The Pioche weekly record. [volume] (Pioche, Nev.) 1877-1900, 1897-10-28
DOOM OF THE OYSTER.
A Medical Authority Condemns II
as Human Food
The Hivalves Said 20 Be rssmina
with Typhoid BaeiIm ana
Other Germs-An Instance
In Proof

The opinion of a celebrated writer ON
medicinal subjects is that the oyster
mus go if the hitherto consumer would
feel reasonably secure of his health.
The writer goes ON to show that more
than 20 years ago, while he was pursu-
ing a postgraduate course of study in
biology, he discovered that a drop of
oyster juice contained millions of
putrefected bacteria. Since that
time he has never eaten an oys-
ter. His opinion is that a crea-
ture whose diet consists of the
offal Of the ocean, dining upon material
so filthy and noxious in character that
1t requires unoeasing activity of liver
constituting nearly one-half of the bulk
of It's body TO protect it from impending
death, car under no circumstances be
Il for use as a human aliment. In the
article referred TO it is shown how a
case Of typhoid fever in the family of
the prince of Wales several years ago
was traced directly to the use of the
oyster as a food. The health officer of
Dublin about ten years ago traced an
epidemic Of typhoid fever to the same
source The British Medical Journal
.Ias given much attention to this sub
| ject and reaches the conclusion to which
nearly all bacteriologists have come,
/ that where shell fish have been sub
/ iected to contamination those partak
4 ing OF such shell fish are exposed to the
grave danger of infection.
Two or three years ago an epidemic
! OF typhoid fever in Wesleyan university
at Middletown, Conn, was traced direct
lv to the use of oysters that had been
| fatteucd at the mouth of drain, which
drain came from house where a sui
fcrer from typhoid fever had died. A
fact worth repeating in connection with
this incident is that among those stu
dents ri 10 eschewed raw oysters, eat
ing cqiy those that had been thoroughly
cool eJ, there was no typhoid. Nearly
all those, however, who partook of the
roy material suffered and several died
In answer to the suggestion that un
wholesome oysters can be prevented b'
seeing TO it that oyster beds are main
tanned whore there is no sewage, tn
written insists that to be successful oy
81 or beds must generally be located
about thc mouths of rivers and nea
solae lalac city 50 that contamination !
the ru!c, not the cSception The laa
gEage Of the Brit sh Medical Journa
In t. ;ng Of this subject is:
.T!c oyster is fciI Of typhoid bacill
Ii cats taeG as a tidbit. 1t will no
mss O. chance Of s4allowing million
cs the a,.schief ma ing germs if the I
rortu:.ty is afforded and such an o.
rolt,A ~ is sure to come to every ol
star TINT lives long enough. lnGeet
tk,s tas very bus ness for which u;
ture designed the oyster so it cannot
censuTad for it's activity in collectin
typhoid baclli and other germs"
The conclusion of the whole matter
drawn bv the writer is that the onl
safet is to discard the oyster from ol
bill of fare altogether, that it may
wholesome and proper food for co
molGnts, fish hawks and turkey bu
yards, but that the human stomach WI
never intended TO be sepulcher +
scavengers no matter whether mari
or mundane-Modern Medicine.