The board of health, with a view to the preservation of the public health, shall give to the president and other village officials all such professional advice and information as they may require, and whenever it shall hear of the existence of any contagious or epidemic disease, such as diphtheria, measles, membranous croup, puerperal fever, scarlet fever, smallpox, typhoid fever, whooping cough and the like, the board shall investigate the same and adopt measures to arrest its progress. (1956 Code, Sec. 8-8)