Phillipsburg herald. [volume] (Phillipsburg, Kan.) 1882-1905, 1883-12-13
How Typhoid is Spread.

An item in one of the New York pa
pers states that little local epidemic Of
typhoid fever in New jersey had been
traced back to the dairy of one of the
farmers who supplied the town with
milk. A case of typhoid III his house
had been distributed in his milk through
out the entire neighborhoOd. 1t is not
always that suspicious of the agency of
milk in such cases are proved good. "A
notable case in point is the epidemic of
last year in the upper part of New York
Island, at Carmansville. This was at
first attributed to one of the milk-deal-
ers, who was in consequence nearly
ruined. But thorough inspection by
the Board of Health, who were at
first completely baffled, finally traced
the disease to an accumulation of water
in the end of a sewer which had no out
let. The opening of the sewer ended
the fever.
A case of more than usual interest in
sanitary detection is reported by the Pail
Mall Gazette. During August the number
of cases of typhoid fever in st. Pancras
Vestry, London, which usually has an
average Of forty to fOrty-tive, rose to
two hundred and twenty-three, and the
disease spread until four hundred and
thirty-one persons had been attacked,
and sixty two died. A map of the track
of the epidemic showed that it was indie
pendent of the drinking water, of the
plumbing and sewerage, and of the To-
calitv. 1t was then found out that of
the four hundred and thirty-One who
had been taken down three hundred and
sixty-eighth obtained their milk from
one man. Wherever this mans milk
carts went the fever followed.
An examination of the premises of the
suspected dealer was made without re-
vealing the slightest cause or the origin
of the typhoid there. But when his
sources of milk supply were investigated
it was found that the houses that were
infected had all been taking milk which
he had procured from one place, farm
ut st. Adams. One step further was
gained when 1t was found that several
of the railroad porters who had-as rail-
road porters will do when they have a
chance-been taking drinks on the sly
out of this st. Adams milk had come
down with typhoid. The farm was Wis
tied and there was the fever raging
among its residents, and being distrib-
uted from them into the distant homes
of London.
The theory of the medical officer who
performed this clever bit of detective
work, as to the way in which the fever
originated on the farm itself, is interest
ING. He noticed that the well and cess
pit of the farm were within twenty feet
of each other A sycamore tree over
hangs both well and cesspool. Its roots
spread as far underground as its
branches overhead, and along them
water could easily percolate from the pit
to the well. The milk-pans were washed
in the water from the well, and in that
way probably caught the contagion of
the deadly filth which they transmitted
through the milk into the blood of Lon
don.
The increase oftyphoid in this country
is probably an indication that we are
losing the comparative immunity which
the sparseness of our population and the
newness of the country have hitherto
given us from the contamination OF our
water-supply by recklesness like that Of
the st. Adams farmer, which is as fire.
quent in this country as in England
Chicago tribune,