City Water Supply Cleared of Typhoid Rumors
Local officials and the state health department address public anxiety following a small cluster of typhoid cases, confirming the city's water supply is safe.
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The many rumors of the millions of germs in the city water supply are apparently as wild as they are alarming. City Health Officer F. M. Crosby has had frequent analyses of the water made by the state health department, and every report has been most satisfactory. The last report from the state bureau was on samples of water taken from the W. R. Weisel and R. H. Briggs homes, in which there have been recent cases of typhoid. The report says these samples were free from contamination.
“The many rumors of the millions of germs in the city water supply are apparently as wild as they are alarming.”
Health anxiety and the spread of misinformation regarding public utilities is as common today as it was in 1916. The reliance on scientific testing to calm public panic remains a standard civic procedure.
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