

 Dr. Ranney. A resolution was afterwards adopted thanking Dr. Ranney 

 for his trouble in securing and rendering accessible to physicians and 

 others in the State, reliable non-humanized cowpox virus. 



