Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1880-11-17
Diphtheria.
SOME TIMELY HINTS AS TO ITS PREVE

SOME TIMELY HINTS AS TO ITS PREV ENTION.
SO much excitement at present prevails
throughout our community over the sud
den appearance of diphtheria and the
dreadful fatality of its attack that some
thing regarding the cause of the disease
and the means to be employed for its
prevention will be most timely. This is
furnished by one of our most prominent
physicians, in the following article written
for the Free Press:
In the first place, diphtheria is not
Il contagious disease, as we speak of
contagion in such affections AS scarlet
fever, smallpox or measles. A person
exposed to case of diphtheria might
contract the disease, but could not carry it
in his clothing unless secretions from the
threat or portions of the membrane had
been expelled by the patient and lodged
in his garments. 1t is not common for
adults to contract the disease, rs the mu
cous membrane lining of their throat is
not 80 susceptible to the poison rs in
children; but when the poison has once
manifested itself the course, severity and
result of the disease is precisely the same
in youth or middle age.
The origin or source of this disease is
now pretty generally believed to be found
in sink sewerage, and not from all sewer
aging, rs many imagine. The sinks in
our houses receive the washngs of Gull
nary articles and contain animal or vege-
table matter in greater or less quantity
the greasy particles adhering to the waste
pipes leading to the street sewer or cess,
| pool. 1t is the accumulation of such
material within these pipes that leads TO
the development of germs of (blcterit)
which find their way into our rooms an
are inhaled by every member of the
household. The inner coating of any
waste pipe leading from our kichen sinks,
when placed under the microscope, pre-
sents the same germinal cells (or bacteria)
AS the membrane furnishes from the
throat of a patient who is suffering from
diphtherla. La no other sewerage can be
found the same microscopical germs; ana
from the similarity OF these to those found
in the throat of diphtheretic patients, it is
fair 10 presume that in sink scwerag,
alone do we find the primary cause of the
disease.
The effect of this poison when first in.
hailed is TO produce an intense inhammt
ton of the throat and up to this time the
disease is entirely local, Only after alb
sorption of the products of such inf ,mmt L.
ton does it become constitutional Oh
general, and only after this point las beer
reached does it require constitutional
treatment.
The prevention of so serious "a disease i,
of more consequence than discussion o
its treatment, as the results obtained from
remedies applied have been favorable ii
only small proportion of cases. There
appears to be considerable confusion in
the minds of many respecting the signiti
canoe Of the terms deodorizer and dsiu
iectants.
1t is customary to scatter through sinks
cess pools, vaults, etc, substances havins
an olor stronger than those emanating
from such places, with the belief that I
disinectant has been applied and there
fore the cause of disease removed. This
however, is erroneous, as mot of tn,
deodorizers used, such rs carbolic acid
Chloride of lime and the like, and disin
lectants only to II very few of the many
vegetables and animal germ, capable oil
producing disease. If the cause of diphthe
ria emitted an odor and permeated ou
houses like the odor of vinegar, onions OF
garlic while undergoing the process o
cooking in the kitchen, it might not b,
) difficult 10 detect il or furnish an antidot,
10 It's. ravages. But no perceptibe odo
is observed, and therefore most of tn
deoderizers employed effect only tn
removal of disngreeable smell, Ieavin,
the more virulent poison unchanged
What then can be employed to dlsinfec
our premises? In the first place boilin,
water OF steam destroys all organic matte
whether it emits preceptible odor or moi
Those, however, are impracticable. as tn
effect is temporary IN too fl equ n repeli
tons are required 10 establish he 5es
results The next most efficient, relabl
Ia Nd cheapest disiniectant that can b
oht, ned is copperas (sulphate of iron
III. b owever, liz OF little OF no use unles
di.solvea in hot water Zone pound to tn
aaIIon, ann poured through sinks whel
p viii come contact with every pip
is.Iin, w uawar ass pool Or vault. Til
should be applied e> cry week ,',hol IN =, wlnle
and two or three times b, WI won ~ sun
mer. In cold water it is "' p"'.'"lly
dsnfectant and in the dry forl. \'"e salt
il is merely useless. o
Other dsinfectants and deoderizers sun
us chloride of lime, carboic acid, sulph.
etc., may well be employed as tn ey are