Vernon County censor. [volume] (Viroqua, Wis.) 1865-1955, 1907-11-20
MICROBES OF DEADLIEsT KIND
LIKELY To BE LYING IN WAIT.
WHAT A PHYSICIAN SAYS
Many Cases Of Mysterious infectious
Diseases Are Caused Simply by
Railway Travel and Diseases Are
Encountered Most Unwittinaly-
Dust a Deadly Enemy.

offers up a sort of prayer that the
dangers OF twentieth-century railways
be escaped. says doctor in the Lon
don Mail. II asked to describe this
barely formed idea of the risks we
run in travelling we would count up ali
the various kinds of railway disasters
we have ever heard OF and say that
these were what We feared. How
many would stop to think of the myri-
ads of invisible enemies to human
life that are lurking IN the comfortable
and luxuriantly upholstered carriages
1 themselves?
Yet there they are, and without
doubt thousands of the cases of infec-
tious diseases that occur day after
day, without any source of contagion
ever being discovered, are caused by
micro-organisms absorbed into the
system during railway travel Outside
of laboratory it would be difficult to
find more eongenial home and breed.
ing place for microbes than modern
upholstered railway carriage. Nearly
all disease-causing bacilH thrive in
moderately warm and dimly lighted
surroundings. Fresh air and abund.
ance OF bright sunshine are detri.
mental to their growth; the crowded
third-class carriages of most railway
lines rarely receive enough of these
two elements to Disturb their minute
dodgers.
Facilities for Mierobe Culture.
A sdsat degree Vi nuaAld4ly Is also
Necessary lor lne con.lJlJ u Certain
nleiOU ms mo.slue Is gens.-
ously applied " me reiays OF pas.
seAsers VINO, D the simple ACT or
DieatHlhs, Keep Tue air sufficiently
moist, 90 that there As no Qauger If
tae mIc.5oes 0eing destroyed by
ueslccatiUn. lie AaIr ana uLner ma.
tellais USED Tor stunning the seats and
Dacks OF lne compartments are admir-
aDiy suited Tor mlcrobe culture. Ihuse
bdclil that particularly dislke. sun-
hgnt and fresh air are very comfort
abe here and they receive a nne in
cubatlng heat from the bodies of the
! passengers.
| II is quite commonly believed that
disease germs viii only live fnr few
days away from the person whose dis
ease bred them. This has been CON
clusiVely proved by experiments not
| to be the case. The microbeorgan.
isms of typhoid, tuberculosis and cere-
bro-spinal fever have been known TO
retain their virulence after months OF
exposure to ordinary conditions 1t
might be asked what were the dis
eases whose specific heterogeneous
could be planted in railway carriages.
DIR. Hamer, in his very interesting
book on hygiene, says; "The breath,
presumably, often acts as a source of
infection in measles, whooping cough,
1 scarlet fever diphtheria, typhus and
mumps and possibly in pneumonia and
| smallpox. Dried sputa are assumed
| to be largely operative in promoting
/ the spread of phthisis Consumption
of the lungs"
! In this last disease. tuberculosis OF
the lungs. lies the greatest danger in
railway travel. People who take
much thought of their personal ny
giene in all other ways do not com
plain against spending hours at
time In an ilI-ventilated. rarely (if
ever disinfected compartment, that
makes home in its dusty cushions
| for tuberc'e bacilli received from hun
dreds of former consumpive passen-
gers.
The Dust Oar ger,
Another great DANCE to health in
travelling is the universal presence OF
dust. The upholstery and curtains
afford excellent harborage for dust
and other kinds of dirt in large guam
| titles. The dust in itself is a great
menact to health and the majority OF
| the colds in the head so frequently
contracted in travelling are due to this
cause. The inhalation OF coal dust is
another factor causing discomfort and
some danger to health Most Of the
railroads in the United States use
hard coal and this reduces the dis
comforts end dangers of coal dust to
l u hIlhAihAlis III IsAEAailhs NDWtNGEs
soft coal is almost invariably used
and In consequence particles of SCOT
are continually breathed in during a
journey. The smarting, burning feel
ing of the eyelids often noticed after
an hour or two in the train is due TO
/ fine PARTICLES of SCOT that settle on
the eonjunctive Of the eyes.
The greatest danger. however, Of
the accumulated dust in carriages
7 lies In the facilities that these dust
particles lend to the spread OF infect
ious diseases. Whenever a door is
opened or shut or any movement IS
made IN the compartment clouds Of
dust are set in commotion and myri-
ads Of heterogeneous that had been
lying dormant on the walls and floors
start of on q new hunt for a more
congenial habitat. This they too Of
ten find In the respiratory passages
Of the travellers.
Duty on Railroads.
The question OF the duty OF rail-
roads In safeguarding the health OF
their passengers has received a great
deal OF attention lately in America
One authority suggests that the raj.
way COMPANIES be compelled 70 fit az
a portion Of each train for tubereu
Z Ia, fs naggenparR These ffruuary