542 



HOWARD 



concentration camps in different parts of the country. In many- 

 cases the fever was not recognized as typhoid at first but toward 

 the close of the summer it was practically decided by ver}^ gen- 

 eral blood tests that the fever which prevailed was not malarial 

 but intestinal. The medical journals and the newspapers con- 

 tained a number of communications from contract surgeons and 

 others advancing the theory that flies were largely responsible 

 for the spread of the disease, owing to the fact that in many of 

 these camps the sinks or latrines were placed near the kitchens 

 and dining tents and that the enormous quantity of excrement 

 in the sinks was not properly cared for. One of the most forci- 

 ble writers on this topic was Dr. H. A. Veeder, whose paper 

 entitled ' Flies as Spreaders of Disease in Camps,' published in 

 the New York Medical Record of September 17, 1898, brought 

 together a series of instances and strong arguments in favor of 

 his conclusion that flies are prolific conveyors of typhoid under 

 improper camp conditions. 



It should be stated at this point that the conditions which ap- 

 parently brought about these results existed in violation of the 

 distinct directions issued by the Surgeon-General of the Army, 

 Dr. Geo. M. Sternberg,^ in his Circular No. i, published April 

 25, 1898. In this circular explicit directions were given to 

 army surgeons regarding sinks which if explicitly followed 

 would have prevented the spread of typhoid by flies. Two sen- 

 tences may be quoted from this circular : " Sinks should be dug 

 before a camp is occupied or as soon after as practicable. The 

 surface of faical matter should be covered with fresh earth or 

 quick lime or ashes three times a day. * * * No doubt typhoid 

 fever, camp diarrhea, and probably yellow fever are frequently 

 communicated to soldiers in camp through the agency of flies 

 which swarm about faecal matter and filth of all kinds deposited 

 upon the ground or in shallow pits and directly convey infec- 

 tious material attached to their feet or contained in their excreta 

 to the food which is exposed while being prepared at the com- 



1 Dr. Sternberg had as early as 1885, in his prize essay on ' Disinfection and 

 Personal Prophylaxisin Infectious Diseases,' published by the American Health 

 Association, showed that he was fully alive to the necessity of isolating and dis- 

 infecting excrement. 



