New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1895-01-27
DIR. jacob ON SEWER AIR.
DIPHTHERIA NOT FROM SEWERS BUT
FROM CONTAGION
PLUMBERS AS HEALTHY AS OTHER PEOPLE
TYPHOID FEVER IMPORTED FROM THE

TYPHOID FEVER IMPORTED FROM THE
COUNTRY.
In a paper THE Production Of Disease by Sew
Air" recently published In THE New-fork Medi'
cal Journal" Dr. A. jacob says that tubercle baci
other disease germs have been discovered on the
walls of and suspended in the air, though the
air Is certainly no favorable medium Germs are
heavy and fall to the ground he says. land thus
1t is not unreasonable to believe. but 1t cannot be
proved, that walking child two feet In height may
inhale them more readily than an adult whose re-
spiratory inlet is than five feet above the sur
face 1t is maintained that dryness and the light
of the sun destroy these germs in a few hours.
Indeed" says DR.. jacob. ''pathosenc bacteria
have a hard time Of 1t for they live In high tenn
leTdture only. ond die soon in low one
Contrary 10 popular belief, sewage is not prom
isinS place for them to thrive. and great dilution
destroys them, renders then innocuous For that
reason and because 1t has been demonstrated that
there are fewer heterogeneous in the air of
ers than in that of the street. Dr. Jacob contends
that they rarely carried upward into living
rooms. at all events" he says. the opportunity
for microbes to get out of the dwelling Is greater
than to get into It,"
Germs may enter houses it is said through UNI
trapped drains whenever they not permitted to
leave the main sewer otherwise but unless air
is forced upward. no amount of cholera baclli or
toxine will annoy the population OF houses properly
secured by traps and ventlating shafts. The paper
enumcrates a long list Of ailments which have been
attributed the Inhalation OF sewer air. bat stated
also that among all these there is not one which
can be traced with the knowledge we now possess
to a specific germ"
Sore throa;s and dlph,hera have .ong been charged
TO the influence OF sewer exhaatons. but Or. ia
cobb quoting from the report OF DR.. II. NJ Bggs.
chief inspector Of the New-York Health Depart.
rent says that ''of the 1000 of throat affec-
ton detailed under the heading OF pseudo dphtheria,
which occurred from August T. 1888 to April I. 1894.
in the city " New-Yor.S from the Battery TO One
hundrod-and- twenty hfth-st," none could be sue
cessfuy traced arise from open, leaky or other
wise defective sewers
Or. jacob believes that the large majority OF
cases Of typhoid fever in New-York in September
and October OF every year are imported from the
country and that the disease is bred in the pr,ves
and water-closets OF the farmhouses. boarding
houses and large hotels.
The subject OF diphheria is dealt with fully and
the various causes giving rise to the disease are
discussed. Among the causes. the following is
quoted: THE waste pipe of a washstand sink
may be a cource OF Infection. | refer 10 that part
Of the pipe between the external part OF the eA'e'
nal opening and the nearest trap. Ths see''o'i VI
the sewerage gets the warmth Of the house, mas
quantities Of organic matter poured INTO H. mas
water more or less constantly running through IL,
always contains air. and is consequently a most
nerfect culture ground for many kinds OF bacteria.
The traps may therefore be in perfect order and yet
we may not be safe. Some device to smut OF also
this part of the sewerage system from all commu-
ncation with the atmosphere OF the house seems 70
me badly needed"
"There are as many cases Of diphthera out OF bed
and ont OF doors" the doctor asserts, "as In bed
and indoors and particularly in adults, diphtheria
may last long and give rise 10 few embarrassing
symptoms. and mild case OF diphtheria may pro-
duce very serious by contagion Teachers.
seamstresses sick nurses, workmen. factory grisA
Cling with many people are named Is gooa car ti.
OF the disease The persistent vitality OF the
over years They cling to solid and sem-solid
bodies are imported in milk. cling 10 walls ana
9oors n lows 70 curtains towels clothing, and bed
ding which is often kindly donated 10 me poor
RID rid Of their dangers They stick omnibus and
carriage cushions. to ralcar seats 20 me enne r
ready custom made coat on your shoulders near
which your baby will neste-the very coat tnat Is
sold in Broadway palaces after mas oeen bs Wery ~,
restlessness Of our people the frequency OF moving
is another cause of doubne The number OF EASES.
horses chickens. cows-have and spread phthe. ia
Thss m ss SSsa adne
causes of dphthera new factors wn c % arcsed
proved" Therefore. sewer air need not DC acc"Se0
speaking OF the spreading o. IN rs3errss 10
who had nasal diphthera many months ana r .mrn
travelled half to Eei but ria how on
did he spread from railroad car TO ,o "a bn
from o may have been the physicians who
searched I'm vain for the OF the sporadic cases
suddenly sprinsns up IN tne ons phe roads on which
the ucess French wanderer after ms own VIZ trau
eiier who left days ago just as Sobody may be able
70 trace every outbreak OF cholera 10 the unknown
person who carried 1t upon his person or In his
WhiIe cases of dphtheria which are attributed to
exhalations from sewers are frequent, Dr. jacob
does not subscribe to the theory that sewer gases
the Board Of Health Of Massachusetts, TO the effect
that a positive connection between dphtheria and
Nth cannot be verified. although the latter adds to
the evil influence Of moisture" he calls modest
The paper has this to say on the subject Of the
do not create diphtherIa: they do create dyss40|y
and typhoid, or such a condition OF general ~.
virus ready restns-place; There were plenty Of
maodorous privies and foul smells h'ty years ago.
but no epidemic Of diphthera. Pige<-s. fowls. tur.
just many sources OF dphtheria for man.
Foods of all kinds. vegetables anI milk. will trans
railroad cushions and school desks. No spontaneous
generation is required TO explain its ravages;"
0 ns aats, On S the ssmSny Of Arn
bald Montgomery who gives the following as sum-
mary OF his twenty years experience:
Plumbers do not lose more time from work on
account OF sickness than DO mechanics in general
Examinations from accompanying night SOIL, etc.
may vomiting, but not diarrhoea The enect
typhoid or other fevers are not more common
among plumbers than among other workmen.
The accidents arising from entering sewers are
the result of the presence either Illuminating gas
which has leaked into the sewer from the gas mains,
OF carbon dioxde formed from the decomposition
I'm places where the level OF the sewer s below
the general line carbon doxide Is liable to form Ia
fhs incubation Of an abraded surface with sew
age often leads great local swelling, with impca-
tion Of Emphatic glands and general symptoms OF
There is no discrimination against plumbers b.