Eradicating Tuberculosis in Rural Minnesota

¹ Superintendent and Medical Director of Riverside Sanatorium, Granite Falls, Minnesota.

1) An eight-point tuberculosis control program was developed in a four-county tuberculosis sanatorium district in 1930. This included measures for preventing the dissemination of tubercle bacilli of both the bovine and human types. Then 13.9 per cent of the school children reacted to tuberculin. In 1946 and 1947, only 2.7 per cent of all the children in the same schools reacted.

2) Among the 277 schools of the district there were 219 in which no child was found to react to tuberculin in 1946 and 1947. Thus, in these areas tuberculosis has been completely eradicated at this age level.

3) Certificaition of schools on the basis of tuberculosis control work in progress has been found of extreme value in stimulating interest and activity of the public in all tuberculosis control measures.

4) This accomplishment has been made through the tuberculin test as the first line of attack, x-ray inspection of the chests of the reactors, tracing to the source and giving instructions by the field nurse, complete examination of all who react to tuberculin and show x-ray shadows for accurate diagnosis, and hospitalization and isolation of those found to have clinical and contagious disease. The dangers of the bovine type of tubercle bacillus to humans were not overlooked.

5) The methods here described are easily applied and thoroughly efficacious. They can be employed wherever tuberculosis workers have the will to eradicate the disease.