82 APPLIED BACTERIOLOGY FOR NURSES 



etc., of the patient, as well as the bed-linen, must be 

 carefully disinfected before it is given out to be laundered. 

 Disinfection of these articles is accomplished by soaking 

 them for some hours in carbolic acid solution of from 

 2 to 5 per cent. Bichlorid of mercury solution, 1 : 5000, 

 can also be similarly used. Very useful in deodorizing 

 and disinfecting stools is the solution of chlorids put up 

 by many druggists. For the purposes of at once disin- 

 fecting the hands after handling the patient, the nurse 

 should have standing near the bed a basin containing 

 either 5 per cent, carbolic acid solution, or 1 : 1000 

 bichlorid of mercury, or some other convenient hand 

 disinfectant of similar strength. In this more than in 

 any other infectious disease it is important to keep 

 flies out of the sick room. 



When typhoid bacilli are examined under the micro- 

 scope in a drop of sterile water they will be found to be 

 uniformly scattered throughout the drop and in active 

 motion. When to such a drop a little blood from a 

 typhoid patient is added the bacilli at once begin to 

 gather together in clumps and cease their movements. 

 Blood from a normal person has no such effect. This 

 reaction is very valuable for diagnosis, and is known as 

 the "Widal test" for typhoid fever. It has been found 

 that blood from a typhoid patient can be diluted from 

 twenty to forty times or more, and still produce this 

 peculiar clumping effect; in some cases, in fact, diluting 

 the blood several thousand times still permits the 

 reaction to take place. The collection of the blood for 

 the test is a very simple matter, as a couple of drops of 

 blood dried on a glass slide suffice. It is important, 

 however, to let the blood dry spontaneously, and not 

 attempt to hasten the drying by heat. 



