The Dawson news. (Dawson, Ga.) 1889-current, 1914-06-26
Where the Bacillus Is Found, How 1t Is
Transmitted and Rules For Prevention.

not be provided, special precautions
must be taken to insure the disin-
| lection of the excreta. For all these
reasons it is easy to see why prompt
notification of every suspected case OF
| typhoid fever is the first important
step in preventing spread of the in
lection.
Where Bacillus is Found.
While the typhoid bacillus makes
its true home in the human body and
does not thrive in water, soil or the
bodies of the lower animals, it is
nevertheless able to survive for few
hours or days after it leaves the
body of it's host. This fact explains
why typhoid fever is sometimes
caused by germs that have travelled
many miles away from the person in
whose body they originally grew.
| typhoid bacilli are discharged from
the body in the feces, the urine and
rarely the sputum. They may be
present in these excretions in enor-
nous numbers. A single drop of
urine may contain as many as one
million living typhoid germs. Cloth
ing, bedding, table utensils, in fact
any object used by, or coming into
contact with, a typhoid patient may
easily become contaminated with ty-
phoid bacilli even when ordinary care
is used. 1t has long been known
that members of the family and espe-
cially those nursing typhoid patients
are very liable to contract the dis
ease. Anyone can see why this is so.
Merely swallowing the typhoid germ
is sufficient to produce typhoid fever.
The facts just stated show how diff
cult it is to avoid swallowing typhoid
bacilli whenever persons must live
for days or weeks in close association
with a patient who may be discharg-
ing daily hundreds of millions of
germs. Ordinarily washing or rims
ing of the hands does not render
them bacteriologically sterile. The
attendant of a typhoid patient, after
going to the sick room or handling
anything from it, should wash the
hands thoroughly with soap and wa
Ter and, if possible, use also disin-
fectant solution such as 1:2, 900 mer-
curic CHORD, compound solution of
cresol, or 70 per cent. alcohol. Tow
els, doorknobs, articles of furniture
or clothing may be the means of con-
veying the bacilli to the hands. The
hands may in turn be used for break
ing or handling bread, cake or other
article of food and SO introduce ty-
phoid bacilli into the mouth. Con-
tact infection, or more appropriately
hand infection, is one of the most
common causes of typhoid fever, and
close association with typhoid pa
tients must always be looked on as
dangerous. The danger can be re-
Guced 6y removal of typhoid patients
to the hospital. Unskilled home
nursing, however paiustaking and af-
fectionate, will always imperil the
household This is particularly the
case if the person caring for the
patient also has to do with the prep
aration of food for other members of
the family. Even in hospitals. eX-
perienced nurses and attendants are
likely TO contract the Glsease unless
great care is taken. All nurses of ty-
phoid patients and all persons living
in houses in which typhoid patients
are being cared for should be pro-
tected by the method of typhoid vac
cination which will be described
presently
Water-BOIne Infection.
The direct handing over of typhoid
germs from one person to another
which has just been described is only
one way in which the disease is
transmitted. The mode of infection
may be much more indirect and
roundabout Typhoid bacilli some
times find their way into food or
drink used by large numbers of per-
sons and give rise to explosive and
very extensive outbreaks. Public
water supplies and milk supplies are
two of the most common sources of
typhoid infection. In many localities
the connection between water sup
ply and sewerage systems is far too
close. The enormous amount Of wa
ter required for large cities in this
country can seldom be obtained abb
so1utely free from sewage cOntamina-
ton. When typhoid germs leave the
body in the excreta they are likely
to pass into the sewerage system. 1t
does not take a large quantity of
sewage to produce infection. The
discharges of a single patient, even
when diluted with several million
gallons of water, have been known
to give rise to over enc thousand
cases of typhoid fever. This is not so