New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1894-12-10
OYSTERS AND DISEASE.
TALK ABOUT THE RECENT DEATH OF
SEVERAL WESLEYAN STUDENTS
OPINIONS AS TO HOW THE TYPHOID FEVER
GERMS WERE CoMMUNICATED-No REASON
WHY YOU SHOILp STOP EATING
OYsTERS-DR. EDSON TO MAKE
SOME EXPERIMENTS

SOME EXPERIMENTS.
The recent death Of several students of Wesleyan
College Middletown, Conn. from typhoid fever sup
posed to have resulted from the ea"hs Oh CON-
tamnatcd oysters has caused great interest,"
and much discussion. especially in tnis CITY "he'e
the consumption of oysters on the hall smell Is 81
large. Many who have long been accustomed 10
cat these delicate shell-fsh daily are apprehensVe
lest they too should become victims o. disease
communicated to them IN the same supposeu way
That there is little = any good ground Tor such
fear SO far as concerns the oysters soid anu con-
sumed here, seems to be shown In the following
interviews held with leading hsh dealer and sew
eral well-known physicians. some OF "hoi' arc
widely known as experts in bac;eriology
"rhe students VINO died from typho'" 'e'ci inc
other dav said Eugene g. Blackfcid. the Fulton
Market hsh-iealer and ex-presGent ~ the New"
York State Fisheries Commission, were almost
undoubtedly poisoned by the oysters when were
taken from temporary beds near the discharg'ns
point OF a sewer, a, the mouth Of the Qunepac
River a nttlc stream only thrty-hve mics 'o"S
that omp:es into Long Island Sound ABOUT o"e
mile southeast from Ncw-Iaven have been deep-
Is Interested In the sad affair and have investigates
If TO a considerable extent. The students wno a'c
raw oysters were the only ones affected. Tnose
who at the same time. ate only cooked oysters III
which poisonous germs had been destroyed oS '''
cooking were not affected. The oysters hau oec'
taken from distant beds and deposited near INC
Of
them by having a curTen; of fresh water ruhh'h"
over them while the tide cbbng. That process
which Is also known as drinking ana "o"""e'
makes the oy sters plump ana rat iooN'nb' TO-"
ably the oysters had not been hoatei AT we
mouth of the sewer more than twenty-iour ho"'S'
I'm, that was long enough for them to become I'M
pregnated with Demonstrating germs ''o'" Wv
sewage which they absorbed
IAN kinds OF shcl-hsh readily absorb poisonous
matter. have seen soft clans taken OUT Va VI,
docks right here which had become 50 sa'"''','
with sewage that they black and bad smell
inr though they alive. Neither nor any
cher man I'm The fish business would have dafed
oven TO taste single one. There used TO DE- Hu'"
trouble among the oyster beds III fr'hoeS ""''
an account OF the dumping Of city garbage all inc
oysters became poisonous and the BEDS had 10 !"
abandoned After the law provided that sarDds"
should be towed out TO sea ana dumped u''e' '''
.ro,,hl. disappaared and Princes Bay oysters are
NOW all right The oysters In the h'is !" H''"'
XII were destroyed by the refuse from oi. i'
4, ars, they only tasted like kerosene. ana became
known as kerosene oysters. but after a"hhe '"''
hecame unmarketable and died. Then the 'iuuso
Acid bill was passed. and two years ai'c'" ~"
os,er. grow again ana came out In good condi'o'''
while was president Of the Flsaeries comma
sion I procured the appointment OF an o!s''' ~
spector to patrol the places In this ne'shoo'hoo'
oh.re oyster beds situated ana Since ''''' u'".
the public has been fairly we'll protected against
the danger OF recciShs po'"'"''
those sources OF supply.
WHERE OYSTERS SOLD HERE COME fho'''
9TH. oysters sold in this market 90 not come
c-o,, Connecticut New-IIaven oysi'r-pllnt'tS cN-
nor. most OF their crop to England OH' s"'PN :"
oysters in this city comes NANNY ''''' W.
side OF Long Island Rocka"1ys come ''''''
Jamaica Eav and from beds situated along the Shor'
Ja'''"'-" '' -. 49,, I oug Reach Blue
po,,,s come from, the Great South Bay. IN when
the strong tidcway keeps them away '''''
Absorption Of poison not confined n. to sa omc
nsh. but also en,'" mo-, - 20, a i've goldfish from
,r sug rignt here in the Fulton Fisn Market SIP ana
~ ~ i, 70 nv hone While 70 wa o"ins cookcn },
emitted a most dsagreeahie st"nch VT. mined +;
the whole house Aite- !; "a@ c0oh,H -, ,dc
aid found il TO be absolutely hlhy Ih'n MAJ, ,n,
an investigation at the marNei ana ,ou az ,sr@e
o.. nsh had been kept IN the car w" 81 ~" t',
w" Ne when the usual time FOR keeping i've nhn
is only few day. MS ai"c n and dscnarscd il
Contents directly into tnc head OF IN" ZIP ~ t,"
TIE ort sn a %fTg bad ,h@ sever N,ra eu mo
the East River. ana since then thrIf m , '" ~,
49, ~ nsh n this market. ar" lfril So. uH'
they should exercise htiie cauuSn amt sneu as
we AZ OF taste before eating sea food or ~ ia.''
any kind OF food. all OF whSn may nys.ers sold in
his city are clean and healthy ana e tnfns them
sufficient reason for any one - S'"P '"''H ~
through fear OF being poisoned
PHYSICIANS DISCUSS THE SUBJECT.
W
80 sstd. As To whether or not an oyster 'o"'
a,.snrh ,vphod germs In the manner described
do not know never having made speclA' s'"'S
o, the oyster Perhaps oysters may De me "'s'
which consume all kinds OF MIN ana S'' '''''
,.oe, healthy meat. can venture no op'"'""
49,, g., L,ovlng the entire history Of the
,so and tten studying IL ny. | do not Sec now
ever why people In this city should be aifa'' "
eat all the oysters they desire, o,d Dr Henry :
xorris ~ No ~ West Thiriy-fourhst. anu 1,,h ~
the nrs, have known IN %ncI a. +" wsi But
hat typhoid germs were carried by oys.'r' ,hIch
- b 'divsters lie at the mouth Of sever ~h,Ch
is dischargng sewage lhipr, I'm s,omachs would
not be- good receptaclcs for CARRYING 'ne si, ia
Sa~ i,s sewage is more or less contaminaed ny
such germs. l have seen thg So" . sr. about
S fent rom the nodth OF the sewer. ana ,hr
mud in which the oysters ne - "a rrvhoid fever is
not contagious but commnnl@aDls Which the
is intestinal discasS 10 Thcy pass into the
fntrstncs causing intestinal milan, io' rc,dv
by 1lcse, raodI nv boiling the food the natural in;
ference in this case Is that me ~ ,h fatov
W. nmeeiad students Even II that he So howeyef
was a local case and need cause 'o "'''' ~
of 1vs Tmoih IN ri Field allen of No 10 Fast Thirty
slxth-st said that he was nov h nvs~r or It's
auusrnp,bnity 10 Infection from bac to sNprcss re
positive opinion concerniht rly n expcr, bacterol
ogist would be properly auaihcn 10 dsy Of being
ono took more less risk, every Jay. % So, a..
unisoned by infected food. pr Allen sald pu' ~,
rhn,aht here was not much risk IN cat'h1 ''o
oyetcrs supplied ~ the reputable dealers
observation-disclosures OPINION.
"In my opinion" said Or Emanuei na'"'"
| OF No 81 East Seventy-seventh-s'.' p'o,'"D
Of bacteriology and Infectious ,',a, 10,
the Metropolitan Posi-Graduate Meuca' W.
,ego The Flower Hospital and the Women
Medical College 'the oysters did not ar ABSORB ~
,bc germs | think the germs were ci''., ~. ~
.,ic $50 -, g., which the oysters beds lay or the
water in which the oysters were washed a,'.r ,nd
We taken from the beds The germs 10 my mn"
,.are thus brought in contact with the .henJnh
smrface OF the oysters and so conveyed h ;e
gu stouach into the intestines OF those VITO az
, we The germs are small that millions o,
hem can adhere TO a very small surface anu h nJ
hn dscernabie except through microscope W,en