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Show (Hid EXPERTS IE ID MEET 11 HI'S CAPITOL Salt Lake, Jan. 7. Salt Lake has been decided upon by the 'United States public health bureau as the place for holding an important conference con-ference of all the western states to discuss rabies among tho coyotes, Rocky Mountain spotted fever, the deer fly disease and other subjects. Dr. T. B. Beatty, state health commissioner, com-missioner, was so advised in a telegram tele-gram yesterday from Dr. Rupert Blue, surgeon general of tho federal public health service. Dr. Beatty believes be-lieves that Surgeon Blue himself will attend the meeting and direct tho discussions. dis-cussions. Surgeon General Blue is calling the conference for February 2. It will probably last several days or a week and will bring to Salt Lake the health officials of all the western states, government health experts, experts ex-perts of tho various state bureaus interested in-terested in the extermination of disease dis-ease among wild and domestic animals, ani-mals, and doubtless many local officials offi-cials from the important western cities like San Francisco, Los Angeles, Ange-les, Denver, Portland and Seattle. Suggested by Beatty. This meeting developed from the suggestion of Dr. Beatty for a meeting meet-ing in Salt Lake during tho coming woolgrowers' convention of all the health commissioners of near-by western west-ern states, for discussion especially of the rabies epidemic among coyotes. coy-otes. About that time the public health service was looking into the rabies question and Dr. Blue suggested suggest-ed that if western states wanted it, the service would call a big conference. confer-ence. Dr Beatty and other western health officers indorsed the plan, and yesterday the following message came to Dr. Beatty from Surgeon General Blue, at Washington "In compliance with your request I have issued a call for a conference of the western state and territorial health authorities to meet In Salt Lake February 2 to consider rabies. Rocky mountain spotted fever and other health, matters. On account of the importance of the conference I deemed it necessary to allow the states sufficient time to arrange to send representatives. Hence the postponement post-ponement from the date suggested. Letter follows " It had been first suggested that the conference be held here January Janu-ary 11. Second In History. This Is said to be only the second time In its existence that the public pub-lic health service has called a conference, con-ference, and the previous one was not as large nor as comprehensive as this will be. The other one was that called at San Francisco to investigate bubonic plague spread by rats The rabies epidemic has been exciting ex-citing much comment in the last few weeks, particularly since it began to spread In the neighboring state ot Nevada. Although some unconfirmed unconfirm-ed reports have been received at headquarters of the state board of health, no actual case of rabies has been found in Utah as yet. Governor William Spry yesterday received a telegram from Governor Emmet D. Boyle of Nevada. He said he had called a conference of Nevada Ne-vada state officials and county and city officeis of that state to meet in Winnemucca January 11, and invited Governor Spry to send a Utah representative repre-sentative to the meeting. The message mes-sage came late yesterday Governor Spry will take up the matter and reply re-ply to Governor Boyle today. Rocky mountain, spotted fever, which Is one of the scourges to be discussed at the big meeting under direction of the federal health service, serv-ice, is an alarming complaint which in recent years has been spreading in the mountain stateB. Utah has been practically free of it, but it has done much damage in Idaho and Montana, where the health service has heen makiner investigations. Is New Disease. It is a comparatively new disease, attacking sheep and cattle, and proving prov-ing fatal in most cases. It is almost 'uvariably fatal to human beings who ontract It. Successful treatment of it has not yet been discovered. The deer fly disease is said to be peculiar to Utah. An investigator for the federal service was here last summer looking Into it. In some localities of Utah the bite of the deer fly has proven fatal to human beings. Treatment of this strange malady has not been discovered. It Is believed that other states will tspond to the call of the public wealth service to discuss these menaces men-aces and that the conference In Salt Lake next month will be the most important affair af the kind ever held. |
