The Hays free press. [volume] (Hays, Kan.) 1908-1924, 1917-04-07

1
tiac authorities in the United States
and Europe now generally united in
- de T5s dissemination through tb,. IN
sect of the epidemic, infantile paralysis
which last year killed thousands OF New York 8
children is but one of the many counts in the In
dictment against the filthy fly Infantile paraly-
sis is peculiarly shocking because it deforms chill
dren cruelty, but in its destruction Of life it
lar less serious than typhoid fever, which we
now know to be largely a f1y-borne disease SINH
larry the fly probably causes far more mortality
through its fundamentally in spreading tubercu-
losis than as a carrier of infantile paralysis
All over the world scientists are studying the
fly, discovering dangers to public health
caused by it and suggesting new methods of ex-
terminating it.
DIR. L. o. Howard, the chief entomoIogist of the
United States government, now suggests that the
name typhoid fly" should be given to the common
house fly, because the latter name fails to suggest
the deadly character.
Mr.. Howard tells how the deadly character of
the fly proved by feeding flies with pure cuI-
lures of the typhoid bacillus. Material from the
bodies of the insects and 1y-specks made by them
were then examined and found to contain the
bacilli. This material injected into animals
and proved to be virulent
Flies Carry Typhoid.
There were $4,000 cases of typhoid in the Unit
ed States last year, and over $1,000 proved fatal
During the Spanish-American war flies which had
Swarmed over infected matter in the nmestreUn
OF lime. Many cases of typhoid occurred killing
far more than bullets officers whose tents were
screened from flies showed fewer cases. Typhoid
disappeared in winter, when flies were no longer
about. Infected water was not important fac
tor in these camps, but majority of cases must
have been due to the flies More than 80 per cent
of the total deaths in the were caused by
typhoid:
The danger of infection is greatly increased by
the fact that typhoid germs may remain active in
Il he haS ePod
from fever DR.. George A. Soper recently discov-
cred of cook employed by several fami-
lies in the vicinity of New York She had recov-
cred completely from typhoid fever, but she gave
the disease to members of every family where she
employed. Four other cases of this kind are
mentioned by Doctor Howard
Spread Enteric Fever.
During the Boer 100000 British soldiers
laid up at time by enteric fever, now
shown to have been spread By flies Profting by
such lessons, the United States authorities the
Panama canal work protected refuse against flies,
and this, together with the careful screening of
houses, adopted primarily as a defense against
malaria reduced typhoid to negligible quantity.
A long series of observations is being conducted,
showing that flies play an important part in
spreading Asiatic cholera. The British warship
Superb in the Mediterranean, suffered from an
epidemic of cholera, which continued while at sea,
but the disappearance of flies it ceased. Pro
fessors Tzzoni and Cattani of Italy in 1885, found
active cholera germs in the deposits of flies caught
IN the cnOIora wards at Bologna, Italy.
Cost Millions Year.
Doctor Howard says the decrease in the vital
assets of country through typhoid fever in a
single year is more than S350O0O,O0O.
The typhoid fly is also Dissemination of tuber-
culOsis. DR.. Frederick T. Lord, the Boston scien-
list, says:
"F1ies may INCEST tubercular sputum and ex-
crete tubercle baciIIi the virulence of which may
last for at least fifteen days.
Matter from tubereulous patients must, there
m
and the patients should be screened for their own
good and that of the rest of the community.
Drs. W. NJ. Esten and c. J. Mason Of Storrs ex-
pertinent station, Connecticut who counted $50 to
100000 bacteria on flies observed that these In
sects carried contamination from the pigpens to
the milk in dairies.
Life History of Fly.
1.-The only remedy for this serious condition Of
things" they say, ais to remove the pigpen far
as possible from the dairy and dwelling house.
Extreme care should be taken In keeping flies
out of the stable, milk rooms and dwellings. "
Doctor Howard has traced the life history of
the fly, finding that 120 eggs laid by single
female, and that in Washington in midsummer a
generation is produced every ten days In ex-
perimenting he found that his flies would breed
only in horse waste, but the evidence indicates
that they breed in various kinds Of flth. His con
cIusion, however, is that the vast majority must
come from horse stables.
AS tested out and recommended by the United
States department OF agriculture. sprinkling and
soaking such pest heap with solution Of one
half pound of powdered helebore In ten gallons OF
water (stirring well and allowing it to stand fol-
"a hours) will destroy all the maggots, eggs and
larvae which are then present Almost equally
good results, although not quite certain can bC
secured by sprinkling freely with powdered boraz
and then pouring water over. to carry II
down all through the mass. The amount of helle
bore solution required Is about gallon to the
| bushel of manure.
A recent calculation of the hy's rate OF inc-ease