The Marietta journal and courier. (Marietta, Ga.) 1909-1918, 1916-05-12
DR.. NOLAN WRITES ON
THE WATER SITUATION
To the Citizens of Marietta :

~ luC CltlLcuS O1 marietta -
On account of the gradual decrease
of water in the City wells the ques
ton Of the water supply of the City
OF Marietta has recently been very
much discussed. 1t is a subject in
which every citizen of this town is
or should be. greatly Interested Up.
on pure water supply depends the
health of the community. 1t is well
known that the principle contami-
nation of water is the germ of ty-
phoid fever. Typhoid fever is a gener-
al infection caused by the Bacillus ty.
phosus. The prevalence of typhoid
fever in community is an index to
the intelligent sanitation of its cit
liens. Water must be regarded as
the principle means of conveying ty-
phoid fever. OF course, flies also
play an important role in carrying
the germs of typhoid fever and de-
posting them upon food.
Schuber, in study of 63S epidem-
les of typhoid fever found that the
infection was caused by water in
70, milk 17%. The manner in
which milk becomes contaminated
with the germ of typhoid fever is by
washing the vessels in which it is
used with water which contains these
germs. Let it be understood that
there cannot be case Of typhoid few
er except where it is caught from an
other case.
Sir VIM. Csler states that the cpl
demic of typhoid fever at Plymouth
Pennsylvania in 1885 was investi-
gated with the following results
This town, with a population of s.
600 was in part supplied with drink
ing water from a reservoir fed by q
mountain stream. During January,
February and March, in a cottage by
the side of it and at a distance of
from 60 to so feet from the stream,
man was i'll with typhoid fever.
The attendants were in the habit. at
night, of throwing out the evacua-
tions on the ground towards the
stream. During these months the
ground was frozen and covered with
snow. In the latter part of March
and early part of April there was a
considerable rainfall and thaw in
which part of the three months ac-
cumulatiCn of the discharges were
washed into the brook about 60 feet
distant. At the very time of this
thaw the patient had numerous and
copiOus discharges. About the 10th
OF April cases of typhoid fever broke
cut in the town and appearing for
a time at the rate of fifty a day. In
all about 1920 people We're attacked.
An immense majority of the cases
were in the part of the town which
received water from the infected res
ervoir.
The same writer states that the eX-
perience CT Maidstone in 1897 illus
trates the widespread and serious
character of an epidemic when the
water supply becomes badly contain
mated. The outbreak began about
the middle Of September, and with
in the first two weeks 509 cases were
reported. BY October q there were
l,748 cases, and by November 18th
1913 cases. In all, in population
CT 5000 about 1900 persons were
attacked
An epidemic in Palo Alto, Califor-
mia, in 1903 was traced to infection
through milk (Report by Fish, A
mong 80 who obtained milk from the
same supply, 232 had typhoid fever;
of these, PIG Wee apparently due
to infection from tlc milk, while IG
may have been due 10 secondary in
infected milk. That is $50 of the
typhoid fever patients had used the
one milk supply and 2G% of the
users Of this supply and typhoid few
er. The water used for washing the
cans, and also for diluting the milk
at times, was obtained from a creek
which was infected by the drainage
from houses in which there were pa
tients with typhoid fever.
The germ Of typhoid fever, under
proper conditions may live for
months. They have been known to
live in ice for three months. They
have been known to live in the up
per layers of the soil for eleven
months. These germs have been re-
ported as living eighty days in drink
ing water, and in dark wells would
probably live much longer.
There cannot possibly be any doubt
about the manner in which typhoid
fever is contracted That is, il is
caused by swallowing the germs of
typhoid fever.
About eight or ten years ago, wat