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UNORTHODOX ETYMOLOGY

5,,-I was a little puzzled to read in Prof. E.Mira’s article in your last issue (p. 1395) that " fearmakes a person terrified-i.e., converted into terra

(earth). A terrified subject feels himself as inanimateand motionless as a stone (petrified)." Does Dr.Iira regard the derivation of

" terrified" as analogousto that of " petrified " He might with equaljustice claim support from Genesis, 19, 26, where itis related that Lot’s wife was turned into a pillar ofsalt-although in her case curiosity got the betterof fear. The orthodox etymologist would derive

" terrify " from terreo, which, together with &Tgr;p&eacgr;&ohgr;," tremble," Irish tarrach, and Slavonic tresa, is akinto the Sanskrit tras (tremble). Terra seems to bederived from the same root as the Sanskrit tarsh

(dry) and is akin to torridus, "thirst," and GermanDurst, meaning dry land. Someone might attempt toconnect the two words, " terrify " and terra, throughthe medium of " earthquake " ; he would be followingin the footsteps of the cricket fan of some thirty-fiveyears ago who invented the equation : terracotta=terror Cotter. I am, Sir, yours faithfully,

June 17." DR. PANGLOSS."

PUBLIC HEALTH

Prompt ControlAN outbreak of diphtheria in the urban district of

Wilmslow led to the prompt isolation of fifteen personsin the Monsall Hospital, Manchester. We are informedby Dr. D. G. Anderson, medical officer of health forCheadle and Wilmslow, that the first notificationsreached him on June 9 about 5 P.M.; all practitionersin Wilmslow and Alderley Edge were rung up andby 10 P.M. eleven cases of diphtheria had been traced.As all these persons, except two in one household,had partaken of milk from a particular supply, thissupply was at once stopped by written notice. Onthe morning of June 10 a house-to-house canvass wasmade of the customers of the affected dairy, with aninquiry for any history of sore throats in the house-hold and the name of the family doctor. A meetingof local practitioners was then called, when each ofthem received a list of the customers who were hispatients. It was then agreed that each practitionershould visit his own patients and offer passiveimmunisation if he thought fit, and that throatswabs should be taken from both adults and children.This was done during June 10-11, and at the sametime contacts were followed up. The last definitecase was notified during the night of June 11-12;two other persons have since been removed forobservation. It has now been ascertained that theone infected household stated not to have had milkfrom the suspected source had in fact obtained asmall bottle of milk from this source which wasconsumed only by the two children who contracteddiphtheria. Up to date there have been 15 confirmedcases (with 2 deaths) and 2 observation cases.

Militiamen with Infections

Public-health authorities are being asked tocollaborate with the civilian medical boards in theexamination of men called up under the MilitaryTraining Act. Where a recruit’s present conditionor history suggests that he may be suffering frompulmonary tuberculosis, the chairman of the boardhas authority to obtain a specialist opinion. Localauthorities are asked to place their tuberculosisofficers at the service of the board and to furnisha report on any of their patients or ex-patients.Where a recruit is receiving treatment at a V.D.centre the Ministry of Health has indicated to thelocal authority the desirability that his treatmentshould not be interrupted. The suggestion in thiscase is that the patient should be supplied at thetreatment centre with form V.15 setting out

particulars, and instructed to present it when under-going examination at the medical board. It is

generally believed that such patients would be

prepared to ask for this form and to pass it on as

desired. The follow-up system offers a possiblecheck, as absence from treatment would be notedand could be inquired into, but the secrecy regula-tions make it desirable to get the patient himselfto be the bearer of the information. Evidentlyin both cases the possible danger to comrades hasbeen a matter of close consideration. Probably alarge majority of the new recruits are unconnectedwith youth organisations, and it is the policy of theBritish Social Hygiene Council to see that the needfor sex guidance is supplied.

INFECTIOUS DISEASEIN ENGLAND AND WALES DURING THE WEEK ENDED

JUNE 10, 1939Notifications.—The following cases of infectious

disease were notified during the week : Smallpox, 0 ;scarlet fever, 1321 ; diphtheria, 755 ; enteric fever, 34(29 " expected ") ; pneumonia (primary or influenzal),743 ; puerperal pyrexia, 209 ; cerebrospinal fever,30 ; acute poliomyelitis, 2 ; acute polio-encephalitis,1 ; encephalitis lethargica, 1 ; dysentery, 24 ; oph-thalmia neonatorum, 115. No case of cholera, plagueor typhus fever was notified during the week.The number of cases in the Infectious Hospitals of the London

County Council on June 16 was 2891, which included : Scarletfever, 656 ; diphtheria, 514 (carriers, 23) ; measles, 7 ;whooping-cough, 878 ; puerperal fever, 16 mothers (plus 7babies) ; encephalitis lethargica, 304 ; poliomyelitis, 3. AtSt. Margaret’s Hospital there were 25 babies (plus 9 mothers)with ophthalmia neonatorum.Deaths.-In 126 great towns, including London,

there was no death from smallpox, 1 (0) from entericfever, 3 (1) from measles, 2 (1) from scarlet fever,16 (0) from whooping-cough, 17 (2) from diphtheria,39 (14) from diarrhoea and enteritis under two years,and 17 (1) from influenza. The figures in parenthesesare those for London itself.

Ilford reported the only death from typhoid. Liverpool had5 deaths from whooping-cough. Fatal cases of diphtheria werescattered over 15 great towns, Birmingham reporting 2.Birmingham had 8 fatal cases of diarrhoea, no other great townmore than 2.

The number of stillbirths notified during the weekwas 243 (corresponding to a rate of 33 per 1000 totalbirths), including 42 in London.

" I do not wish to underestimate the value of there-housing work that has been done ; but few who haveseriously thought about the problem in a personal, humanway could possibly feel complacent as to the results sofar achieved. If we are content to consider the businessof home-building in the terms of an old-fashioned textbookof hygiene, oblivious of the fact that men, women andchildren have needs other than cleanliness, neatness andorderliness, then the average Council flat, like the modernprison-cell and the modern infirmary ward, represents atremendous advance on the average industrial worker’shouse as it existed in the time of Queen Victoria. But thehygienic man, woman, or child is as imaginary as is theeconomic man or the unicorn."-Dr. HABRY ROBERTSin the New qtate8man, June 3, 1939.