BY E. HIBSCHFELD, M.D. 



probably due to the turpentine and the action of the atmospheric 

 air upon it leading to the formation of ozone and peroxide of 

 hydrogen. 



Bedding. 



Infected bedclothes form one of the readiest mean? for the 

 spread of pulmonary consumption. Time after time I have had 

 occasion to draw the attention of patients and their relatives 

 to the seriousness of the matter, especially since in the last few 

 years so many consumptives have gone up to Roma, and other 

 places in the West. The whole matter has become a source of 

 grave public danger. A tubercular patient will occasionly 

 expectorate during sleep, without being quite conscious of it. 

 It is therefore almost impossible to prevent that pillows slips 

 rshould become saturated at places with tubercle bacilli. Pillow 

 slips, of course, are changed, and the ordinary boiling they 

 (Undergo in the wash is a fairly sufficient protection. The 

 |)illow covers, however, are not changed, and if a consumptive 

 ^ith profuse expectoration has slept several nights the cover 

 -always contains bacilli. Now anybody else, say in a hotel, 

 •sleeping on the same pillow, the nioiscure of his breath will 

 ^gaiii moisten the dried sputum of the cover and the fresh 

 pillowslip becomes resaturated from it. The man sleeping upon 

 it will be in the most suitable position for inhaling tubercle bacilli, 

 =or for the matter of that any other infectious germs which 

 might have been deposited. A more ready way of contracting 

 ^consumption it is difficult to imagine. This also applies to a 

 .certain extent to the blankets which can only be washed with 

 lukewarm water. Without in any way desiring to impugn the 

 cleanliness of their proprietors, I feel convinced that any man 

 •sleeping in a hotel or boarding house at Roma runs a very 

 appreciable risk of infection. What can be done to guard against 

 this source of infection *? Steps must be taken against such a 

 serious public danger. A rather primitive but fairly efficient 

 way of killing the bacillus is to expose pillows and blankets every 

 morning to the sun. The strong insolation in our western 

 plains can be relied upon to destroy all the tubercle bacilli 

 which are on the surface. On the other hand the antiseptic 

 power of the sun does not reach below the surface into the 

 kapock. My suggestion is that the ticking used for pillow- 

 covers be treated in such a way that it becomes non-absorbent 

 and impermeable for liquids, and that only such materials be 

 used in hotels, boarding-houses, sleeping-cars, and similar places 



