The Punta Gorda herald. [volume] (Punta Gorda, Fla.) 1893-1958, 1916-03-30
Typhoid and the Fly

Organized society and indlvld-
ual effort are devoted to relieve
the results of poverty. Outside
If health boards and authorities
no attention is given to the pre-
vention of typhoid, until it be-
,omes practically epidemic. and
then it becomes a question of how
quickly and how widely society
an separate itself from infection:
Typhoid fever can be prevented
that has been proved. 1t can
be wiped out, and one medical
uthority has predicted that by
$50 it will be a rare disease.
This enthusiast, however. has
'een dreaming that by that far
away year, society, meaning the
men, women and authorities Of
he state or nation, will have be-
come aroused to the fact that the
disease can be prevented, to the
enormous economic waste it en-.
ails and to the moral offense Of
permitting it to ravage the COM
munity.
There are two ways at least Of
avoiding the disease. Vaccina-
ton with the anti-typhoid so"1r'
has wiped it out in the United
States army and navy, and its eff
iciency has been established in
thousands of individual cases.
The second way, which is of
prime Importance, is oy prevent
ng its occurrence. Typhoid is
spread by the transference of the
disease germs. These are carried
by flies from excreta Of the pa
lent to the food that is eaten un-
cooked, or to the food already
cooked, and the disease is started
anew. The fly is a filthy thing
feasts on what would turn
5uzzard to other pastures, and so
t becomes a duty to stop the
breeding of the fly to the largest
possible extent; to keep it abso-
utely isolated from infection and
from food. Both are necessary
as precautions and as preventives.
There is a law ON Florida S sta
tute books which requires the
screening of the earth closets OF
all public schools. This law, en-
forced would accomplish much,
especially in rural communities.
Another statute provides that all
earth closets within Incorporated
cities and towns be similarly
screened and made to comply
with certain sanitary standards
required by the State Board of
Health.
There is a law, also state en-
actment, which requires the
screening with wire netting
(cloth netting won't answer the
requirements of this law of all
food, fruit and vegetables offered
or exposed for sale in any public
place in the state.
| These laws presuppose the ex-
istence of flies and they make no
provision for their extinction or
to prevent their unrestricted
breeding. But one or two Flori-
da cities have enactments which
attack the insect in it's breeding
places, and the effectiveness OF
these laws has been proven.
1t is too much to anticipate e.
radication of the pest, but it may
| be lessened in every community.
The uncovered manure heaps OF
the stable are prolific in the pro-
duction of the fly. In comparison,
the open garbage can is innocence
itself. Municipal authority has
the power to require that all sta
bic owners, livery or private, any
place where horses, mules or cat
tie are kept, shall keep stable ref
use, manure, under Ayproof COW
en-, and that in removing it the
same precautions shall be observ-
ed. This prevents the escape of
the fly from his breeding place
and vastly lessons the menace.
That it is a practical and effective
precaution has been proved by
experience, in those places where
municipal authority has been
brave enough to defy opposition,
An attempt was made in Jack
sonville a year or more ago to
protect the residents of Florida s
largest city from its stables, To
install and enforce the operation
of the necessary devices, would
cost money-real money. Strong
opposition was developed among
!. those whose money would have tC
! be spent, and the proposed law
died abornin!"
5 Possibly other Florida cities
5 have had similar experiences with
the selfShness of individuals and
the cowardicc of their authori
ties. The fact remains that pub