ABSTRACTS 



265 



culous cases, the extension of nursing service of the type now done by the 

 Visiting public health nurse, insistence upon pasteurization of milk 

 supplies, and vigorous prosecution of the educational compaign. — M. 

 W. C. 



The Period of Life at which Infection from Tuberculosis Occurs most 



Frequently. S. Adolphus Knopf. Medical Record, 1916, 89, 47. 



A study of several still unsolved problems of tuberculosis brings 

 forth the following facts, based upon the opinions and statistical evi- 

 dences of a large number of authorities upon tuberculosis and children's 

 diseases. 



Tuberculous diseases in childhood, compared with tuberculous in- 

 fection, is relatively rare (36 per cent). Tuberculous infection in in- 

 fants and young children is exceedingly frequent and the majority of 

 cases in the adult can be traced to a childhood infection. Such an in- 

 fection is most apt to become active about the fifteenth year ;_ if not 

 then, between 18 and 30. A tuberculous infection contracted in later 

 life usually occurs between the ages of 20 and 35. It is probable that 

 prenatal infection is more frequent than has been generally believed. 

 The frequency of infection increases with the age of the child and is 

 affected by environment. 



Lungs and l>Tnph nodules are the organs most frequently mvolved 

 in children; secondly, bones; thirdly, intestines; and fourthly, meninges. 



The most common sources of infection are contact with tuberculous 

 individuals and infected food; especially milk from tuberculous cows. 



The most successful means of combating tuberculosis is to dimmish 

 the source of infection in childhood. In order to do this, there must 

 be a radical change in our present regulations in regard to the disease 

 and a much more extensive provision for the care of the infected. 

 Particular attention should be given to preventive measures, especially 

 the establishment of an extensive educational system and the im- 

 provement of social conditions. These changes can be best accom- 

 plished by a Federal Commission on Tuberculosis.— M. W. C. 



The Epidemic of Typhus Exanthematicus in the Balkans and in the 

 Camps of Europe. Bert. W. Caldwell. Jour. A. M. A., 1916, 66, 



A general discussion of the epidemic, its causes and ext.ent; and the 

 means employed in its control. .. i j u 



One person out of every five of the population was attacked by 

 typhus, the fatal cases numbering 135,000. The hospital mortality 

 rantred from 19 to 65 per cent. Conditions (cold weather and con- 

 gestion of population) peculiarly favorable to the distribution of the 



disease obtained. , , , i ui + • 



The body louse is a certain, and the head louse a probable, agent m 

 its transmission. Evidence of any other mode of transmission is 

 entirely lacking. With proper hygienic precautions non-immunes are 

 practically safe from mfection. The incubation period of the disease 



