The original regulations called for the employment of a limited number of attendants, but the work increased at such a rapid rate that it was found necessary to add to the working force almost immediately. The actual work accomplished can best be shown by the accompanying statement of cases registered and treated and while mere figures but seldom give an indication of the real work accomplished, still it would appear as if the following statement would readily indicate that much work of a valuable and lasting character has been accomplished: In view of the fact that predictions had been more or less freely made by the opponents of this movement to the effect that same would not prove to be a success, the foregoing statement should prove to be of more than ordinary interest. The report shows that 22 individuals have voluntarily abandoned their former precarious mode of living and have sought respectable occupations. This alone, if no other object were accomplished, should commend this very important work to every right thinking citizen, and is an evidence of the fact that the establishment of this feature of Health Department work has at least been of some slight benefit to the members of the human family. BUREAU OF TROPICAL MEDICINE. As recommended in my last annual report, the Chair of Bureau of Tropical Medicine was filled by the appointment of Dr. Herbert Gunn on January 3, 1911. Prior to the making of this appointment or on November 25, 1910, the following resolution was adopted by the Board of Health: Whereas, It appears that numbers of Asiaties immigrating to this country are afflicted with or carry with them germs Whereas, The detection of such diseases requires micro- Whereas, The spread of these diseases in this city can be best prevented by a careful examination of the people from the countries where they exist; therefore be it Resolved, That the Board of Health of San Francisco commends the careful scrutiny by the immigration officers that has resulted in the exclusion of large numbers of aliens who were found to be afflicted; and be it Resolved, That the Board of Health of San Francisco recommends a continuation of this character of examination and the debarrment of any who may be found to carry the bacilli or parasite of contagious disease; and be it further Resolved, That a copy of this resolution be furnished the Commissioner of Immigration at this port, one to the Bureau of Immigration in Washington, D. C., and one to the Surgeon General of the Public Health and Marine Hospital Service, Washington, D. C. and California State Board of Health. That the establishment of this Bureau was a wise move is best indicated by the following report submitted by Dr. Herbert Gunn which shows the work accomplished by him during the six months of his incumbency. "I have the honor to make the following report of the work done in the Bureau of Tropical Medicine for the six months ending June 30, 1911: Total number of individuals examined. 355 Of these about one hundred were in City Hospitals and specimens were forwarded to the laboratory for examination. The remaining 255 were mostly visited in their abodes in various parts of the city and represented people recently arrived from tropical countries. While this Bureau has been investigating as far as possible all tropical diseases encountered here especial attention has been given to the subject of the importation of hookworm disease. With the assistance of the Associated Charities 171 persons recently arrived from the sugar plantations on the Hawaiian Islands where they had been employed, were examined for this disease with the following result: Twenty-six of the sixty, or over 40% were found to har bor parasites of some sort-among which may be mentioned Ascaris Lumbriciodes, Oxyrius Vermicularis, Dispar, Taenia Nana and Balantidium Coli. Porto Ricans examined Blood examination for eosin Eosin count 5% or higher Tricephalis 36 13 11 84% These men were en route to Alaska and no stools could be obtained. In the following no blood examinations have yet been made. 17 of the 23 or over 73% showed parasites of some sort among which were Ascaris Lumbricoides, Oxyuris Vermicularis, Tricocephalis Dispar, one case of Schistosomum Mansoni or lateral spined Bulharzia, Strongyloides Intestinalis and Baalantidium Coli. In these examinations specimens were obtained from entire families and in no case was special selection made on account of apparent sickness, so that the percentage of infection, from 15 to 56, may be taken as a fair average. Many of those examined showed marked evidence of the disease, some being quite incapacitated for work, and depending on the Associated Charities for their food supplies. Many of the children were undeveloped, some in height, and weight, being 30 to 40% below the standard for their ages. It is quite apparent that these unfortunate people in addition to being a menace to the rural districts in which they reside, must be a source of considerable expense to the counties on account of sickness and its resultant poverty. Most of the Hawaiian Plantation laborers after a longer or shorter sojourn in the Islands, come to the States by way of San Francisco, many locating in this city to go into the country districts throughout the State when labor is required, or to go In San Francisco there is a big colony of them always, At the present time the subject is being investigated in regard to other nationalities but though cases have been encountered, a sufficient number have not yet been examined upon which to draw conclusions. Respectfully submitted, (Signed) HERBERT GUNN, Bureau of Tropical Medicine.'' NEW HEALTH ORDINANCES. FOOD INSPECTION LAW. On December 2, 1910, a resolution was adopted by the Board of Health, the following of which is a copy: RESOLUTION. Whereas, The adulteration of foods and the mislabeling or misbranding of food and food products, constitute a serious menace to the health of the citizens of this community, and Whereas, The indulgence in this practice has led to the enactment of legislation through the efforts of the State Board of Health in an endeavor to check this evil, and Whereas, The City of San Francisco is at the present time operating under ordinances which appear to be inffective insofar as securing the conviction of offenders in general is concerned, and for this reason the Board of Health has been subjected to criticism for not enforcing the law, therefore, Be It Resolved, That the Board of Health petition the Board of Supervisors to adopt the attached proposed ordinance which is the McCartney Pure Food Law of the State of California so modified as to permit the enforcement of same by the Board of Health of the City and County of San Francisco. In conformity with the terms of the above resolution the Board of Supervisors on December 20th, adopted as a law the following ordinance drafted by this Department: ORDINANCE NO. 1426 (New Series.) (Approved December 20, 1910.) Regulating the Manufacture, Production, Compounding, Be it ordained by the People of the City and County of San Francisco as follows: Section 1. The manufacture, production, preparation, compounding, packing, selling, offering for sale or keeping for sale within the City and County of San Francisco, or the introduction into this City from any other country, State, Territory or the District of Columbia, or from any foreign country, of any article of food or liquor which is adulterated, mislabeled or misbranded within the meaning of this Act is hereby prohibited. Any person, firm, company or corporation who shall import or receive for many other county, State or Territory, or the District of Columbia, or from any foreign country, or who having so received shall deliver for pay or otherwise, or offer to deliver to any other person, any article of food or liquor adulterated, mislabeled or misbranded within the meaning of this act, or any person who shall manufacture or produce, prepare or compound, or pack or sell, or offer for sale, or keep for sale in the City of San Francisco any such adulterated, mislabeled or misbranded food, or liquor, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor; provided that no article of food shall be deemed adulterated, mislabeled or misbranded within the provisions of this Act when prepared for export beyond the jurisdiction of the United States and prepared or packed according to the specifications or directions of the foreign purchaser, when no substance is used in the preparation or packing thereof in conflict with the laws of the foreign country to which said article is intended to be shipped; but if such food shall be in fact sold, or kept or offered for sale for domestic uses and consumption, then this proviso shall not exempt said article from the operation of any provision of this Act. Section 2. The term food as used in this Act shall include all articles used for food, drink, liquor, confectionery or condiment by man or other animals, whether simple, mixed or compound. Section 3. The standard of purity of food and liquor shall be that proclaimed by the Secretary of the United States Department of Agriculture, where standards are not fixed by Ordinance of the City and County of San Francisco. Section 4. Food shall be deemed adulterated within the meaning of this Act in any of the following cases: First-If any substance has been mixed or packed, or packed with the food so as to reduce or lower or injuriously affect its quality, purity, strength or food value. Second-If any substance has been substituted wholly or in part for the article of food. Third-If any essential or any valuable constituent or ingredient of the article of food has been wholly or in part abstracted. Fourth-If the package containing it or its label shall bear in any manner whereby damage or inferiority is concealed. Fifth-If it contain any added poisonous or other added deleterious ingredient. |