Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1904-12-30
de2S-d&ds
PURIFICATIoN OF WATER.
How to Get Rid of Typhoid Fever
Germs-Results of Experiments.

F.om American Medicine.
Director Edward Martins enthusiastic
and unconditional advocacy of copper as a
germicide in purifying drinking water con-
taminated with typhoid baclli has at
tracted widespread attention to the work of
Drs. Moore and Kellerman of the United
States Department of Agriculture-much
more probably, than these Investigators had
looked for. AS is well known, the original
object of their researches was to discover
a chemical that would destroy certain
forms of algae that render drinking water
kept in reservoirs offensive to taste and
smell. Copper was found to have this
power in solutions so dilute that-at least,
so Drs. Moore and Kellerman maintain
1T is harmless 10 the consumer OF the
water. The strongest solution found nee
essary is that of one part copper to a
million parts water. In recent address
before the Philosophical Society, Dr. Moore
stated that copper fulfils the three requis-
ties to be considered by municipalities in
undertaking to purify their water supply
from algae. and even from bacterial
growth, namely, efficiency harmlessness
and cheapnesS-a reservoir holding S0.00O,-
coo gallons having been successfully treated
at a cost not greater than $50. There is
sufficient evidence that regarding algal
growth the method is efficient.
1t has been successfully applied in sew
eral New England towns-in Elmira and
Cambridge, n. Y, and in Butte, Mont. Re-
garding its value in destroying typhoid
fever germs, however, opinions are con-
fiicting. DIR. Martin claims, as the result
of some experiments made at the labora-
tory of the bureau of health of Phladel
phia, that typhoid bacilli are destroyed in
drinking water kept in copper vessels for
four hours, the destruction being accom-
plished by the colloidal solution of copper
formed by the action of the water on the
III
however, have been obtained by Professor
John H Long of the Northwestern Univer-
sfty of Illinois, who has investigated the.
subject at the request of the Illinois state
board of health. According to him, while
the death rate of typhoid bacilli is high in
sterilized water placed in contact with cop
per, the germs can persist in suspicious
water for two or three days, and even
longer Professor Long, moreover. claims
that the disappearance of the typhoid ba-
Gill from water in a copper vessel cannot
be attributed entirely to the germicidal
action of copper. Typhoid baclli disap-
pear from ordinary water in from one to
ten days, and from Chicago tap water in
about five days. Hence the disappearance
of the bacilli four hours after their addi-
ton to the water may be due not only to
the action of the copper, but also to the
natural destruction of these bacilli in water
DIR. Pennington of the Philadelphia health
bureau is experimenting at present with
oolloldal solutions of copper obtained by
passing water over electrically charged
copper plates.
But even If copper in the extremely di-
lutte solutions advocated is capable of de-
stroying typhoid bacilli, it still remains to
be settled whether 1t is entirely harmless
to human beings A priori, any chemicaI
capable of destroying resistant bacteria
must be looked upon as harmful to animal
cells, and as the question stands at present.
1t would be unwise for a city to treat it's
whole water supply with copper DR.. Abb
bott, lii the discussion upon DR.. Moore S
paper at the American Philosophical So
ciety meeting, suggested that one of the
six reservoirs of Philadelphia be set apart
for experiments with copper, and this sug-
gestion appears quite reasonable. The op-
portunitles for Investigating the subject
are probably better in Philadelphia than
anywhere else, owing to the number of
separate reservoirs and to the prevalence
of typhoid fever