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On the outbreak of the disease in an institution the inmates should be
promptly removed from it, and the following measures taken :-
(1.) Building should be disinfected and then all the doors and windows
should be kept open and fresh air and sunlight allowed to enter.
(2.) The clothing should be disinfected.
(3.) The furniture should be disinfected.
The Treatment.
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As long as the cause remains undiscovered treatment must be empirical and symptomatic, and cannot be specific. For this reason it is unnecessary to go into any detailed account of the remedies administered. Benefit seems to be derived from the administration of a variety of drugs. In our hands iron, arsenic and strych- nine in a mixture have proved of great benefit. Strychnine injected into the subs- tance of the muscles has also given good results in some of our cases, Mercury varies in its effect. Massage daily for half an hour at a tine does much good- indeed we have great belief in its use. Electricity also does good and should be applied along the course of the nerve and also to the affected muscles. The most effective therapeutic measure is removal of the patient from the locality where the disease manifested itself. Some observers assert that too much stress is laid on this and that the good results are not more apparent than if the patients are permitted to remain. Our observations, however, distinctly recognise the beneficial results of such removal. How this acts is unknown--it may be that the removal is generally to a more hygienic part or it may be that the noxa of the disease is escaped from. Whatever the explanation, the fact remains that removal is one of the most effective measures at our disposal.
The following Tables, etc., are attached :—
I.-Admissions, 1895-1904.
II.
Aggregate monthly admissions, 1895-1904. III.-Comparative monthly admissions.
IV.—Admissions in quinquennial age-periods."
V.-Monthly admissions, 1895-1904.
VI.-Occupations.
VII.-Deaths, 1895-1904.
VIII.-Comparative monthly deaths.
IX.-Chart of death curve.
X.-Deaths in quinquennial age-periods.
XI.-Percentages of deaths.