REVIEW — TBOPIOAL MEDICINE, ETC. 45 



After the lapse of the above period, the amount of available chlorine may be less and the substance will Disinfectioa 

 then be unfit for use. contiitncd 



2. Chloride of lime is readily attacked by various kinds of organic matter. Therefore, it is unsuitable for 

 dealing with sewage or other large masses of putrefying material. On the other hand, it may be used with 

 advantage in places where the infective material can only be embedded in small amounts of organic matter. 



3. Owing to its deodorant properties and penetrative power, chloride of lime may be used in the interior 

 of infected houses, both on the walls, on furniture, or on cement or stone floors. 



4. Whitewash made in the usual way with quicklime is rendered far more active if half a pound of chloride 

 of lime is added to every 7 gallons of the liquid. 



5. Owing to the bactericidal power of chloride of lime under circumstances in which its action is not masked 

 by the presence of an excess of organic matter, it is likely that it could be useful in the cleaning and disinfection 

 of wells, either in place of, or mixed with, permanganate. 



Owing to its unpalatable taste, it would, however, be necessary to pump out the well, preferably on the 

 following day, before bringing the water of the well into use. 



I have found that chloride of lime even when stored in a comparatively cool place in 

 closed metal drums, rapidly deteriorates in the Sudan. A six months' old sample analysed 

 by Dr. Beam was found to have only about 1 per cent, of available chlorine instead of the 

 30 per cent, which should have been present. 



Klein^ has a paper on the bactericidal efficiency of hypochlorites in the presence of 

 organic matter. He experimented by adding chloros to urine, letting the mixture stand for 

 an hour and then adding the typhoid bacillus. Owing to the previous action of the organic 

 fluid on the disinfectant the co-efficient of the latter fell to 0-8. On the other hand, if chloros 

 be added direct to typhoid infected urine, the co-efficient for chloros in a icatery distribution 

 of B. typhosus works out at 21-0. 



It is worth noting that chloros, a valuable disinfecting agent at home, is not suitable 

 for export. 



A somewhat similar, but more elaborate, paper is that by Harris and Prausnitz^ on 

 faeces-urine emulsions used for testing disinfectants. 



The disinfection of books is a practical question which often crops up. Formaldehyde 

 is usually recommended, but Badia and Greco'* conclude that for a complete and proper 

 disinfection of books the use of the autoclave is essential despite its drawbacks. On the 

 other hand, Kister and Trautman''* find that if books of any kind are placed on a suitable 

 stand with their leaves opened out so as to prevent more than six or eight pages sticking 

 together and are then subjected to their process of formalin disinfection at an increased 

 tempei'ature in a vacuum, satisfactory results are obtained. No damage results, the only 

 bad effect being a tendency for the leaves to curl. This is overcome by pressure. 



In a country like the Sudan, where white residents are largely at the mercy of native 

 servants, it is worth \vhile knowing how readily and efficiently to disinfect ordinary table 

 utensils. When one considers that such servants not infrequently suffer from venereal 

 disease and other communicable disorders, the importance of such knowledge is apparent, 

 though in actual life the necessity for its application would appear rarely to arise. 



Beck' has studied the question, hitherto rather neglected, and finds that in most 

 instances immersion in a 20 per cent, solution of carbonate of soda at a temperature of 50" C. 

 suffices, but it will not serve in cases of infection by the Tubercle baciUus, and it is not easy to 

 be sure of the temperature. Below 50° C. the action is ineffective, while a higher 

 temperature damages table-knives, mounted forks, etc. Therefore immersion in alcohol at 

 60° G. for half an hour is recommended as an easy and reliable method. It is sometimes 

 necessary to disinfect railway carriages. The formalin-permanganate method, in which 

 formalin is poured upon crystals of permanganate of potash, is stated'' to be the best. The 

 proper proportions for use are one cubic centimetre of formalin to 0-5 gramme of the 



1 Klein, E. (October, 1906), "The Bacteriological Efficiency of Hypochlorites in the presence of Organic 

 Matter." Public Health, p. 27, Vol. XIX. 



- Harris, C. E., and Prausnitz, C. (March, 1907), "The Determination of the Efficiency of Disinfectants." 

 Journal of the Royal Instilutc of Public Health, p. 147, Vol. XV., No. -3. 



^ Badia and Greco, N. V. (August 7th, 1906). Anal, del circ. Med. ArgcntiRo. 



•* Kister and Trautmann, H. Zcit.f. TnberkiUbsc, 1907, No. 6, p. 497. 



' Beck, M. (August 7th, 1906), " Zur Frage der Disinfektion von Ess- und Trinkgeschirren." Cent. f. Bakl. 

 I. Orifi., Bd. XLI., p. 853. 



' Lancet (December 15th, 1906), p. 1675. "The Disinfection of Railway Carriages with Formaldehyde." 



* Article not consulted in the original. 



