CHAPTER VII 



DISINFECTION BY HEAT 



TT is hardly necessary to say that burning of in- 

 * fectious material, infected clothing, etc., is an 

 effectual method of disposing of it. This method 

 of disinfection is always to be recommended, when 

 practical and consistent with a due regard for econ- 

 omy and the rights of individuals. As a rule, arti- 

 cles of little value, which have been soiled with 

 infectious material, had better be burned ; and this 

 is especially true of old clothing and bedding. But 

 we have other efficient methods of disinfection, which 

 make it unnecessary to sacrifice articles of value ex- 

 cept under unusual circumstances. 



While all disease germs are readily killed by ex- 

 posure for a short time to the temperature of boiling 

 water, many of the most important pathogenic bac- 

 teria are quickly destroyed by a much lower tempera- 

 ture than this that is, when exposed in a liquid or in 

 a moist condition. When in a desiccated condition, 



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