Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1905-12-19
Mistellausuus 8eadins.
THE DEADLY HOUSE FLY.
The Most Active Agency In Dissent
natino Typhoid, Cholera, Etc.

The Most Active Agency In Disserni-
mating Typhoid, Cholera, Etc.
It is probable that the next import
ant step in sanitation will be declar-
alton of war against the musca domes-
tica, or ordinary house fiy-a war to
be carried on as resolutely as that
started few years ago against the
ubiquitous mosquito. There are still a
few medical men. who think that too
much has been made of the germ
theory of disease. The facts are over
whelming against these sceptics; but
the fighters Of microbes and bacteria
are beginning to realize that they
should not confine their attacks to the
microscopic organisms, but must also
demolish the visible insects and other
carriers Of disease. There is good rea-
son for the belief that smallpox, ty-
phus, the plague and other deadly ma
ladies are largely spread by feas, rats
and other domestic parasites and ver-
min, whose systematic determination
would therefore mean a large decrease
In human mortality the world oyer.
In our own country and in Europe
the darkest blot on the good name Of
the sanitarians is the wide prevalence
Of typhoid fever and the shocking NOR
tality among infants. The waste Of
child life is largely due to overcrowd-
ing, want of fresh air, improper meth
DDS Of feeding, and parental intemper-
ance; but these factors are mostly In
uninterrupted operation throughout the
year, and do not account for the sud-
den increase in mortality during the
months which are consecrated to the
fly. In the Journal Of the Royal Sant-
tary Institute, an English medical Of
ficer Of health, DR.. ]. T. c. Nash, ex-
presses his conviction that musca do
mestica is chiefly responsible for this
increase. Milk is one Of the favorite
foods of flies and the milk In our
houses, especially In the homes Of the
poor, is constantly exposed to their
visits. Even when they do not resort
to their favorite method Of commit
ting suicide, they contaminate the
milk with the noxious matter cling
ing to their feet, and thus the germs
of disease find new and favorable
medium for multiplication.
DR.. Nash takes the position that milk
is even more liable to pollution after
than before delivery to the purchaser.
This may be true. and, II so, 1t Is a
very important point In sanitation. At
the same time, his convictions which
are based on observations made at
Southend as to the coincidence Of In
fantile diarrhoea with the number OF
flies raised the question as to whether
sufficient attention is paid to fiies at
the dairies where the cows are housed
and the milk Is stored. All milkmen
keep horses. and DR.. L. o. Howard has
shown that most Of the house flies
breed in horse dung. This furnishes
the key to the remedy, which Is thus.
most fortunately. infinitely simpler
than in the case OF mosquitoes. 1t
would be well to compel farmers and
others to take measures to keep the
flies from the manure pits, which Is
quite easy That would not only re-
duce infant mortality, but decrease the
number Of typhoid cases,
In view Of what has been said and
what is known Of the filthy habits OF
flies, it is not surprising that so many
city dwellers safe at home, should
come from an outing In the country
smitten with typhoid. Heretofore taint-
ed wells have been held responsible for
these cases, but in all probability flies
are very frequently the culprits, This
probability Is largely increased by the
sad experiences Of our army In the
summer Of 1898. It was shown album
dainty at that time that the most care
full system Of water supply is unsatis-
factory IL there is sewage and II
there are flies about to pollute the food
and drink. Surgeon Gen. Sternberg.
knew Of this danger. AS early as April
in that year he issued circular In
which he referred to 1t. His instruc-
tions were, however, ignored, with the
result that over 81 per cent Of the SOL
diers in the encampments that sum-
mer had typhoid and over 80 per cent
of the deaths during that year were
from the one cause.
It Is the same with cholera, which
disappears when flies disappear. A
F>renchman of science Prof Chante-
MESA, has recently demonstrated the
role played by flies In the dissemina-,
ton Of the germs of that disease. For
tunately, as his experiments proved,
the cholera germs in flies lose their
virulence after forty-eight hours.
Modern experience certainly points to
the conclusion that the fly is the most
dangerous Of all animals-more so even
than the deadly mosquito. 1t Is so,
certainly, in our climate, where the
mosquitoes specialties, malaria and yell
low fever are much rarer than infan-
tile maladies and enteric. fever. But
even in India, for instance, one can
easily imagine that in cholera time,
amid the prevailing horribly insanitary
conditions, flies must slay their mil
lions-probably quite as many millions
as the mosquitoes slaughter with the
malarial germs.-New York Evening
Post.
ORIGIN OF MOTHER GOOSE.