214 PRACTICAL DIRECTIONS FOR DISINFECTION. 



Committee on Disinfectants. On page 236 the following definition of disin 

 fection and disinfectants is given : 



" The object of disinfection is to prevent the extension of infectious dis- 

 eases by destroying the specific infectious material which gives rise to them. 

 This is accomplished by the use of disinfectants. There can be no partial 

 disinfection of such material; 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." 



I have italicized the last sentence because I wish to call especial attention 

 to it. I am frequently asked, " What is the best disinfectant to put into a 

 water closet? " Now, if a closet or privy vault is resorted to only by healthy 

 pers ons and no infectious material has been thrown into it, there is nothing 

 111 it to disinfect, and the recommendation of the Committee on Disinfect- 

 ants does not apply to it at all. It may smell badly, and in this case the 

 bad odor may be neutralized by the use of deodorants ; or we may prevent 

 the putrefactive decomposition of its contents, and thus prevent the forma- 

 tion of the offensive gases given off as a result of such decomposition, by 

 the use of antiseptics. But to accomplish this it is not necessary to sterilize 

 the entire contents by the use of active germicidal agents. 



A solution of sulphate of iron or of chloride of zinc is a useful antiseptic 

 and deodorizing agent, and the Committee on Disinfectants, in making its 

 recommendations, did not intend to discourage the use of such agents. But 

 exact experimental data showed that these agents could not be depended 

 upon for the destruction of infectious disease germs, and the recommenda- 

 tions made related to disinfection in the strict and proper use of the term as 

 above defined. This definition is now accepted by sanitarians in all parts 

 of the world, but many practising physicians still use the term disinfectant 

 as synonymous with deodorant. For example, I find in a recent sanitary 

 periodical, under the heading "Medical Excerpt,'' an item copied from the 

 American Journal of Obstetrics, to which the name of a distinguished gy- 

 necologist is attached, in which the following statement is made with reference 

 to a much-advertised so-called "disinfectant": "Asa disinfectant I have 

 used it in my house for over a year with great satisfaction." Now, the agent 

 referred to has been proved by exact experiments to have comparatively 

 little disinfecting power, although it is a very good deodorant. According 

 to our definition, " the object of disinfection is to prevent the extension of 

 infectious diseases by destroying the specific infectious material which gives 

 rise to them." Are we to suppose that the distinguished gynecologist above 

 quoted had such infectious material in his house "for over a year " at the 

 time he was employing " with great satisfaction " the agent he recommends? 

 If not, the term was improperly employed, for " there can be no disinfec- 

 tion in the absence of infectious material." I wish to emphasize this point, 

 t>ecause I have reason to believe that, in the army at least, the recommen- 

 dation of the Committee on Disinfectants has led to the substitution of chlo- 

 ride of lime for cheaper deodorants and antiseptic agents and especially for 

 sulphate of iron in latrines which are frequented only by healthy persons 

 and consequently need no disinfection. The amount of chloride of lime 

 issued from the Medical Purveying Depot at San Francisco during the past 

 si\ months for use at military posts on the Pacific coast is more than 

 double the amount of sulphate of iron ; but there has been no epidemic of 

 an infectious disease, and probably comparatively little call for the use of a 

 disinfecting agent in the sick-room. We quote again from the report of the 

 Committee on Disinfectants : 



" In the sick-room we have disease germs at an advantage, for we know 

 where to find them as well as how to kill them. Having this knowledge, 

 not to apply it would be criminal negligence, for our efforts to restrict the 

 extension of infectious diseases must depend largely upon the proper use of 

 disinfectants in the sick-room" (op. cit, p. 237). 



" The injurious consequences which are likely to result from such mis- 

 apprehension and misuse of the word disinfectant will be appreciated when 



