MICROORGANISMS AND DISEASE 7 



are, then, harmless to human health, but a small number 

 are capable of producing disease, and for this reason are 

 of especial interest. 



The study of the causes and cure of disease belongs 

 primarily to the physician and not to the housewife. The 

 housewife must, it is true, occasionally act as the nurse of 

 persons suffering from contagious diseases, and will then 

 be interested in the treatment of the patient and the cure 

 of the disease. But even here the question of cure must 

 be left to the medical profession, while as nurse she should 

 simply follow the directions given. Yet one phase of the 

 matter is almost solely hers, for to her must be left the 

 task of preventing the distribution of contagious diseases. 

 Many of the diseases produced by microorganisms are 

 distinctly contagious and, unless the patient and the other 

 members of the home are properly guarded, a disease 

 is likely to be carried through a household from one 

 person to another. To prevent the distribution of such 

 contagious diseases is the duty of those who care for 

 the home. 



The problem of preventing the distribution of various 

 diseases is a bacteriological one, for, inasmuch as bacteria 

 are usually the cause of the disease, the prevention of 

 contagion is the prevention of the distribution of bac- 

 teria. In every home such problems are more or less com- 

 mon. They concern the members of the home far more 

 materially than they do the physician. Every household 

 will occasionally have experience with contagious diseases, 

 and the question of preventing their distribution from a 

 patient to a healthy individual is sure to arise. The house- 

 wife who cares for the home year after year will have 



