142 TYPHOID FEVER 



over, the five having the lowest enteric fever admission rates have 

 no filth trenches ; and in the only remaining ones in which 

 there are no trenches, or only at a considerable distance from 

 barracks the rates are much below the average." 



The observations just quoted, covering a number of years, 

 were made in various parts of India by independent workers, 

 and are so suggestive that it is to be hoped that more extended 

 investigations will be carried out to confirm or disprove the 

 hypotheses advanced by these writers. 



One other record may be quoted. Wanhill (1907) investigated 

 the cause of the prevalence of enteric fever among the troops 

 stationed in Bermuda. " At \\' arwick camp cases of enteric began 

 to appear among the men of this battalion in September, 1904, 

 and continued till the end of the year, some seventeen cases in 

 all being admitted." The water, milk and food supply was 

 excellent but "the latrines were of a bad pattern... and the use 

 of dry earth to cover faecal matter was neglected. As a result, 

 the pails were full to overflowing early in the morning and were 

 exposed to flies for the rest of the day, since by the law of the 

 Island they were only allowed to be emptied at night. The 

 resultant condition of things will be imagined ; and of the 

 possibilities of food contamination there could be no doubt.... 

 The precautionary measures necessary, therefore, resolved them- 

 selves into a campaign against flies." 



" The result of these measures was the complete disappearance 

 of enteric fever from the camps for the next two years." 



In connection with Cochrane's experiences seven years later 

 (see p. 132) in Bermuda, this account is particularly interesting. 



Military camps in the Spanish- America?! and South 

 African Wars. 



The Commission appointed to investigate the cause of the 

 epidemics of enteric fever in the volunteer camps in the United 

 States during the Spanish- American War of 1898 found that 

 " the water supply was in most places good, and was not 

 responsible for the spread of the fever. This was effected, in 

 the opinion of the members of the Commission, by the flies 



