The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1908-09-13
HOLD MILK SUPPLY
AS A GRAVE MENACE
Findings and Recommendations
Bear Out Contentious of DR..
Lloyd Magruder.
Continued from first Page1

i a large percentage Of eases Of typhoid
[ fever were imported into the District
OF Columbia. that males were slightly
more susceptible than FEMALES. and that
contrary TO the usual condition as as
serted elsewhere, ths disease in the
I District IS much more prevalent among
children than among PERSONS in early
adult hf5
The meteorological examination OF
water was confined to that supplied
from the Potomac river, this now being
almost the sole supply OF water for the
k city Of Washington. Three examina-
( tons were made at the filtration plant,
at the Department Of Agriculture. and
at the HygicnIc laboratory.
! The results SAYS The report. show
the great extert Of bacterial publication
which The water underwent ia ats pas
sage through the storage reservoirs and
inter beds.
| according 20 meteorological stan
cards Of pure water, the water Ieliv-
cred through the filtration plant to the
/ city Of Washington during May, June.
July. and August. 1901 was OF a high
! degree OF purity, and on this evidence
/ alone It would appear justifable 20
| exclude the water as a factor In the
| conveyance Of typhoid fever Infection"
The Milk Question
| After thus vindicating the water SUD
| ply Of Washington ard the work Of the
/ filtration plant, which has been mich
n.aligned an5 misunderstood, the re-
! pert turns 10 milk used n The District
Of Columbia
Considering only the cases definitely
attributable 10 milk and the number OF
| secondary cases, contracting the lufeC-
ton directly or indirectly from them.
| The report states, III is evident that
Tie milk problem in the District of
! Columbia is grave and important. and
one requiring the serious attention OF
/ sanitary authorities"
The report contains data Cn the trac-
| i1gs Of several milk epidelaIcs and the
running down Of several distinct out
/ breaks. as well as individual cases 10
dairy farms IN tracing some CT these
outbreaks through ths milk, apparent
1 cause was frequently found. according
10 the report. In this connection"
/ continues the report, 'ft IS interesting
10 note that for both J506 and 1901, milk
dealer No 10 had a conspicuousIy small
number OF cases OF. typhoid fever, pro-
| pOrtionate 10 the amount II milk sold.
I This dealer is the only one in Wash
/ ington who both sterilizes The bottles
and pasUeurizes the milk The low
! typhoid fever rate among The customers
Of milk dealer No 10 is significant and
| perhaps IS a fair index Of the result
4 which would be accomplished by the
! pasteurizatiOn Of the general milk sup
/ ply Of Washington
City's Milk Supply.
The milk supply Of the city is OBJ
| tanned from about leo GARY farms
| scattered through Virginia, Maryland.
! the District Of Columbia, and a few
/ even II Pennsylvania ana New York
Some Of this milk is sent direct from
/ the dairy farms TO the consumer, but
1 the bulk OF II. however, is shipped fro=a
! the farms TO the siv+y-fve OF seventy
/ diaries operating IN the District Of
| Columbia where IL Is mixed. before
/ delivery Some OF the Cairies in Wash
! ington receive milk from as many as
/ thirty to forty farms. 1t is evident
| that a supervision over these various
! dairy farms and diaries sufficiently
! thorough to prevent he Introduction Of
I typhoid fever infection into milk would
/ require q large force Of inspectors and
/ could be done only at a great cost.
/ Therefore the treatment of milk before
| II is delivered 10 the consumer by some
! process (pasteurization) which viii de
| stroy any possible infection contained
| therein and at the same time not in
/ pair the food value Of the milk, seems
\ u be at the present time the cheapest
| and most practical method Of prevent
/ ing the conveyance Of typhoid fever
! infection by milk.
The history OF the cases in regard 20
] the use Of ice cream within thirty days
/ prior TO the onset OF illness was as fol-
! lows: Three hundred and forty-five ate
! il from time TO time. los ate none, and
/ for fifteen the facts were not deter
mined. No cases this year were traced
/ 10 infected ice cream, but an view Of
1 the bad sanitary conditions under which
much Of the ice cream sold in Wash
/ ington is made ana handled Cparticu-
1 larry by street veDaers) a certain num-
Der of scattering cases probably were
| caused by infection through ice cream. -
/ II is also stated in the report that
| contact had a large part in the trans
mission of the disease. 1t was not con
fined to any occupation or to any
! class, and was widely scattered.
Conclusions Reached.
| The conclusions reached by these emf
nent medical men are pointed, and their
! recommendations drastic. They are as
/ follows:
Much Of the typhoid fever in the Dis
/ trict OF Columbia is imported.
/ Many cases in the District Of Co
] lumbia are contracted through contact
with persons. or with articles handled
/ or soiled by persons in the febrile stage
Of the disease The especial prevalence
/ Of the disease among children in the Dis
/ trict Of Columbia probably has an i'm
/ portant bearing on the spread Of the
/ infection by contact.
! infected milk is one OF the important
/ known factors in the spread Of the dis
] ease in the District of Columbia.
THE filtered Potomac river water dur
| ing the typhoid season Of 1907 (AIay to
| September) was. according 70 present
bacterioIogic standards, Of good sani-
tarv quality and so far as could be
ascertained was not responsible for the
spread Of the infection.
/ IN the typhoid season Of 1907 there
were about 200 cases less than in the
1906 period. This improvement IN the