The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1924-05-23

garbage can at the back door. II
1t was Diphtheria we dug up our
drains and tested the plumbing for
leaks. If it was Malaria we blamed
it on mysterious gases from certain
swamps. If Johnnie had Scarlet
Fever, we could usually find some
long forgotten books or toys that
had belonged to poor Edward who
had died of the disease many years
ago. If it was Smallpox, there was
the letter which had arrived from
the town where there was Small
pox epidemic.
We do sometimes receive infec-
ton from the things around us but
not by roundabout channels of
communication or after a long
period of time. One of the good
things about disease germs is that
they don't live long outside of the
body. At least they don't grow and
multiply and they have to grow and
multiply in order to give US a big
enough dose to cause disease. They
die of old age just the same as we
do and old age on the part of d
germ is a matter of seconds.
GERMS MULTIPLY RAPIDLY
Of course, they grow and multiply
very rapidly and they have a large
family before they die of old age
but outside the body the living con-
ditions are not suitable for them
and so they don't grow and multiply
very rapidly. For example: Inside
he body the temperature is over SO
degrees, while outside the body it Is
seldom that-usually it is 70 to 80
in summer and from zero to freez-
ing in winter, and sometimes away
below zero. Then there is the sun
shine which they don't like and
there is lack of moisture which
they must have and there is not the
proper nourishing material for them
to grow on. There are many living
conditions outside the body unfav-
orable to the growth and multiple
cation of disease germs. So when
We get disease germs from things
around us it is usually shortly after
they have been placed on or In
those things by the people who are
passing out disease germs The
things have very recently been con-
taminated by body secretions OF
someone else. ;.
Most often we catch disease di-
rectly from people who have the
germs in their bodies and pass
them out in body secretions usual
ly from the mouth and intestlnes,
and they get into our bodies,
usually our nouns, shortly after
wards. So the transference OF
body secretions from one person to
another must be direct and occupy
only a short period of time IN the
passing.
INFECTIVE MOUTH SECRETIONS
Most diseases we catch come to
US because the mouth secretions the
expectoration, spit or sallve OF
someone has gotten into our mouths.
tuberculosis is one of these dis
eases and there are also Diphtheria,
Influenza, Pneumonia, La Grippe,
Scarlet Fever, Measles, Mumps,
Whooping Cough, Meningitis, the
Common Colds that you and | suf-
fer periodically, and a lot of sore
throats-maybe a score OF diseases,
Every case of these diseases winch
occurs with the exception OF pos
sibly 2 per cent of tuberculosis
which we get from cows through
their milk, means that the infective
mouth secretions of one person has
gotten into the mouth of someone
else.
Just a. tuberculosis is one OF
the diseases spread by infected
mouth secretions, so Typhoid Fever
is one of another group spread by
means of infected intestinal excre-
tions. This group includes cholera,
the Dysenteries, summer Dlarrhea,
Hookworm, etc. -
Every case of Typhoid Fever Is
sanitary disgrace TO the COM
munity, because it means that the
infected intestinal excretions OF
one person have gotten into che
mouth of another by very short
route or in a short cine. There IS
no other way.
Why place the blame for spread
ing disease on some roundabout
method of communication when
there are around us so many people
Just coming down sick, so many
mild or just recovering cases and
so many we'll people carrying the
disease and spreading it by intimate
contact?