Show DUE TO NE3UOEGE Verdict Against the St Louis Health Department FINDING BY THE CORONER Death of Seven Children Prom Lockjaw Lock-jaw Held to Be Duo to Administration Administra-tion of Diphtheria AndToxino Containing Tetanus Tpxine Which Had Been Prepared by the Health Bureau Verdict Is Bnssd Upon the Testimony of Physicians Who Attended At-tended the Lockjaw Cases St Louis Nov IS Coroner Funk hnuer todayrendered a verdict find ijg the SL Louis Health department negligent In the preparation ordiph theria antitoxtlne that caused the dcaths by lockjaw tetanus of seven children to whom it was recently administered ad-ministered for diphtheria The verdict ver-dict in part is as follows Wo find that tho deceased came to Uiclr death from tetanus following tho adm n Istration of diphtheria antitoxIHQcontah lug tetanus toxlne said diphtheria anti toxlne having been prepared and issued by tho Health department o the city ot St Louis and bearing dates on labels of August 1Mth and Scptemjor JM Tho presence of tetanus toxlne m Mlft diphtheria antltoxine shows negligence upon the part of the iTcaIth WWK Jn tho preparation of tIe sojd diphtheria antltoxlno and In iho Issuance thoreoi ROBKRT lif FLMvHOUSER Th r JOIIN G FITZS1M11OS Deputy For some time the city Health department de-partment has been maklncr an anti xoxlne for use In diphtheria cases This physicians was distributed among practicing sicians throughout the city free of charge and used In the city Institutions quite generally la many cases It is said lo have saved lives Th serum was obtained from horses that are said to have contracted tetanus and to have Imparted It to the antltox drawn from their bodies After rendering Ms verdict Coroner Funkhouser said For the present I have done all that I can do I am not prepared to say that I nin through with the case but HO far aij 1 know iow there Is nothing more for me to do I ihave rendered the verdict and that Is all I have been cillcd on to do thus farTho The Coroners verdict Is based vpon Iho testimony of physicians who attended at-tended the lockjaw cases witnesses at the Inquest and the representatives of the bacteriologists employed by the city to make tests of the Infected serum and report the responsibility for it Th ° I rxperts are Dr Carl Fich Dr B Mead Bolton and Dr 13 C Walden who examined ex-amined several patients who had been t Infected by city antltolne nefora they began their exp lmpnts Tn their ex pejlments seventytour guinea pgs were used The reyprt of the experts contains 7000 words Jt was filed with Coroner Funkhouser Friday and waa I given out with the verdict today I When informed of the nature of the I Coroners verdict Dr Ainand R Void I city bacteriologist said fl repeat my previous assertion that none of the I serum marked September 30th was 3Js I tributcJ to any one or under any labPl I I poured the entire drawing Into the I sink on October llth as both Mr Tay lor and I who was with ne in the office I of-fice at the time testified Health Commissioner StarlilofC Is out of no city on a hunting trip In Ills absence Charles IV Wands Acsstsnt Health Commissioner is In i charge of the department He1 said l shall read the report of the experre and the I Coroners verdict and lh < m take such action as I deem to be my duty As the manufacture of anltosine I by the city has been stopped the case I Is not now cue of eruerriiiey and T 1 may not decide for several days what t action I shall take The committee of bacteriologists sum up their conclusions as follows Tho diphtheria antltoxlnc prepared by the Health department of the City of St Louis and dated September EOth and cpmo of serum dated August 24th was the cause oC the recent deaths from te tanus in the cases where this antitoxins vas used This antitoxlno was sterile but ron tamed the toxlno of the tetanus baclllua In considerable amount 4 From the foregoing facts wo are forced to conclude that tho diphtheria anti toxIn prepared by tho City Health de partrncnt had been Issued before It was passible to have obtained results from the absolutely necessary tests Had tlieo tests been performed the results upon the animals would kayo been such that to 1 return would not have been dispensed and the cases of tetanus forming the 1i i suited basis of thii report could not have re |