The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1909-07-29

favorable for visitation by infected
flies. The house fly is connected
with the dissemination Of intes-
final diseases other than typhoid
fever.
DR.. Jackson, of New York,
points out that the immunity from
diarrhpa of breast-ted babies and
the frequency of its occurrence
among artifcially fed babies indi-
Gates strongly the food as a medi-
um of transmission, and further
states that in his extended study
of this problem along the water
front Of New York City during
1907 he found that the prevalence
OF these diseases among children
and adults correspondent to the
prevalence of flies. Further Dr..
Felt IN a recent paper states that
1T IS we'll known that flies teed
upon sputum. Experiments by
Lord recorded in the Boston Med
ical and Surgical Journal show
that flies may inject tubercular
sputum and excrete tubercular
bacilli, the virulence of which
may last for at least fifteen days.
He considers the danger of human
infection from this source to lie in
the injection of fly specks on food,
and suggests that during the fly
season great attention should be
paid to the screening of rooms and
hospital wards containing patients
with tuberculosis and laboratories
wheIe tubercular material Is ex-
amined.
In Bulletin No. IS Of the Blu
reau of Entomology, United States
Department of Agriculture, which
should be read by every person in
the State, Dr.. Howard cites among
other interesting data that DR.. G..
Rober estimates that the decrease
IN the vital assets of the country
through typhoid fever in single
year is more than $3.50, 600, 900.
DR.. Howard says that the house
fly as an important agent in the
spread of this disease is response
bic for a considerable portion of
this decrease in the vital assets.
As an agency in the spread of
other intestinal diseases it must
be charged with a great addition
to this sum. Yet it is allowed to
breed unrestricted all over the
United States.
While the house fly cannot, of
course, be charged exclusively
with the dissemination of such in
testlnal diseases, the writer fully
believes that no single factor aids
in their spread during the fly sea-
son to a greater extent than this
common pest of mankind.
Further than this the house fly
is a vexatious nuisance in itself.
Its presence in house causes ad-
ditional cleaning to paint work,
walls, pictures, etc, as we'll as be-
ing continual nuisance to the in
habltants whether asleep or awake
in the day time. DR.. Howard es-
Inmates that The house fly with
mosquitoes neCessitates an annual
outlay for window and door screens
in the United States of not less
than ten millions of dollars" Even
this amount is comparatively moth
ing to what should be spent for
this purpose without there is and
what we hope will be in the near
future a united campaign conduct
ed by the people in preventing the
pest from reproducing.
On account of their omnicresence
the task of getting rid of house
flies would seem too great. For
tunately the matter is much sim
pier than we might expect. 1t
simply means a proper care in the
disposal of their preferred larval
food, horse manure, and the main
tenance of proper SANITARY condi-
tons around the house and vicini-
ty. In cities, and especially in
towns and villages where sewerage
systems are absent and where ade-
quate means of sewerage disposal