REPORT FOR 1881. IOWA STATE BOARD OF HEALTH, OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY, DES MOINES, Iowa, October 1, 1881. To the President and members of the State Board of Health. GENTLEMEN-I have the honor herewith to submit, for your consideration, the following report of the affairs of the Board, from the fifth of May, 1881, to October 1st, this being the period fixed by law for the termination of the State year, and for the filing of all reports of State institutions. This report will be brief for the following reasons: Upon assuming the duties of Secretary on May 5th, I found that Mr. Andrews, my predecessor as Secretary, had by the action of the Board, been retained as assistant secretary. As he had, already begun his report, in detail, of all the proceedings, and other transactions of the Board, from its origin, I thought it but just to him and acceptable to other parties, that he should be allowed to finish it. The following details are given, as nearly as possible, in the chronological order in which they occurred. ROOMS IN THE CAPITOL FOR THE BOARD. Soon after my appointment, in company with, and at the request of, Dr. Dickinson, a committee appointed at the last meeting, for the purpose, I made a written application for a suit of three (3) rooms, situated in the basement floor, and occupying the southwest corner of the capitol. These rooms are admirably adapted to the purpose, being sufficiently roomy, easily accessible, somewhat removed from the noise and bustle of the main floor, and provided with a large, strong room or vault for the better preservation of the archives, of great importance, both legally and statistically, which will, in a few years, accumulate on our hands. TRANSPORTATION OF CORPSES. At various times great trouble and annoyance has occurred to all parties concerned in the transportation of dead bodies, both to the shippers and the carriers, and this from the fact that there was no law, rule, nor regulation on the subject; nor was there any uniformity in the practice of the various express and railroad companies engaged in this particular kind of transportation. At the request of Dr. W. F. Peck, Surgeon-general of the Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific Railway, I drew up the following rules, which, after being approved and signed by the President, were published for the information of all parties concerned. Copies of these regulations have been forwarded to the different railroads, the steamboat agents at the river towns, and to all undertakers, wherever names and addresses could be procured. The regulations are now in force throughout the State, and, as far as known, give general satisfaction. [FORM 27B.] TRANSPORTATION OF CORPSES RULES FOR THE TRANSPORTATION OF CORPSES BY RAILROADS AND STEAMBOATS IN THE STATE OF IOWA. IOWA STATE BOARD OF HEALTH, RULE 1. The transportation of bodies of persons dead of small-pox, Asiatic cholera, or yellow fever is absolutely forbidden. RULE 2. From November 15th to March 15th, all dead bodies may be transported without restriction, except those dead of diphtheria, scarlet fever, typhus or typhoid fever, in addition to being in a metallic or wooden coffin, and this enclosed by a light wooden box, must be closely wrapped in a carbolated cere-cloth, or some equally effective substitute.* RULE 3. From March 15th to November 15th, all bodies presented for transportation must be prepared as described in the latter part of Rule two. RULE 4. Every dead body must be accompanied by a physician's certificate of death, a permit for transportation from the clerk of the local board of health, and a written certificate from the shipping undertaker that the corpse has been prepared for transportation in accordance with the rules of the Iowa State Board of Health. *By order of the State Board, an india rubber cloth lined with a cloth saturated with an aqueous solution of carbolic acid, is an effective substitute.-SECRETARY. INSTRUCTIONS FOR UNDERTAKERS. RULE 5. A carbolated cere-cloth is a strong cotton winding-sheet, which has been dipped in a melted mixture of wax, tallow or lard and carbolic acid; a cheaper substitute is one dipped in a strong watery solution of carbolic acid, or of chloride of zinc (Burnett's solution). R. J. FARQUARSON, M. D., Secretary. W. S. ROBERTSON, M. D., President. "Rules and regulations made by the State Board of Health and directed to local board of cities, towns, etc., are of full force and effect upon the people without subsequent endorsement or action of such local boards."-Decision of the Attorneygeneral, January 4, 1881. Many inquiries being made as to the "carbolated cere-cloth" and ingredients necessary for its manufacture, at my suggestion, Prof. Thomas E. Pope of the State Agricultural College, kindly undertook a series of experiments to determine the proper proportion of these ingredients. From the results of his experiments, the following formulæ were prepared and published for the benefit of undertakers and other parties concerned. [FORM 30B.] STATE OF IOWA-HEALTH DEPARTMENT-TRANSPOTATION OF CORPSES BY RAILROADS AND STEAMBOATS-CARBOLATED CERE-CLOTH FORMULA. STATE BOARD OF HEALTH, Formula for mixture of wax and tallow, to be used by undertakers in the preparation of "Carbolated Cere-Cloth." FOR SUMMER. Wax one (1) part, tallow four (4) parts, melting point, 124 degrees F. FOR WINTER. Wax one (1) part, tallow thirty (30) parts, melting point, 98 degrees F. For either, carbolic acid ad libitum. W. S. ROBERTSON, M. D., President. R. J. FARQUHARSON, M. D., Secretary. [FORM 6E.] STATE OF IOWA-HEALTH DEPARTMENT-TRANSPORTATION OF CORPSES. I hereby certify that the same is true to the best of my knowledge and belief. Residence of certifying physician.... County of........ .M. D. Iowa. UNDERTAKER'S CERTIFICATE. .hereby certify that the dead body of.. named in the foregoing physician's certificate, has been prepared by.. ...Undertaker. Residence of undertaker... . . . . TRANSIT PERMIT. ........ In accordance with the rules of the Iowa State Board of Health, dated May 20, 1881, permission is hereby given to..... company,... . . . for the transportation of the dead body of...... (If minor give parent's names.)........ from to....... for interment at...... 188 Date of death.. Place of death.. Certificate of physician. Age.. ....... . yrs., . . . . . . mos.,... ... days .M. D. Clerk of Board of Health. [Filing.] STATE OF IOWA-HEALTH DEPARTMENT-TRANSPORTATION OF CORPSES TRANSIT PERMIT. From...... .to.. Body of........ Died........183. At..... RULES OF THE IOWA STATE BOARD OF HEALTH. RULE 1. The transportation of the bodies of persons dead of small-pox, Asiatic cholera, or yellow fever is absolutely forbidden. RULE 2. From November 15th to March 15th, all dead bodies may be transported without restriction, except that those dead of diphtheria, scarlet fever, or typhus or typhoid fever, in addition to being in a metallic or wooden coffin and this enclosed by a light wooden box, must be closely wrapped in a carbolated cere-cloth or some equally effective substitute. RULE 3. From March 15th to November 15th, all bodies presented for transportation must be prepared as described in the later part of Rule 2. RULE 4. Every dead body must be accompanied by a physician's certificate of death, a permit for transportation from the clerk of the local board of health, and a written certificate from the shipping undertaker that the corpse has been prepared for transportation in accordance with the rules of the lowa State Board of Health RULE 5. A carbolated cere-cloth is a strong cotton winding-sheet, which has been dipped in a melted mixture of wax, tallow or lard and carbolic acid; a cheaper substitute is one dipped in a strong watery solution of carbolic acid, or of chloride zinc (Burnett's solution). W. S. ROBERTSON, M. D., President. R. J. FARQUHARSON, M. D., Secretary. (This blank can be obtained on application to the Secretary of State Board of Health, Des Moines.) June 30 and July 1st, being then in attendance at a conference called by the Illinois State Board of Health, on the subject of smallpox, these regulations were adopted by that Board, and are now in force in the State of Illinois. I find from correspondence with all the State Boards of Health, and with the authorities of some States not having Boards of Health, that no general laws or rules in regard to the transportation of corpses exist in these various States, so that our Board has the honor of having originated this important sanitary measure, which is now occupying the attention of other State Boards. SMALL-POX. The alarming prevalence of small-pox in various parts of the Northwest, and especially in Chicago, induced the Illinois Board of Health. to invite other State Boards and other sanitary authorities to meet them in council upon this in Chicago. By direction of the President, Dr. Robertson, I attended that conference. Beside the Illinois Board the following boards were represented in this Conference: National Board of Health, those of New York, Maryland, Iowa, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Michigan and Indiana: also of the cities of Chicago, Baltimore, Milwaukee, and Buffalo. After a most animated and thorough discussion a report and resolutions were adopted. The report is too long for transcription here. The resolutions were as follows: THE RESOLUTIONS. RESOLVED, 1. That small-pox is very prevalent in European ports at which emigrants embark for the United States, and, owing to the customary delay of the emigrants at these ports, unprotected persons are liable to, and frequently do, become infected with that disease. 2. That vast numbers of immigrants are unprotected against small-pox infection, and hence contract the disease just before embarking for the voyage. 3. That ocean transit is now so rapid that a person becoming infected with the small-pox poison may, and often does, reach the ports of the United States, and, even by rapid railroad travel, may locate in Western towns before the disease becomes apparent in the individual. 4. That outbreaks of small-pox in many parts of the United States, and the |