1930-06-09-STM-MIN - Laserfiche WebLink

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412 cad0 07)14.4 I understand that Rhode Island has recently put on regulation3 that all clogs in that. Mate be inoculated against rabies . Very truly yours , Levan H . Richardson , Director . COMMONWEALTH Of MASSACHUSJTTY DEPT . OF PUBLIC HEALTH May 28 , 1930 . Dr . Vm . L . Barnes , Health Officer , 1557 Mamachusetts Avenue . , Lexington , Mass . My dear Doctor Barnes : The cities of Holyoke and Leominster , ivassa chusetts , have written us recently in regard to the matters you raised in your letter of May 26th .end my reply to the two colriumi - ti es has been in substance as follows : Over the last tv, o years rabies has been more preva- lent than at any time in the St _. te since statistical date has been available . Last year 5000 people were reported t :J us as having been bitten , which probably represents less than 50 per cent of those actually so bitten and the cost to them in material and professional service for the preventive inoculations against rabies must represent at least a quarter of a million dollars . This disease in this part of the country is kept alive in the community ani spread from one to another entirely by the stray unlicensed dog . The control then is vastly easier than almost any of our common communicable diseases , Ind yet every effort that we have made in that direction has been met with public indifference or active public opposition . There is plenL_ y of & utnority for the promulgation by the city council or the selectmen on the advice of the board of health of a ninety- day quarantine of all dogs . The lair says that they shall either be restrained or muzzled . In our opinion and that of the Division of Animal Industry muzzling is useless since the muzzle never fits , is usually hanging around the neck , and since years ago Daniel Vtebster made sport of the whole thing by placing a tea atrainer at the south end of a dog and claiming he was complying with the regulations , so that we recommend that no option be given and that restraint be required . Since during this period of ninety days all dogs / that have been exposed and are in the incubation period will have come down with rabies and be destroyed without exposing other dogs and if during this time all stray uogs are impounded and if not called for in a reasonable time destroyed human4y , the disease should be wiped out of your community . The only difficulty is that at the end of the quarantine period an infected dog may run in from an adjacent community and the whole thing be started again . For this last reason two years ago we attempted to get the cooperation of some severity communities in and around Bosttn in synchronous restraint . The health and police officials were interested and cooperative . Public support was vitiated largely under the leadership of the former Mayor Bauer of Lynn , so that tha sum total was inconvenience to those citizens who complied with the regulation and no improvement in regard to rabies . •