270 GENERAL MORPHOLOGY OF PLANTS 



of making the desired strength of antitoxin is accelerated. The 

 antitoxin is injected into the patient suffering from diphtheria in 

 an early stage of the disease. This antitoxin checks the growth 

 of the bacillus and the disease runs its course in a much milder 

 form. 



409. Public duty in the preservation of health. With the 

 knowledge gained in the investigations as to the cause, preven- 

 tion and treatment of these germ diseases, it becomes the public 

 duty of every person to be familiar with the principal facts as to 

 the cause of disease, the means of infection and contagion, and to 

 use every care not only in the preservation of his own health but 

 in preventing the distribution of the germs which will communi- 

 cate the disease to others. It is well known, for example, that the 

 typhoid fever germs are taken into the system by drinking con- 

 taminated water or milk or by eating contaminated food. The 

 great epidemics of typhoid fever, where they have been traced, 

 have been found to originate from one or two isolated cases on the 

 water shed of the public water supply. Carelessness in throwing 

 the refuse from a patient where rains or melted snows carry the 

 bacteria into the water supply has often resulted in an epidemic 

 since many of those drinking from the public supply contract the 

 disease. All such refuse matter should be thoroughly disinfected 

 and then covered where there will be no drainage into streams, 

 for even if it is not drained into a water supply, flies during the 

 warm season will carry on their legs myriads of the germs and then 

 deposit them on food. The hands of attendants as well as 

 other things in the sick room should be properly disinfected, since 

 contact of these with food or fruits or with vessels used for hold- 

 ing milk or food leads to the contamination of these substances. 

 Nearly every typhoid epidemic shows two sources of infection, the 

 original one from the water supply, and then a number of second- 

 ary ones around the various primary cases due to carelessness 

 in or lack of proper disinfection. Boiling the water or milk and 

 thoroughly cooking the food kills the germs, but the wiser way 

 is to prevent the primary infection. In this respect the public 

 authorities should see to it that the water supply is kept pure both 



