738 PROCEEDINGS OF SECTION H. 



Geographical and Historical Pathology, writes as follows: — 

 " A more frequent and more extensive source of infection is 

 water for culinary ])urposes which has been contaminated by 

 the typhoid poison, I take it that few points in the etiology 

 of typhoid are so certainly prov^ed as the conveyance of the 

 morbid poison hy drinhiny water or by food contaminated with 

 drinking- water." Investigations by sanitary authorities into 

 outbreaks of typhoid have established tliis fact beyond dis- 

 pute, for it has been clearly shown that there had been 

 previous typhoid contaminations of the water supply, and 

 that the outbreak ceased immediately the use of the water 

 was discontinued. Hirsch gives the details of such investi- 

 gations on outbreaks at Stuttgart, Mill))ank Prison — Berne, 

 Caterham, and Red Hill and other places; while the 

 exhaustive reports on the outbreaks of typhoid at Babranald 

 and other places by Dr. Ashburton Thompson clearly 

 demonstrated that infected drinking water was the cause of 

 the spread of the disease. In Hobart I do not think that 

 our water supply is to blame for our annual typhoid ; our 

 water collected, principally from behind Mount Wellington, is 

 clear, bright, spring water, containing very little organic 

 matter, and its collection is almost outside the possibility of 

 typhoid infection ; but there is a bare possibility that in its 

 distribution it may Ijecome contaminated with sewage, which 

 sewage is laden with typhoid poison. Dr. Gi'esswell, of 

 Victoria, has particularly emphasised the possil^ility of such 

 infection owing to the use of Bateman's fireplug boxes, the 

 india-rubber ball-plug dropping when the pressure is removed 

 owing to an intermittent supply, or during repaii-s, thus allow- 

 ing sewage, perhaps contaminated with dejecta from a 

 typhoid patient, flowing down the adjacent sewer to be sucked 

 into the pipes and distributed to the houses for drinking or 

 culinary purposes. While admitting that the fire-plug boxes 

 often contain muddy water which may be drawn into the 

 supply pipes, and while insisting on the thorough cleansing 

 of these boxes, and the maintenance, as far as possible, of a 

 good pressure, I do not think that many cases can be 

 attributable to this cause, as we should have many more cases 

 in a household or in a district than now occur. 



Milk. 



Another vehicle for the conveyance of the typhoid poison 

 is milk. Many careful investigations into typhoid epidemics 

 have demonstrated conclusively that the milk from one 



