SIXTH CONGRESS ON TUBERCULOSIS. 317 



NIGHT AND DAY CAMPS. 



At Pittsburg, Pa., and Boston, Mass., there exist on the outskirts of 

 the city large day camps where persons suffering with incipient tu- 

 berculosis are encouraged to go during the da}' time, and are given 

 lessons in hygiene and furnished with wholesome diet, free of charge. 

 It is now proposed to change these camps to night camps so that persons 

 may sle^p there, and, in suitable instances, go to their business during 

 the day time. 



TREATMENT. 



It was the overwhelming opinion of those actively engaged in the 

 treatment of tuberculosis that the use of tuberculin and serums is 

 largely in the experimental stage, that its general use at the present 

 time is not justified, and that the subject has scarcely passed out of 

 the laboratory stage. There was a unanimous opinion, however, tliat 

 the best method of combating tubercu.losis was by the free administra- 

 tion of eggs and milk, and, occasionally, a tonic. Practically no other 

 treatment is given. All persons interviewed also emphatically expressed 

 the opinion that the success depended upon the early diagnosis of the 

 disease. In this connection, it might be well to mention that beds in 

 sanatoriums for incipient cases were scarcely ever found to be filled. 

 Statistics show that 55 per cent of the early cases recover, while only 

 11 jDer cent of the more advanced cases recover. It is also generally 

 believed that cold weather has the most beneficial influence. This is 

 based on the fact that cases invariably do better in the winter time than 

 in the summer. Considerable stress was also laid upon the fact that in 

 the past it has been customary to allow too much exercise, and there 

 seems to be little question but that harm has often followed overexertion. 



COST OF TUBERCULOSIS. 



Professor Fisher, of Yale University, estimates the death rate fi'om 

 tuberculosis in all its forms in the United States to be 164 per 100,000 

 of population, and the number of deaths in 1906 at 138,000. At this 

 rate, 5,000,000 people now living in the United States will die of tu- 

 berculosis. The average age at death for males is 37.6 years; for females, 

 33.4 3'ears. The "expectation of life" lost (though estimated on a 

 specially high mortality rate) is at least 24 years, of which at least 17 

 fall in the working period. The average period of disability preceding 

 death from tubei'culosis exceeds three years, of which the latter half is 

 a period of total disarbility. 



The money cost of tuberculosis, including capitalized earning power 

 lost by deaths, exceeds $8,000 per death. Tlie total cost in the United 

 States exceeds $1,000,000,000 per annum. Of this cost about two-fifths, 

 or over $440,000,000 per annum, falls on others tlian the consumptive. 



