The Portland daily press., 1898-09-26
FLIES CARRIED TYPHOID.
Report on the Spread of the Disease in the
Camps.

why the soldiers suffered from typhoid
fever and the War Department has been
moving every thing to discover and eradi-
his deadly work, all the time unsuspeeted.
Blame has been cast on the water supply
of the camps, on the food, rains, and the
location of the camps, on the food, and
on the surgeons, but hitherto the fly has
escaped. But he has been dicovered, and
at last the blame has been placed where
it belongs. 1t was the common, busy
housefly that caused the typohid fever in
the camps and is directly responsible for
the deaths of hundreds of brave soldiers.
This is the scientific conclusion of u COM
mission of scientific men, appointed to in
vestigate the condition of the camps, the
cause of tryphoid fever in them. and au-
thorized to recommend measures to pre-
vent its spread and for its prevention In
the future. The commission is composed
of Major Lee, DR.. Vernon .. Vaughn and
DR.. Shakespeare of Philadelphia, all
prominent surgeons and members of the
Army Medical Corps. The commission
has spent several weeks in the Southern
camps, going over the ground in the most
thorough manner possible, and has en-
bodied it's conclusions in a report to the
War Department. The commission is a
unit in declaring that the fly is response
BILE for the prevalence OF typhoid fever in
the camps, and brings forward apparently
indisputable facts to support its conclu-
sion.
The report is considered of the greatest
Importance, not only to the War Depart
ment and the army but to science itself,
and will undoubtedly be the subject of
much discussion. 1t is expected to have
great influence in determining the future
course of the War Department in dealing
with typhoid fever in the camps, and the
members of the commission are willing to
base their regulations as physicians and
scientists on the accuracy of their concl u.
sions. s
Surgeon Lee stands high ingthe army /;
DR.. Vaughn is leading professor in the
University of Michigan, and Dr. Shakes
peare is one of the leading surgeons in
Philadelphia, and hasHbeen Government
expert on cholera. Therefore, while the
report of the commission is unusual and
rather surprising, it is not intended as a
jest and will receive the highest consid-
GRAFTON. The commission visited the camps
at Jacksonville, II untsville, Fernandina
and Chickamauga. Everywhere 1t found
typhoid fever and found it spreading. 1t
was there to discover where the typhoid
fever cayue from, why 1t spread and how
to prevent the sp read. 1t was also to dis
cover, if possible, how typhoid fever could
be prevented in other camps.
The commission found that in the ma
jority of cases the typhoid fever was
brought originally to the camp by regi-
ments coming from the State camps. At
Chickamauga the commission found the
location almost ideal; the ground was
firm, the drainage good, the water excel
lent and the weather, although warm,
was superb. Yet typhoid fever was preva-
lent there. The first question was how
did the fever get there. After inevesti-
cation, the commission concluded that it
had undoubtedly been brought in by the
regiments from their State camps, The
commission then sought to learn why the
disease had spread and how it had spread.
The water supply of the camp was almost
entirely obtained from Chickamauga
Creek, and the water was said to be re-
sponsible for the spread of the disease.
But one company did not get it's water
from Chickamauga Greek and never had
got It's water from that source, yet many
of it's members were i'll with typhoid few
er.
Ihe commission found that fl les, as
was naturally the case, were present in
the camp by the millions. 1t was the
same way IN every camp, their numbers
being equalled only by those ~of the flies
which infested Egypt during Pharaoh s
plaques. The surgeons looked into ths
matter further and found that the flies
fed off the focal matter from the hosp1.
tails, and then at meal time shared the
hardtaok and bacon of the soldiers. In
the first instance the fly picked up in his
six hairy little feet iDtinitesimal PARTICLES
containing the germs of typhoid fever,
and as he merely promenaded over the
hardtack and bacon he deposited, them
there. One fly could do little harm, but
millions of them conveyed sufficient
quantity of germs to inoculate large num-
bers of the soldiers. The incubation was
slow but sure. s
The accuracy of this conclusion is, to
the minds of the members of the commits
soin simply demonstrated in the case of
the company above mentioned, which
drank no water from Chickamauga Greek.
This company escaped the attack of ty-
pnoid fever until after heavy and pro-
longed rainfall. Then number of the
mem bers of this company were taken Ill
SOfAo@e>S~~A~
mediately reached that it's water supply
had become contaminated and that it was
due to this fact that the fever made its
appearance. But the Medical Commission
holds that this was not the case. Every
one knows that during rains and threat
ening weather flies hunt cover and become
more persistent in their attentions to
human beings than when they are able to
skirmish for food in the open air. AS
soon as the rain began at Chickamauga
the flies took refuge in the tents of this
company, and before they had been there
long number Of the men were down
with typhoid fever.
The commission found that in all the
camps typhoid did not appear in isolated
cases, but that whole messes, and in some
cases whole tents of soldiers wenta down
with the disease at the same t1me,, show
ing conolusively that the fault lay with
the food. At Jacksonville the commits
sion found that there was little typhoid
fever, owing to the fact tEat the sinks
were connected with the sewers and fire.
quently flushed. At Fernandina, where
the system of tub sinks prevailed, it was
found that the system worked very badly
instead of very we'll, as had been the uni
versal opinion. These tubs were collected
every morning and hanled to sewer,