Middletown transcript., 1909-08-21
should b called ..rxnhoid Flr,,

ID III nnr ignorance considered as harm
lees creature, or. at tile worst, simply a
nuisance, has been shown. as the result Of
scielhitic researches, to be in reality,
Judged from the standpoint OF disease, a
m1sl dangerous insect. DR.. T. O. How
ard, in lis recent investigation Of the
econt mic loss through insects that carry
disease, to which reference was made lat
week, dpyotes chapter 10 the house fly
as carrier OF typhoid bacteria. The
facts brought out are go Startling and so
vitality affect the health OF the cnmmun-
ity, that we are Publishing this chapter
III the current issue .of the Supplement
Limitations of space prevent anything
more ia the present notice than brief
summary Of the salient features Of the
report.
Al the outset emphasis Is laid upon
the TACT that the term =. pllnid f," is
open to some objection az conveying tie
erroneous idea that this Hy il responsible
Tor the spread Of typiniid only. As
matter OF fact, the insect is dangerous
from every point Of view, and is liable to
spread the bacteria Of all the known in.
testinai diseases. The true connection OF
the so-calIed house fly with typhoid fever
and the true scientific evidence regarding
its role as q, carrier OF that disease, have
only recently becn worked out. Celli in
1888 fed h.es with pure cultures OF the
TYPHOID bacillus, and inoculations of ami
mal5 were also made, proving that the
bacilli which pass through flies are viru.
lent. DIR. George M. Koeber, in his re.
port on the prevalence Of typhoid fever
in the District Of Columbia, has drawn
attention to the danger Of the contamina.
ton Of food supplies by flies that have
been in touch with typhoid patients.
The prevalence OF typhoid fever in the
camps Of The United States army during
the Spanish war brought about the ap.
pointment of an Army Typhoid Commits.
sion, which found: First, that the flies
swarmed around the sanitary quarters Of
the hospital, and thin visited and fed
upon the food prepared for the soldiers in
the mtss tents. Secondly, that officers
whose mess tents we're protected by
screens suffered proportionatply Sc from
typhoid than those whose tents were not
so projected. Thirdly, tlrat typhoid lever
gradually disappeared with the approach |
of cold weather and the const quent dis.
ablinR of the fly in the fall Of the year.
The fnal conclusion was that the fly |
carries the typhoid bacillus either by the |
adherence Of injected matter to its feei,
or within iis own,digestive organs.
"In 1899 DR.. Howard made a study OF
the typhoid or house fly, in its relation to
country and city sewage, and he made q
further inl estigation Of the species of in
sects that are attracted by food supplies
in houses. In this investigation he found |
that the typhoid or house fy constituted
98.S per cent. Of the whole number Of in.
sects captured in houses throughout the
whole country, under the conditions in
dicated above. The Importance 81 this
insect as a carrier OF the dreaded disease
in army camps, &c shown in the Spanish
war and in the Boer war aud IN the
camps OF great armies Of laborers engaged
in gigantic enterprises, like the digging Of |
the Panama Canal, is obvious. But il is
certain that, even under city conditions,
the influence Of this a. in the spread Of
disease has been greatly underestimated.
I'm report to the Merchants Associa.
tion Of New York, based upon numerous
observations OF the relation Of flies to III.
testinal diseases, which was published in
December, 1907, it was shown that the
greatest number of flies occurred in the
weeks ending july 9th and August 8 d;
and that the deaths from intestinal dis
eases Fnse above the normal at the same
time at which flies became prevalent; cul
minated at The same high point; aud fell
Of With slight lag At the time Of the grad.
nal iaIling-off of the prevalence Of the in
sects.
"A certain species oi mosqnito has been
demonstrated to be the cause Of the spread
Of malaria. yellow fever is caused BY
another kind o. motquilo; aud now We
know that the supposedly harmless honse
nv is an active agent IN the distribution
Of intestinal diseases. In view Of these
facts, DR.. fioward's contention that this
familiar household insect should hence
forth be known as the typhoid fiy"
would seem TO be we'll made. Z