Imperial Valley press., 1914-11-21
HOW COOKED FOOD
GIVES TYPHOID TO 50

GNSlt q dioA VI II SoitAy -SoohSd loo0s
brought sizzling hot direct frosn the
oven, may harbor living typhoid germs
from a typhoid carrier. Such is the
disquieting revelation from the labora
tories of the University of California
Just announced by Director Wilbur A.
Sawyer of the State Hygienic Labora-
tory of the California State Board of
Health.
Not enough is the self-denial of the
man who seeks to protect himself
against typhoid by eschewing succulent
lettuce, rejecting crisp celery and
stunning the temptation of an oyster
cocktail, for DR.. Sawyer now tells the
tale OF a single dish of spaghetti,
baked for an hour in piping hot
oven, which none the less brought
ninety three people down with typhoid
fever, and all because the cook was
a carrier.
This is the story of how proof was
found than even cooked food may
spread the dread disease:
There was to be bargain day in
Hanford, Cal The women members
of Hanford church resolved to raise
money for good causes by serving a
church dinner. On the appointed day
a bountiful repast was spread
chicken pie, spaghetti, mashed pota-
toes, salad, ice cream and various
toothsome edibles. A hundred and
fifty people partook of the noon day
or of the evening repast.
Three days later there was an out
break of typhoid in the town. Day
after day fresh cases appeared-on
the sixth day nineteen new cases
until there had been ninety-three
cases, of which three resulted fatally.
Who was to blame? The local
health officer, the local physicians and
DR.. Sawyer and corps of inspectors
sent by the California State Board OF
Health exhausted every resource to
solve the mystery of the source Of
the epidemic. The town water supply
proved above suspicion, the local
dairies and food purveyors were
proved not to blame. 1t was then sus-
pected that the epidemic must have
been caused by human carrier
by someone who had once suffered
typhoid and still harbored the organ
isms of the disease.
And this was proved by DR.. Sawyer
to be the case And the carrier at
last discovered was woman who did
not even suspect that she had ever had
typhoid fever. Yet it was found that
the typhoid bacilli still swarmed in
her system, although she herself Was
in perfect good health. What is more,
for years past she had been carrier
and a constant source of danger to
others-for eight years at least, and
possibly for more than twenty-five.
How had she spread the infection?
The answer discovered was that it
was through preparing large dish of
Spanish spaghetti" She had boiled
the spaghetti the day before the din
ner, then handled it while placing it
in large pant was then it was
planted" with typhoid bacilli from
her tIngers-then poured a Spanish
sauce over it, and next baked it in az.
oven, SO that it was served fresh and
hot.
At first thought it seemed impos-
sible that the typhoid bacilli could
have escaped destruction by the heat
of the oven. But DR.. Sawyer pre-
pared dishful of spaghetti, inoculated
it with typhoid bacilli, and baked it
for hours in hot oven, until the
whole top of the food was a charred
mass. And then a thermometer was
introduced, and it was found that an
inch below the surface the tempera-
ture had not risen high enough 20
harm the bacilli. In fact, the warmch
had actually fostered their multiplied
tion.
Not all of the victims of this out
break ate the baked spaghetti which
was the means of infection. Some
contracted the disease from eating q
few drops of the sauce, and others
merely eating ice cream out of dishes
or with spoons which had been washed
in the water in which the dinner
plates had been cleaned, after the
spaghetti had been served on them.
The practical conclusion to be drawn
is that it is only by vaccination against
typhoid-and anti typhoid vaccine is
sent free from the California State
Hygienic Laboratory to any physician
in California who asks for it-that
the individual can really protect him
self. About two per cent of all the
people who have typhoid become car
riers. No one knows when the food
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