CHAPTER V 



DISINFECTION 



'"THE object of disinfection is to prevent the exten- 

 sion of infectious diseases by destroying the 

 specific infectious agent (germ) which gives rise to 

 them. This is accomplished by the use of disin- 

 fectants. 



The writer, as chairman of the Committee on Dis- 

 infectants of the American Public Health Associa- 

 tion, in 1885, defined a disinfectant as "an agent 

 capable of destroying the infecting power of infec- 

 tious material." 



In the preliminary report of this Committee the 

 following general statements with reference to disin- 

 fection and disinfectants are also made : 



"There can be no partial disinfection of such material [that 

 is, material containing disease germs] ; either its infecting power 

 is destroyed or it is not. In the latter case there is a failure to 

 disinfect. Nor can there be any disinfection in the absence of 

 infectious material. 



" Popularly, the term disinfection is used in a much broader 



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