Alexandria gazette. [volume] (Alexandria, D.C.) 1834-1974, 1921-11-01
Health Officer FOulks Fa-
vors Quarantine For
Typhoid Patients
CAN TRACE EPIDEMICS
Urges Anti-Typhoid 1noculation-
Is sure Protection For Two Years
Says Health Officer.

People often stop me on the street
and ask me to. explain, Just how !
person gets typhoid fever" 1t being
a subject of general public interest,
! the following may throw little light
upon the cause and transmission OF
this rather serious disease, says Dr..
l.. f. Foulks, city health officer.
! Typhoid fever is q specific germ
disease and is caused by the Bacillus
tvphosus." This is a small rod-shaped
organism, with many delicate ha.r-
like tilaments-called tiagella--prn:
iecting from it. 1t is by the constant
whip-like movements of these flageI.
la, that the germ is enabled to move
rapidly about in any fluid matter. We
can grow these germs very easily ~
the laboratory, and by making .
hanging drop on a hollow-g ground
glass slide, we can by use of the high
power microscope, see the baci!ll very
plainly, rapidly moving about in the
minute drop of culture media.
The natural habitation of the ty-
phoid germ is within the human body.
They have never been found in any
other form of animal life, nor do they
spring spontaneously from the dirt
or decaying animal or vegetable mas'
ter.
Typhoid germs are spread only by
the discharges from the human body.
In other words, human filth. There IS
no other way. Of course there are a
. hundred different ways in which this
human filth can reach your mouth.
but it must and does get there by one
of these ways. otherwise it would be
simply impossible for you to contract
the disease. For every effect there
must be cause. and the cause of tv-
phoid fever is n well known germ.
Some of these germs must get into
your mouth, and later when they
reach the intestines, they begin to
multiply and you soon--that IS in
from seven TO twenty-one daYS-de-
vclop the first symptoms OF typhoid.
And even then you may NOPE around
for one, two or three weeks before
YOU get so sick you have to go to bed.
Now how did you get these germs in
to your mouth?
AS above mentioned. there are many
ways. You might have eaten some
raw oysters, taken from waters con-
taminated by sewage, or by drinking
infected we'll or springwater, or wa
ter from any source that has bean
Contaminated BY human filth. Or by
infected milk or way vegetables that
had not been thoroughly washed be-
fore being eaten. Salads in particular,
are dangerous. They are easily in
fected and are eaten raw. The worst
epidemic from infected food on record
developed from Harvest Home
Church supper, held in New Jersey,
July 27th, last. Resulting in 200 cases,
in li6 homes, with % deaths Chicken
salad was the cause.
An exactly similar outbreak Of ty
phoid fever-though far less serious
was caused by infected chicken
salad served at supper held in Hope
well, Va, on June 28th, 1920. Out IF
80 persons attending this supper, 49
developed the disease in from ) to %
DAYS only those who partook of the
salad were taken sick. An investiga-
ton was conducted by the L. S. Pub
lie Health Service and the State
Board of Health. Laboratory tests de-
monstrated that mayonnaise dress
ing used on salads IS good culture
media for typhoid germs. They will
not only live in it, but actually grow
and quickly multiply This dressing Is
infected by the person mixing, and
if it should be kept few hours before
using, the germs would multiply into
millions. Then when this was late-
placed on the salad. the entire batch
would be infected. In this outbreak ]:
was shown that one Of the ladies who
helped mix the dressing, actually had
typhoid, for the day after the supper
she felt so sick that she took to he:
ease The New Jersey epidemic was
no doubt caused in the same way.
Either by a carrier or person in
the early stages of the disease
In order to insure perfect safety,
all foods should be cooked before rs
ing Practically all disease germs are
quickly killed by boiling, or ordi-
nary cooking heat. Freezing has TO
effect on disease germs.
Typhoid fever is highly infectious
and contagious disease. Do not come
/ into direct contact with a typhoid pa
tient, or handle anything she or He
has used. Don't Kiss or shake hands
with person who has the disease tr
who is just recovering from it. The
living germs are ir the saliva. urine
and stools of the patient. We often
have several cases in section after
the first case has developed. Flies
can and 40 play very. important part
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