A manual of practical hygiene for students, physicians, and health officers / By Charles Harrington.

  • Harrington, Charles, 1856-1908.
Date:
1914
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: A manual of practical hygiene for students, physicians, and health officers / By Charles Harrington. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by the Augustus C. Long Health Sciences Library at Columbia University and Columbia University Libraries/Information Services, through the Medical Heritage Library. The original may be consulted at the the Augustus C. Long Health Sciences Library at Columbia University and Columbia University.

    153/992 (page 145)
    The evidence that cholera can be disseminated through the agency of milk is exceedingly limited, and about the only case free from doubt is that recorded by Simpson/ who relates that 9 cases of cholera occurred suddenly on a ship in the harbor of Calcutta, 10 men of whose crew had obtained milk from a native. One drank but little and escaped, 4 died of undoubted cholera, and 5 were very sick with diar- rhoea. Eight others who used condensed milk only, and those who used no milk whatevei', were unaffected. It was learned that the vendor had diluted the milk about one-fourth with water from a tank to which dejections from cholera patients had gained access and in which the clothes of the patients were washed. Scarlet Fever.—In December, 1885, occurred what has become com- monly known as the Hendon outbreak of scarlet fever, due to a disease of cows, and since that time a number of other epidemics have been traced apparently to a common miliv supply. In the Hendon case, a number of cows were or had been sick with an infectious eruption of the udders, and there can be no doubt that the disease under considera- tion was spread through the agency of milk coming from this dairy; but other cows having the same disease caused no trouble, and the pos- sibility of contamination from human sources could not be excluded absolutely. A number of other outbreaks of the disease have some- what doubtfully been ascribed to similar teit eruptions, but in no case is the evidence conclusive. On the other hand, there is undoubted evidence that the disease has many times been spread by milk from farms where children and others were sick with it. In tracing epidemics of this and other diseases to a common cause, there is always danger of lendmg too much importance to coincidence, and of coming thereby to unwarranted conclusions. As an illustration, the following case may be cited: In 1897, in one of the outlying wards of Boston, a large number of cases of scarlet fever occurred with some suddenness among children chiefly of the well-to-do class. Naturally there was much disturbance of the public mind, and an in- vestigation was undertaken immediately. It was ascertained that nearly all of the families concerned were supplied by one milkman, who raised all the milk which he handled, and the responsibility for the outbrwik was at once laid at his door. His premises were ex- aminwl \>y the health antliorities and found to be in excellent condition. Xo rase of diseiise or indisposition liad occurred in his family or among his help within a number of months, nor had he or anybody on the place, so far as f^onld be asctn-tained, been in contact with any case of .scarlet fever or of any other infections disease. His cows were examined by a thoroughly competent veterinarian and pronounced in every respect hrailthy. NevertlK^less, ])nblic ftxcitement ran so high that his business fell away very cfjnsiderably. Had a single cow shown the slightest evidenw of an eruptive disease of tiie teats, the epidemic might have br'(!ii iiaiied as another Hendon outlireak, and been (jiioted in sanitary hintory as a not<;worthy example TIk- fact that the great majority of ' Indian .\Ii-.li<:,l C-.r/.i-tUt, May, 1887. 10