To Protect Citizens of Maryland from Certain Communica- 
ble Diseases, Especially 
Tuberculosis of the Lungs and Larynx. 
CHAPTER 399. ACTS OF 1904. 
Section 1. Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Maryland that 
from and after the date of the passage of this Act, any person affected 
with any disease whose virus or infecting agent is contained in the sputum, 
saliva, or other bodily secretion or excretion who shall so dispose of his 
sputum, saliva or other bodily secretion or excretion as to cause offense or 
danger to any person or persons occupying the same room or apartment, 
house or part of a house, shall on complaint of any person or persons sub- 
jected to such offense or danger be deemed guilty of a nuisance and any 
person subjected to such a nuisance may make complaint in person or 
writing to the Commissioner of Health of Baltimore city or the local 
health officer of any city, town or county in the State of Maryland where 
the nuisance complained of arises or exists and it shall be the duty of the 
Commissioner of Health or of any local health officer receiving such com- 
plaint to investigate and if it appears that the nuisance complained of is 
such as to cause offense or danger to any person occupying the same room, 
apartment, house or part of a house, he shall serve notice upon the person 
so complained of reciting the alleged cause of offense or danger and requir- 
ing him to dispose of his sputum, saliva or other bodily secretion or excre- 
tion in such a manner as to remove all reasonable cause of offense or danger. 
And any person failing or refusing to comply with orders or regulations 
of the Health Commissioner of Baltimore city or of the health officer of 
any city, town or county, requiring such nuisance to be abated, shall be 
deemed guilty of a misdemeanor and on conviction thereof shall be fined 
ten dollars, provided that the requirements of this section shall apply only 
to pulmonary and laryngeal tuberculosis, pneumonia, influenza and such other diseases as the State Board of Health may from time to time deter- 
mine to be communicable by means of sputum, saliva or other bodily 
secretion or excretion. 
Section 2. It shall be the duty of the physician attending any case 
of pulmonary or laryngeal tuberculosis to provide for the safety of all in- 
dividuals occupying the same house or apartment, and if no physician be 
attending such patient this duty shall devolve upon the local health board 
and all duties made imcumbent upon the physician in the follwing sec- 
tions shall be performed by the local board of health in all cases of pulmo- 
nary or laryngeal tuberculosis not attended by a physician or when the 
physician is unwilling or unable to perform the duties specified. 
Section 3. It shall be the duty of the local board of health to trans- 
mit to the physician reporting any case of pulmonary or laryngeal tuber- 
culosis a printed report after the manner and form to be prepared and 
authorized by the State Board of Health naming such procedures and pre- 
cautions as in the opinion of the State Board of Health are necessary or 
desirable to be taken on the premises of the said tuberculous case, and it 
shall be the duty of the State Board of Health to print and keep on hand 
sufficient number of such report blanks and to furnish the same in suffi- 
cient number to any local board of health upon due requisition of the lat- 
ter. Upon receipt of the blank report the physician shall fill, sign and 
date the same and return to the local board of health without delay pro- 
vided that if the attending physician is unwilling or unable to under- 
take the precedure and precautions specified he shall so state upon 
his report blank, the duties herein prescribed shall then devolve upon the 
local board of health. Upon receipt of this report the local board of health 
shall carefully examine the same and if satisfied that the attending physi- 
cian shall have taken all necessary and desirable precautions to insure the 
safety of all persons living in the house or apartments occupied by the 
consumptive and to insure the safety of the people of the State of Mary- 
land, the said local board of health shall issue an order on the State Board 
of Health in favor of the attending physician for the sum of one dollar 
and fifty cents ($1.50) to be paid by the State Board of Health out of a 
fund hereinafter provided. If the precautions taken by the attending 
physician are in the opinion of the local board of health, not such as will remove all reasonable danger or probability of danger to the persons occu- 
pying the said house or apartment the local board of health shall return 
to the attending physician the report blank with a letter specifying the 
additional precautions which they shall require him to take, and the said 
attending physician shall immediately take the additional precautions 
specified aud shall record and return the same on the origiual blank to the 
local board of health. It shall further be the duty of the local board of 
health to transmit to the physician reporting any case of pulmonary 
or laryngeal tuberculosis a printed requisition which shall be prepared by 
the State Board of Health and issued in sufficient number to any local 
board of health upon due requisition of the latter. Upon this requisition 
blank shall be named the materials kept on hand by the local board of 
health for the prevention of the spread of the disease, and it shall be the 
duty of the State Board of Health to purchase such supplies as it may 
deem necessary from the fund hereinafter provided and to supply them to 
any local board of health upon the requisition of the latter. Any physi- 
cian may return a duly signed requisition to the local board of health for 
such of the specified materials and in such amount as he may deem neces- 
sary in preventing the spread of the disease, and all local boards of health 
shall honor as far as possible a requisition signed by the attending physi- 
cian in such case. It shall be the duty of every local board of health to 
transmit to every physician reporting any case of pulmonary or laryngeal 
tuberculosis or to the persons reported as suffering from this disease pro- 
vided the latter have no attending physician, a circular of information 
prepared and printed by the State Board of Health and which shall be 
furnished in sufficient quantity to every local board of health on due re- 
quisition of the latter. This circular of information shall inform the 
consumptive of the best methods of cure of his disease and of the precau- 
tions necessary to avoid transmitting the disease to others. 
Section 4. Any physician or person practicing as a physician who 
shall fail to execute the duties prescribed by this act or who shall know- 
ingly report as affected with pulmonary or laryngeal tuberculosis any per- 
son who is not so affected, or who shall wilfully make any false statement 
concerning the name, age, color, sex, address or occupation of any person 
reported as affected with pulmonary or laryngeal tuberculosis, or who 
shall certify falsely as to any of the precautions taken to prevent the spread of infection shall be deemed guilty of fraud and on conviction 
thereof shall be subject to a fine of one hundred dollars or to imprison- 
ment not exceeding six months, or to both fine and imprisonment in the 
discretion of the court. 
Section 5. The State Board of Health shall prepare and keep on 
hand all the circulars, blanks and printed matter required by the preced- 
ing section and all additional printed matter necessary in executing the 
provisions of this act, and shall issue the same in sufficient quantity to 
the local boards of health on due requisition of the latter, and the said 
State Board of Health shall further purchase and issue upon due requisi- 
tion to the local boards of health the supplies required by the provisions 
of this act. For the purpose of defraying the expenses of printed matter 
and postage, for recompensing physicians for measures of prophylaxis, and 
for purchasing and issuing the supplies necessary in carrying out the pro- 
visions of this act the sum of five thousand dollars ($5,000) annually or 
as much thereof as may be necessary is hereby appropriated, payable by 
the treasurer of the State upon warrant of the comptroller at such times 
and in such sums as may be authorized by the State Board of Health 
upon presentation of the proper voucher. 
Section 6. And be it enacted that this act shall take effect from 
the date of its passage. 
Approved April 8, 1904.