Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1909-04-08
HOUSE FLY IS BLAMED
Held Responsible for Much of
the Typhoid Fever.
MORE RIGID INSPECTION
To Root Out Breeding Places of Dis
ease Carriers.
OPINION OF DIR. L. o. HOWARD
Estimates That an Annual Expendi-
ture of About $4,000 Would
Largely Eliminate the Pest.
OPINION OF DIR. L. o. HOWARD

The housefy is held responsible for
much of the typhoid fever in the city.
and war has been declared on him by
j Health Officer w. C. Woodward.
4 Believing that stables not kept in a
sanitary condition are breeding places
for this carrier of disease. Dr. Wood
ward will soon begin a careful and thor
ough inspection Of all stables in the
city with a view to the strict enforce
ment Of the stable regulations recently
| promulgated.
Dr. L. O. Howard. chief OF the bureau
of entomology Of the Department Of
Agriculture, in a recent bulletin esti-
mates that at an annual expense of
about $1,000 the typhoid or house fy
| could be largely eliminated an ele-
ment in the transfer of disease in the
District Of Columbia. He adds that the
typhoid fly is a very important cause Of
a large number of typhoid fever cases in
the District.
Eliminate the Filth.
After discussing experiments showing
the danger Of the house fiy and the bene-
fit of it's determination, DR.. Howard con-
| tinues:
''All this means that II we allow the
accumulation OF filth we will have house
flies and If we do not allow it to accumu-
late we will have no house flies. With the
careful collection of garbage In cans and
| the removal Of the contents at more fire.
uuent intervals than ten days and with
the proper regulation of abattoirS and
more particularly with the proper regula-
| tion of stables in which horses are kept,
| the typhoid fly will become rare species.
| 1t will not be necessary to treat horse
manure with chloride of lime or with kero-
| sene or with solution of Paris green or
arsenate of lead. If stablemen are re-
auired to place the manure daily In a
properly covered receptacle and IL 1t is
carried away once a week.
The orders of the health department
of the District of Columbia. published
May g 1906 If carried out will be very
effective"
Effect Of Inspection.
After giving in outline the regulations
Of the District health department, DR..
Howard continues:
For one reason or another, the chief
one being the lack Of sufficient force of
inspectors under the control Of the health
officers, the ordinance in regard to sta
| bles has not been carried out with that
perfection which the situation demands.
In the summer Of 1886 the health officer
designated region in Washington bound
ed by Pennsylvania avenue, 9th street.
18th street and the Potomac river. which
was to be watched by assistants Of the
writer. Twenty-four stables were located
in this region and were visited weekly
by two assistants chosen for the pur-
pose The result was that on the whole
the manure was we'll looked after and
the number of flies in the region in ques-
ton was very considerably reduced dur
ng the time of inspection.
Were simple inspection of stables all
that is needed. force OF four inspectors.
|
cover the District Of Columbia. examin-
ing every stable after they we're once
located and mapped. once a week. The
average salary of an inspector Is $1,147.
year would be something like $4.5O0 But
the inspectors service Is complicated by
the matter Of prosecution. Much of the
| time of inspectors would be taken In the
prosecution Of the owners of neglected
premises. Moreover. the health officer
has found during the summer of 1908. in
his prosecution of the owners or man
| ayers, of insanitary restaurants. that his
inspectors were practically sworn. out Of
court by the multiplicity Of opposing evil
dence.
Expense About %, 900.
This means that 1T will be necessary
in such cases to send two inspectors to-
gether in all cases. so that the testimony
of one may be supported by the testi-
mony Of the other.
This, perhaps. would double the num-
Der of necessary inspectors, making the
expense Of the service something over
$1,000. 1t is reasonably safe to state.
however. that with such an expense for
competent service. or. perhaps. with a
slightly added expense, the typhoid fly
could be largely eliminated as an ele-
ment in the transfer of disease in the
District of Columbia. and the difficulty
which the authorities have had in locating
the cause OF g. very considerable proDOr-
ton Of the cases OF typhoid in the Dis
trict for the past two or three years indi-
Gates plainly. to the mind Of the writer
that the typhoid fly is a much more i'm
portant element than has been supposed
1t is a comforting, although compare
lively insignificant, fact and matter Of
common observation that in certain sec
tons Of the city the typhoid fly has been
much less numerous during the past sum-
mer than in previous years. The writer
Is inclined to attribute this to the grad
ual disappearance of horse stables in such
sections. brought about by the rapidly in
nootv,r 70 xH~4