Medicine: Detroit's Rats

Last week Detroit's Health Commissioner Henry Frieze Vaughan asked his city council to offer a bounty of three cents for every dead rat delivered to the Department of Public Works (garbage). Special employes of that department killed 900,000 Detroit rats last year, expect to kill 2,000,000 rats this year. But Health Commissioner Vaughan wanted to get the 2.000.000 killed in a great hurry, for an epidemic of infective jaundice was spreading in Detroit. Twenty-two children had contracted the disease. One, Donald Siegle, had died.

A serpentine germ, Leptospira icterohemorrhagiae, causes the disease,...

Want the full story?

Subscribe Now

Subscribe
Subscribe

Learn more about the benefits of being a TIME subscriber

If you are already a subscriber sign up — registration is free!