Cholera, Ironton home afflicted, article (Buffalo News, 1892-10-07).pdf

CHOLERA

There is Every Reason to Believe It Has Appeared in Tonawanda.

TWO DEATHS FROM IT.

Frank Kalma and His 5-Year-Old Son Were Taken Sick and Both Died Inside of 8 Hours.

TWO NEW CASES NOW.

Mrs. Kalma and a Boarder Are Down and Health Officer Jayne Has Asked the State Board For Instructions — Dr. Wende Called Upon.

STRICT QUARANTINE ORDERS.

Police Surround Kalma’s House and Have Been Ordered to Shoot Down Anyone Attempting to Enter or Leave Without Permits.

Tonawanda has what appears to be the dreaded Asiatic cholera.

Two persons have died and two more are sick with a disease which puzzles the local physicians and they have asked for instructions from the State Board of Health. They have quarantined the premises where the alleged cholera patients are and are taking every precaution to prevent the spread of the disease. The facts have been kept very quiet by the Tonawanda Board of Health to prevent a feeling of panic.

In a little four-room frame house at Ironton, one and one-half miles from North Tonawanda, live a lot of laborers who came to this country three months ago. Nine people lived in those four rooms up to Tuesday. Most of them have been working at the Ironton works, and among this number was Frank Kalma. Kalma was taken ill Tuesday morning with a disease which very much resembled cholera. He vomited freely and had diarrhea. The man had excruciating pains and word was sent to Dr. Tabor of Tonawanda, who hurried to Kalma’s house.

Dr. Tabor has never seen a case of cholera, but he thought Kalma’s case suspicious and worthy of investigation.

Seven hours after Kalma was taken sick he died. Dr. Tabor at once notified the Board of Health, and Health Officer A. W. Jayne went to the house and investigated.

The symptoms of the man’s disease were exactly like those of cholera.

A meeting of the Board of Health was called at once and prompt measures taken to prevent the spread of the disease if it should prove to be cholera.

Policemen were detailed to guard the house and were given strict orders not to allow anybody to leave or enter the place. Then the house was thoroughly fumigated. The bedding was taken out into the street and burned, as was the furniture in the room where Kalma died. Sulphur was burned in the house for four hours.

Nobody was sick then, but the five-year-old son of the dead man was taken suddenly ill Wednesday morning and was attended by Dr. Jayne. The little boy had the same symptoms his father had. His flesh fell away rapidly. He was treated for cholera, but died Wednesday night after being sick only eight hours.

This greatly alarmed the local physicians and another meeting of the Board of Health was called. The doctors did not know whether Kalma and his son had died of cholera or not. While all the indications showed they had the disease, it was known they had not come in contact with immigrants from European cholera infected ports. A lot of mail from Europe was found in the house, though, and it was thought the disease might be traced to this. [A badly damaged sentence follows concerning the man, his son, and the burial of both bodies.] Both bodies were buried soon after death.

Yesterday morning the widow of Kalma was taken sick and so was an Austrian boarder named Kalma, who boarded at the house. Their symptoms are like those [of the father and son], but in milder form. They were alive last night.

Dr. Jayne communicated with the State Board of Health yesterday. He said there had been two sudden deaths in Tonawanda and it looked to him very much like cholera. Last night Dr. Jayne received word from Louis Balch, secretary of the State Board of Health, asking him what was the condition of the cases. This Dr. Jayne has done. In the meantime there is considerable excitement in Ironton over the mysterious cases.

A NEWS reporter was unable to get into the house where the two deaths have occurred last night. Policemen guard the place night and day, and their orders are to shoot down anybody that attempts to enter the house without permission.

Dr. Jayne said to THE NEWS last night: “I don’t know whether Kalma and his son have died from cholera or not. I can’t say they have and I don’t say they [haven’t]. The symptoms were exactly like those of cholera victims. They were both sick less than nine hours and the excreta resembled that of cholera victims. I think very likely the cases are sporadic cholera. The people in the house have been eating unwholesome food. I have been told they [illegible] in contact with the immigrants from European [ports]. They have been here three months. They have received mail from Europe and [illegible] cholera [illegible]. Anyhow there is no cause for alarm. The place is perfectly quarantined and if it was cholera it cannot spread. The house is isolated and these people have been living together and cannot have spread the disease to other people. I went up to see Dr. Wende about the cases and he is coming down today and we will make a bacteriological examination altogether.”

transcribed by AI