206 HOW TO KEEP WELL 



they are perfectly well. This is a real hardship to the sick 

 family, but if the children went to school they would carry 

 germs with them, and would spread the disease to their com- 

 panions. Better one sick family than a dozen. 



In order to prevent the spread of disease the Board of Health 

 not only quarantines the house during the illness but it also dis- 

 infects the house after the illness. Such rigid laws by the 

 Board of Health are necessary to prevent disease epidemics. 



Contagious diseases are not all reported to the Board of Health 

 and quarantined ; tuberculosis, for example, which is one of 

 our common diseases, is not reported and quarantined. Usu- 

 ally the quarantined diseases are those which cause sudden and 

 severe illness and can be promptly cured by medical attention. 

 Recovery from consumption is slow, but multitudes of people 

 suffer from this disease, and it would be impossible to isolate 

 all consumptives for the entire period of their illness. Then, 

 too, one of the cures for consumption is out-door air, and the 

 person must be sent into the streets during the illness. 



