CHAPTER III 

 TYPHOID FEVER 



DUBONIC plague, Asiatic cholera, and dysentery 

 ^ are filth diseases which appertain especially 

 to the populous countries of the Orient. In the 

 present chapter we shall consider a filth disease 

 which prevails in all parts of the civilised world, 

 and which continues to claim its annual quota of 

 victims notwithstanding the fact that we know its 

 specific cause (germ), its mode of transmission, and 

 the preventive measures which if thoroughly carried 

 out would soon lead to its extinction. According to 

 the last census return, there were 35,379 deaths from 

 typhoid fever in the United States during the census 

 year 1900. The increase in mortality over the num- 

 ber in 1890 (27,056) is out of proportion to the 

 increase in population, notwithstanding the general 

 improvement in the sanitary condition of towns and 

 cities. This is no doubt due to the continued pollu- 

 tion of water supplies and to the extension of this 



infectious disease in rural districts. 



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