CARRIAGE OF DISEASE 
117 
The investigation was thorough, and at the annual 
meeting of the American Medical Association in June, 
1900, Doctor Vaughan presented a paper entitled “Con¬ 
clusions Reached after a Study of Typhoid Fever 
among American Soldiers in 1898.” This report com¬ 
prised fifty-three categorical conclusions. The one re¬ 
lating to flies was as follows: 
“27. Flies undoubtedly served as carriers of the in¬ 
fection. 
“My reasons for believing that flies were active in 
the dissemination of typhoid may be stated as fol¬ 
lows : 
“a. Flies swarmed over infected fecal matter in the 
pits and then visited and fed upon the food prepared 
for the soldiers at the mess tents. In some instances 
where lime had recently been sprinkled over the con¬ 
tents of the pits, flies with their feet whitened with lime 
were seen walking over the food. 
“b. Officers whose mess tents were protected by 
means of screens suffered proportionately less from ty¬ 
phoid fever than did those whose tents were not so 
protected. 
“c. Typhoid fever gradually disappeared in the fall 
of 1898, with the approach of cold weather, and the 
consequent disabling of the fly. 
“It is possible for the fly to carry the typhoid bacillus 
in two ways. In the first place, fecal matter containing 
the typhoid germ may adhere to the fly and be mechan¬ 
ically transported. In the second place, it is possible 
that the typhoid bacillus may be carried in the digestive 
