CHAPTER XVI 



THE COMMON SOURCES OF BACTERIAL 

 INFECTION 



AS we glance back over the ground which 

 we have traversed together, we see 

 that the most common bacterial diseases 

 which in this country we are apt to come in 

 contact with, so far as they are definitely 

 known to us, are tuberculosis, typhoid fever, 

 diphtheria, influenza, pneumonia, and the 

 wound diseases or blood poisoning. 



We have seen that in most of these diseases 

 the infective agent is liable to spread from one 

 individual to another, because it is not de- 

 stroyed by disinfectants, or in some other 

 way, as soon as possible after it is discharged 

 from the diseased person. 



We have seen that the most common ways 

 in which the virulent bacteria are spread are 

 by personal contact or by the food we eat, 



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