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JOHN T MONTGOMERY, City Secretary.
W.J.ESTES, Assistant
Health Dept
City of Fort Worth Office of City Secretary
Dr. H.C Whitehead City Health Officier
Forth Worth, Tex March 3rd 1899
Honorable Mayor & City Council, Gentlemen;
Fort Worth with its numerous lines of railways, and being daily in active and extensive business communication with every part of the state and its adjoining territory, notwithstanding its healthful location and resources, is by reason of its commercial greatness, liable to contageous diseases, that spread rapidly, and follow the lines of travel. With small pox seriously affecting some of the cities and towns tributary to us, the surprise must be, when comparisons are made, that we have fased no worse, and that with one exception, we have been fortunate enough to restrict this disease to the single points of its first appearance.
In the first case, which was reported on December 9th 1898, we proved no exception to the rule of all first cases of this trouble in having a number of exposures, because of the difficulty in recognizing the disease until it had developed in a degree that had rendered liable to infection, those who had been in contact with it for some days past. Acting with the
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JOHN T MONTGOMERY, City Secretary.
W.J.ESTES, Assistant.
City of Fort Worth Office of City Secretary
2.
Forth Worth, Tex _______ 189__
health committee on receiving notice of this case, after nearly twenty-four hours of unsuccessful effort to get a physician to treat it, I took charge of the case, and found on visiting him on December 10th, 1898, a case of confluent small-pox. I also found seven persons (six of which were members of the family) living in the house and also heard of four exposures who had left the building. Those remaining there were requested by the health department to remain on the premises, which they did, making neither request nor effort to leave there. All were immediately vaccinated, and with one exception with favorable effect. An experienced nurse was secured and all necessary provisions made for the care of the case. Those who had left the building were also vaccinated, and a watch kept upon them until danger of their developing the disease had passed.
The case (number one) was a railroad bridge carpenter, a man aged fifty-four years, reported having no knowledge of exposure and giving a history that failed to arouse suspicion of the real trouble, evidenced
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JOHN T MONTGOMERY, City Secretary.
W.J.ESTES, Assistant.
City of Fort Worth Office of City Secretary
3.
Forth Worth, Tex _______ 189__
by the fact of allowing his son to occupy the same bed with him while suffering with the disease, prior to the eruption of the skin making its appearance.
The case was a severe one, ran a typical course ended in recovery, and was discharged on January 21st, 1899. The room in which he was staying was furnished by himself, he boarding with the family occupying the house. The bedding and clothing belonging to him were burned, his furniture and all articles that could be cleansed were properly and thoroughly disinfected, and were moved by him to his father's home, when he left on the above date.
Case number two was that of a son of case number one, aged about twenty-eight years, and infected by sleeping with his father, prior to the appearance of the eruption referred to in the former case. On December 16th, 1898 just twelve days from the time of the exposure, he developed the early symptoms of the disease in the most violent form. He was located in a room over a business block on lower Main street
The room was so situated that there was no danger
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JOHN T MONTGOMERY City Secretary.
W.J.ESTES, Assistant
City of Fort Worth Office of City Secretary
4.
Forth Worth, Tex _______ 189__
to the occupants of the building and as often as every four hours, for the three succeeding days, he was visited by me, awaiting the skin eruption that should leave no doubt of its being small-pox. On the third day he gave unmistakable evidence of having the most malignant, and always early fatal form of the disease, viz, "malignant hemorrhagic small-pox" At the request of the patient, and his father, and with the consent of the occupants of the house, he was moved to the room and bed of his father on December 19, 1898, about two o'clock p.m., and at nine o'clock that evening he died. The room he occupied on lower Main street was stripped of the bedding and carpet (they being donated by the owner) were hauled off and burned.
The room and the furniture were thoroughly fumigated and cleansed, and though no quarantine of the building, or any part of it, except the room occupied by the patient, there was no spread from this case.
Case number three was the head of the family where case number one was boarding. A man aged about
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JOHN T MONTGOMERY, City Secretary.
W.J.ESTS, Assistant.
City of Fort Worth Office of City Secretary
5.
Forth Worth, Tex _______ 189__
fifty-six years, an old soldier, and a cripple from service in the army, Thirteen days from the time of his exposure, December 20, 1898, he gave evidence of the early symptoms of the disease, and was immediately isolated from the rest of the family and nursed as a small-pox case. The early symptoms gave evidence of a very severe attack, and a second nurse was provided for him, that he might have constant attention. Three days later the expected skin eruption appeared and by the request of himself and his family he was moved into the room that was occupied by the first case. So severe was the case that his family were notified by me that, while hoping for the best, to prepare for the worst, and on the night of the 28th of December, 1898, I notified them that I did not think he could survive the night, He died the following morning at 1.30.
Case number four was a daughter of the former case, a young lady of about seventeen years. It developed shortly after the disease began with her father. It was not a severe case, not confining her continuously to her