The weekly Floridian. [volume] (Tallahassee, Fla.) 1867-19??, 1889-07-09
COM OF INFEC.
TnOV.
Scientific American.

From the number of cases reported of
infectious diseases that have been COM
municated through articles that have
been in the possession of those afflicted
with such diseases, it would seem that
greater attention should be given this
matter. The virulence of many disease
germs has been shown, says the Sanitary
News, to be of long life, capable of being
transmitted through many years. Cases
of scarlet fever, diphtheria, and typhoid
fever have been reported in which the
Infection was communicated by articles
that had been possessed by the sick years
before
In cases of small pox and yellow fever
Infection by this means is considered
we'll enough founded and dangerous
enough to make the destruction of cloth.
ing and all articles exposed to infection
imperative by general law of health
departments If such articles are not
burned, they must be subjected to disin-
fection by steam at high temperature
Our public and circulating libraries,
secondhand " book, clothing, furniture,
and other stores, are all means bv which
disease germs could be communicated
Dealing in secondhand " goods has
grown to such an extent that almost all
communities have representatives in their
midst. Goods may be on the tables of
the secondhand " dealer or broker
which could have hung in the room of
one afflicted with some infectious disease
for weeks, and no one who may want to
purchase, or even the dealer himself, know
of it. Or there may be the furniture, or
even the bed and bedding on which the
patient lay.
Probably the most danger lies in books.
With most patients there is a time in
their sickness when they want books with
which to pass the hours of convalescence.
The home library seldom is sufi cient, and
the public or circulating library is re-
sorted to. The book goes from this pa
TENTS into another's hands, bearing all
the seeds of disease of which it is capa-
BILE. Either there is danger of communi-
eating disease in this way, or the germ
theory is failure.
This matter has been deemed of such
Importance that in many European coun-
tries extensive Investigations are being
made regarding the infectiousness of
books handled by the sick The investi-
CATION should extend to all "second-
hand" goods, and be conducted with
great care and minuteness. In comment
ing on this subject the editor ofthe Chris
tiania Norway Sanitary Journal gives
the following personal experience, which
is but one of similar cases reported:
In 1916 an eight-year brother of my
wife was taken down with scarlet fever
and died During his illness he frequently
amused himself by looking over large
picture book. This, together with several
other Of his useful playthings, was packed
away in chest after his death. Twenty
six years atterward, in 1872, a sster-in-
law of mine journeyed across the channel
to England, where | was then residing,
and with her came the chest and the pic
ture book. On the second day the chest
was opened and the book presented to
my two-year old son. Within the next
two weeks The little fellow was taken
down with scarlet fever. The doctors
who were called in consultation wondered
how the disease was contracted, as there
had been no scarlet fever in the town for
years. The circumstances of the book
were called to mind, and the indications
were clearly that the twenty.six year old
book had retained the poison and COM
municated it to the child.
Had not this book been mentioned and
it's history given, here would have been a
case OF "spontaneous " scarlet fever.
Phthisis is said to be communicated by
sweepings from carpets in the rooms oc-
cupied by such patients, yet second
hand !" carpets are not only placed on sale,
but hung out of store windows and dis
played on the sidewalks. and no one
knows how contaminated they may be
from the expectorations of the consump-
tive.