TYPHOID FEVER IN THE PHILIPPINES. 



325 



LUDLOW BAERACKS (PAEANG) EPIDEMIC. 



During the years 1909 and 1910 a very extensive epidemic occurred at this 

 post, there having been 80' admissions to hospital in a period of six months 

 beginning October 1, li909. The official population of the post for the period 

 averaged about 850 persons. Two cases diagnosed as typhoid occurred earlier 

 in the year, July and August, but whether these had any bearing on the susequent 

 epidemic can not be determined. The admissions by months, including civilians, 

 are as follows: 



Table XVII. — Admissions for typhoid fever at Ludlow Ba/rracks, Mindanao. 





1909 



1910 



Total. 



July. 



Au- 

 gust. 



Octo- 

 ber. 



Novem- 

 ber. 



Decem- 

 ber. 



Jan- 

 uary. 



Feb- 

 ruary. 



March. 



April. 



May. 



Admissions: 



Number 



Per 1,000 



1 



1 



47 



52.69 



892 



3 

 3.45 



868 



4 



5.51 



726 



3 



3.58 



837 



12 

 12.15 



988 



'11 



'12.64 



870 







,0 



i>82 



Mean strength 

 of command. 























» See footnote 3. 



^ These figures are based on an examination of the post records and the actual clinical 

 histories. They differ from the figures in the office of the chief surgeon, Philippines 

 Division, which showed 4 less cases for October, 1 less for December, 2 less for January, 

 and 2 less for March. The differences are due to certain civilians not being included 

 in the official records. 



At this point it may be of interest to note that the records of the post show 

 that there was a small epidemic of enteric fever at Parang in 1902, the admis- 

 sions having been as follows: 



June, 1; August, 1; October, 4; November, 6j December, 1. 



At the time of the occurrence of the 1909-1910 epidemic the sanitary condi- 

 tions at the station, except for the water supply, were good. The post of Ludlow 

 Barracks is located on an elevated, easily drained site, the grounds were well 

 policed and the barracks and quarters were of modern construction. Excellent 

 water closet and bath fixtures had been installed shortly before the outbreak, 

 the outfall being in the ocean about 600 meters from the post. Flies were not 

 common, this being the rule in the Philippines. 



At the time of the occurrence of the October cases the garrison had been 

 stationed at Ludlow Barracks for a period greater than the longest recognized 

 incubation period for typhoid fever, even granting that the early cases had been 

 sick a couple of weeks before the disease was discovered. 



Distilled water was supplied for drinking, cooking, cleansing of the teeth, and 

 for dish washing and its use enjoined by orders. There was no reason to think 



*The Twenty -third Infantry, which formed the garrison at Ludlow Barracks 

 during this epidemic, embarked March 20, 1910, on transport en route to San 

 Francisco via Manila. At Manila ten suspects were transferred to the Division 

 Hospital. Of these 4 proved to be suffering from typhoid. These should be 

 included in the Parang epidemic, bringing the total number of cases up to 80 

 in six months. These 4 developing on the transport have been included in the 

 11 admissions for March in Table XVII. 



