East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current, 1907-08-24


ment in the spread of typhoid fever
and other summer diseases is held by
physicians, and the subject is treated
in detail in the following paper from
DR.. c. ]. Smith of this city. The pa
per was read before the meeting Of
the Eastern Oregon medical society
at Hot Lake and was published in the
August number of the Medical SEN
tinel:
As sanitarians, our chief duty
comes from the prevention of disease
rather than its suppression after 1t
has once gotten foothold in a given
community. 1t doubtless is the duty
of the practitioner Of medicine to as
sist the community in the suppress
sion of disease, but it is the duty, on
the other hand, of the sanitarians to-
lend such help and advice as is me-
cessary for the prevention of not only
an epidemic, but sporadic cases Of the
so-called preventive diseases.
Insomuch that there are so many
methods whereby disease may be
communicated from one individual to
another, 1t is useless for me in this
brief paper to attempt to discuss the
various methods of communicating
disease. Useless it is to enter into
any argument as to whether disease
may be infectious or contagious, or
both; but-to avoid such argument we
will in this paper speak of such dis
eases as being communicable"
1 shall endeavor in this paper to-
deal with only one form of COM
municating disease. form which, in
my opinion, has been overlooked and
much neglected, especially with the
communication of such diseases as ty-
berculosis. The particular agent of
communication which l shall discuss
here is the ordinary house fly known
among scientists as the musca do
mestica. While We ordinarily con-
slider typhoid fever a water born
disease, WHICH it doubtless is in most
instances; and as a matter of face
We consider tuberculosis an air born
disease, which it is in most instances;
and we consider the acute dysintery
a disease born by water and food,
which 1t is in most instances; but,
the method by which the food or
water, as the case may be, is con-
taminated is, in my opinion, frequent
ly overlooked, namely, by the little
house fly.
1t is useless in this paper to enter
into a discussion as to the habits of
this little pest.
What Flies Feed Upon.
1t is a we'll known fact that this
pest, during the season in which he
exists, namely, from April till No
vember in the temperate zone, feed
not only upon ordinary foods but up
on excrementitious material, sputum
and other dejecta and then finds his
way, except where he is screened out,
to all articles of food, and there de-
posits his own excrementitious mate
rial which he, carries, but in no way
affects the bacillus tuberculosis or
the bacillus typhosus by having
passed through the alimentary tract
of the fly.
On the contrary, it has been demon
strated that there is a multiplication
at least of the bacillus typhosus In
the alimentary tract, and that 1t in
no way-loses its virulence by having
passed through this insect, and by
being again deposited in the food or
drink, and thereby contaminate or
inoculate as 1t were, the food fresh
with bacillus typhosus. While this
same food may be taken in few
minutes or in a few hours by the hu-
man being and IL the digestive sys-
tenn Is not in its most perfect condi-
ton, acting in every way physiologi-
cally, it will find growth and develop
within eight to is days full fledged
case of typhoid fever. On the other
hand and practically the same way
is the tubercular bacilli conveyed to
to the alimentary tract of human be-
ings by this common pest known as
the house fly. 1t has been demon
strated that three days after the in
gestion of tubercular bacilli or the
ingestion of excrementitious material
containing the bacillus typhosus that
this same bacillus may be found In
the excrement of the fly; hence. the
necessity of guarding our food and