CONTROL OF INFECTIOUS DISEASES. 699 



Discharges from the nose and mouth should be collected on paper or rags and 

 burned at once. If inconvenient to burn them, they should be dropped into carbolic 

 or bichloride solutions as above, and disposed of as harmless after a half-hour's soaking. 



It is difficult to specify every form of contact to be guarded against by disinfection, 

 but the foregoing are the chief ones to watch for, and the principles given should be 

 widely and intelligently applied -remembering always that the discharges contain the 

 danger. 



TERMINAL DISINFECTION. Sulphur disinfection (4 Ib. burned for every 1000 

 cubic feet of space, in the presence of steam sufficient to saturate the atmosphere) is 

 effective for disease bacteria also for roaches, bedbugs, etc., and for mice, rats, etc. 

 But it injures fabrics by bleaching them, and metals by tarnishing them. Formalde- 

 hyde vapor is now used in its place for disinfection; but flies, bedbugs, etc., are not 

 successfully exterminated thus. The most recent approved method for use in the 

 disinfection of houses is the Minnesota State Board of Health potassium permanganate 

 formaldehyde method. 



For each 1,000 cubic feet of space the following should be used: 



Potassium permanganate (crystals) 1 1 oz. 



Solution formaldehyde (U. S. P. 1900) n oz. 



Water 9 oz. 



Directions for use: 



Prepare the room to be disinfected by sealing all cracks, windows, ventilators, etc., 

 and all the doors but the one for exit, with wet newspaper strips; open all blankets, 

 drawers, etc; separate and open up all books, clothing, etc., in the room. Have wet 

 strips of paper in readiness to seal the last door when the disinfection has been 

 started and the operator has left the room. The windows should be left unlatched 

 so that when possible they may be opened from the outside when the disinfection is 

 completed. 



Use a metal pail with lapped (not soldered) seams, or an earthenware receptacle, 

 holding not less than fourteen 14 quarts, in which to mix the above ingredients. Place the 

 receptacle on bricks standing in a pan of water, but the receptacle should not touch the 

 water. 



Place the 1 1 oz. of potassium permanganate in the receptacle, distributing it evenly 

 over the bottom. 



Mix the formaldehyde solution (i i oz.) and the water (9 oz.), and pour this mixture 

 over the potassium permanganate in the receptacle. 



This done, the operator should leave the room as quickly as possible, sealing the 

 door behind him with the wet strips of paper prepared in advance for this purpose. 



The directions above apply to the disinfection of a room containing 1,000 

 cubic feet or less. If a room contains more than 1,000 cubic feet of space, use one of the 

 above disinfecting outfits for each 1,000 cubic feet or fraction thereof. Do not attempt 

 to use a double charge in a container of even double capacity. 



In disinfecting a whole house, begin with the most distant room and having 

 mixed the potassium permanganate, formaldehyde, and water in the proper receptacle, 

 close the door of the room and seal it at once as directed above. Proceed in this 



