Phillipsburg herald. [volume] (Phillipsburg, Kan.) 1882-1905, 1885-11-21
Typhoid Fever aud Its Dissemination.

From Science.
The causation of typhoid or enteric
fever, is involved in great Obscurity.
Some of the best authorities believe that
1t may originate de 4lOUO; in other words
as the great exponent of this theory, Dr.
Murchison, states it, 'the poison Of en-
teric fever is contained in the emana-
tons from certain forms Of putrefyiug
organic matter" and sis often generated
by fsecal fermentation" Other authOri-
ties, equally good, hold that the appear
ance of typhoid fever cases necessarily
presuppOses the existence of a case
which stands to the later ones In the re-
latiOn OF cause to effect, and that, if this
case Is not discovered, it is simply be-
cause the evidence is obscure, or the in
VestlgatOr inexperienced. Unfortunately
the Identification of the typhoid germ
has not yet been satisfactorily determin-
ed, and until it is, we can hardly eXpec-
the mystery now surrounding the prot
ductiOn Of the disease to be cleared
away. In regard to the means by which
the fever spreads, there is more unanim-
ity of opinion. The water of wells which
has become impure from the leaking of
vaults, and CesspOOlS has been shown
over and over again to have caused
typhoid epidemics. Notable instances
Of this have occurred in our own country,
as in Syracuse in 1876, and the more
recent epidemic at Plymouth, Pa.
Milk has also many times been the
medium through which the typhoid
! poison has been disseminated. Impure
water has been used to wash out the
milk cans, if, indeed, it has not served
/ other purposes, and the milk has thus
! become infected. A striking example of
| this medium of COntagiOn was the out
! break Of typhOidat MaryIebOne, London.
/ Within a few weeks 123 families were
/ attacked. Mr.. Radcliffe traced the cause
I Of this outbreak to milk which came
/ from a particular farm on which water
used for dairy purposes contained eZ-
/ cremental matters from g patient suffer
ing from enteric fever Immediately be-
/ fore and at the time of the outbreak"
/ Epidemics occurring at Edinburgh, G1las-
/ gov, Bristol, and Dublin have also been
/ traced to milk. These facts should stir
/ up all health officials to the vital impOr-
! tance of the most rigid scrutiny of the
milk supplied to the people under their
/ charge, and should lead our judges to
inhict the seVerest penalties upon those
] detected In the adulUerat1ou of this most
essential food. That this disease may be
contracted by those who nurse the sick,
is possible, but if this ever OCCURS, 1t Is
/ extremely rare. The discharges from
the intestine are believed to contain the
infective material; and, in the present
state Of our knowledge, to bury these
! discharges in the ground or to cast them
into the sewer without previous disin-
lection, must be looked upon as criminal
1t is not difficult to understand that the
infeCtive material Of such undisinfected
discharges may cling to the interior Of
drain pipes and sewers, and through de-
fsctive plumbing, find admission to the
/ dwelling and sleeping rooms ofthe we'll
This is doubtless the explanation of the
origin Of those cases which are ascribed
to sewer gas.
Typhoid fever is eminently a disease oil
the autumn, aud its greater prevalence
at this season Of the year is attributed by
some to the decay Of vegetation; Others
claim to have found its prevalence tc
/ depend upon the rise and fail of the
ground water. Just how far these con.
dihOns affect the prevalence Of the fever
/ is 8 matter of conjecture, and as they ara
entirely beyond our control, we must IL
our endeaVor toward prevention and re-
stTictons pay strict attention to clsanli
ness In ali its forms, and especially &
the thorough distinction Of the diseharg
es from patients. For this purpose the
committee on disinfectsnts Of the Amer