SEWAGE CONTAMINATlOlsT OF OYSTER BEDS. 193 



oysters from the same dealer, but these were eaten cooked, while the 

 other three lots were consumed raw. Two of the remaining- three 

 fraternities did not have 03^sters, and the other one obtained its supply 

 from a dealer in Hartford. Only one non-fraternity man contracted 

 the disease, and the investig-ation of his case onl}^ established more 

 firmly the responsibilit}' of the local supply, for this man had eaten 

 of the same lot of oysters at the dealer's shop. Inquir}^ brought out 

 the fact that two of five miCn from Yale who attended the exercises 

 of the societies were seized with typhoid fever some time after their 

 return to New Ha^en. Further investigation showed that the infected 

 oysters had been stored at the mouth of the Quinnipiac River, 300 

 feet from the outlet of a small drain from a house in which two per- 

 sons lay sick with typhoid fever. 



In 1894, Doctor Casey reported in the British Medical Journal a 

 case of fatal " oyster poisoning,'" and since that date the pages of this 

 publication contain frequent references to the subject of "oyster 

 infection." 



In 1895, Sir William Broadbcnt published the facts of a series of 

 cases and groups of cases of typhoid fever and other gastro-intestinal 

 illnesses, which he concludes were caused by the ingestion of raw 

 oysters. There was no bacteriological evidence that the oysters were 

 polluted, but circmnstances pointed strongly to these shellfish as the 

 cause of the disease. The following case is typical of those reported. 

 Sir William was called to see a young woman who, ten to fourteen 

 days previous, had eaten some raw 03'sters in company with a cousin. 

 She developed a mild case of typhoid, as did also the cousin, who 

 had gone to Italy. Another similar case: A clergjmian and his 

 daughter, living in the country where typhoid was unknown, were 

 seized with this disease. Inquir}^ revealed the fact that they had 

 eaten raw 03'sters in London while on a visit to that cit}^ some two 

 weeks previous. 



In the same ye\xv Sir Peter Eade emphasized the fact that mussels 

 and other shellfish, as well as oysters, might become a source of infec- 

 tion. Doctor Wilson reported three instances, occurring in Florence, 

 where persons who had eaten raw oysters were taken sick with typhoid 

 fever, while other persons in the same parties who did not eat o^^sters 

 were not ill. A little later Doctor Johnson-Lavis reported some cases 

 of typhoid and gastro-intestinal disorders of a very severe type which 

 he encountered in his practice in Naples in 1879. These illnesses were 

 most prevalent among strangers who had eaten raw oysters. Investi- 

 gation showed that oysters were brought to Naples from seacoast towns, 

 where there was no typhoid, and stored for a long time in the harbor 

 in a bed less than 60 feet distant from the outlet of one of the main 

 sewers. These 03^sters were filled with sewage matters, and "when 

 they were consumed about a tablespoonful of sewage water was swal- 



F. C. 1904—13 



