In the face of the conditions existing in various parts of the country this past winter this theme was chosen for a clear statement of methods and to form a subject for discussion. No new principle is to be presented. We have only to trust to four well-established agencies, namely, diagnosis, quarantine, vaccination and disinfection.
An early and positive diagnosis in an individual case of variola is not always possible. Anders, in his last edition, declares that "This difficulty is sufficient occasionally to test the skill of the most astute diagnostician, and the sooner this fact is understood and appreciated the better it will be, not only for the public, but for the profession as well."
Most cases, however, are quite readily recognized by the four days of prodromal pain and tenderness in head, loins and limbs, a temperature of 103 to 106 F. that quite disappears on or before