Highland recorder. (Monterey, Highland County, Va.) 1877-1972, 1906-04-06
Flies AS Carriers OF Disease.

Now let me picture to you some
Of the habits of the fly, and then
we shall see if it is unreasonable to
believe that he is an important
in the spread of disease. Turn
about yon and see the swarms OF
flies upon decaving vegetable mat
term the garbage cans, on the
manure piles, everywhere. Watch
The flies swarming upoa the filth
of the streets, such as srutum and
spit, and bones and decaYing yege--
tables. Follow him further, and
see him alighting upon the candy
offered for sale by the street yend-
ers. and on all the fruit stands.
especially The grapes and dates.
Don't tarry here too long, for you
will be Disguised, and will cease to
eat fruit favored viii tiyspecks,
keep right Oh in sthe quest after
this insects habits, and notice the
bakery where you buy your bread
and cakes and pies flies thereto
put on The finishing layer. And
the meats, have you observed how
they are carried in open wagons
through the streets without pro-
lection, covered with flies. and then
hung up in the shop where these
same flies ard others swarm upon
them? Cooking this meat does
not change the fact that this ls
simply nasty. There is no other
word fer it.
Then, after you have been in the
butchers shop, keep right on to
the restaurant kitchens, and alleys
back of the m, Especially the cheap
ones. don't say you ever eat
there, but if you ever have you
wont 60 there again it you will'but
make one visit to these kitchens.
But there are others who must,
perchance, eat there, and it is these
whom we should protect, not alone
from these filthy insects, but from
the disease which they carry.
And we must go into the shops
and homes Of the po0r-those UNI
forimEates whose houses are not
protected by screens to keep out
flies. There you will indeed be dis.
sustfd! Flies everywhere! In the
children's mouths and noses; in the
house, out of The house, on the
food lefs there upon the table,
which i, never cleared, OH the
left over, which the children eat at
all times between meals, in the
milk pitcher, in the soup, in the
mola.ses. iuupon every conceivable
thing! But at this point | feel
that you are beginning to doubt.
You are saying to yourselves that
it is true that the fly is filthy, but
you are even saying that the food
is cooked, and that the process will
kill any bacteria that might have
been planted by flies. ALI, but you
forgot al d overlook the danger. 1t
is granted that cooking will de-.
stroy all these bacteria readilv' but
1t is not here that the danger lies.
It is the food which has been cook
ed and upon which the fly after
wards alights that is the real dang
err, and the longer this food re-
mains uneaten after this" contami-
nation the greater the probability
that colony has grown, thereby
increasing the dosage of infection.
For YOU must see that in cholera,
say, where the fly planted but Il
bacili on potatoes or bread pud-
ding, or something left over from
meal, rapid growth would fol-
low in Il few hours time, increasing
thereby the number of bacteria
enormously.
This is no idle picture of the
dangers from fly infection have
spent siderable time in watch
ing flies, and we know that their
deipcia alone contain millions OF
bacteria. | have furthermore paid
particular attention to their habits
in TIE homes of the poor, for here
IS where here is the greatest dang
err. The poor, nearly universally