BACILLI OF THE COLON-TYPHOID-DYSENTERY GROUP 679 



be a source of danger. Conn 109 was the first to suggest this, tracing 

 an epidemic, which broke out, to this cause. Experiments by Foote no 

 showed that typhoid bacilli may be found alive in oysters, within three 

 weeks after they had disappeared from the surrounding water. While 

 there is very little question as to the possibility of this form of infection, 

 it probably does not occur very often. In the investigations of Rose- 

 nau, Lurnsden and Kastle m it was found to be a negligible factor 

 in the cases of typhoid fever occurring in the District of Columbia. 



That flies play a very important role in the carrying of typhoid 

 bacilli from feces to food, was suggested by Vaughan and by Veeder 112 

 in 1898. Vaughan studied this particularly, and showed that in the 

 Army camps in 1898, flies flew directly from the latrines to the kitchen; 

 in fact, he found hypochlorite of lime on the food, picked up by the flies 

 in the latrines. During the late war, there can be very little question 

 about the fact that the enormous morbidity of intestinal diseases which 

 occurred in the Allied Armies at various times, and especially during 

 the July offensive at Chateau Thierry, was caused by open latrines and 

 flies, typhoid epidemics being avoided only by the universal vaccination 

 of the Armies. 



As water supplies, milk supplies, etc., are being supervised and, 

 therefore, excluded as sources of typhoid infection, contact infection is 

 becoming more and more important. As a matter of fact, the recent 

 studies of typhoid morbidity seem to indicate that contact infection is 

 growing to be the chief problem in the prevention of typhoid fever. 

 Frosch who analyzed 978 cases, concluded that 65.6 per cent were con- 

 tact infections, and Drigalski makes similar estimates. Such infections 

 may be from individual to individual by close contact. They may be 

 from cook and kitchen personnel, to raw food to consumer. Instances 

 of such infection are frequent, the most famous one being that of 

 ''Typhoid Mary" who was recently made the subject of a special pub- 

 lication by Soper. 113 This woman, a cook, worked for eight families in 

 the course of ten years, during which time 7 outbreaks directly trace- 

 able to her occurred. Since that time her movements from place to 

 place 'have usually been followed by circumscribed epidemics. Again, 



109 Conn, Medical Record, December, 1894. 



110 Foote, Medical News, 1895. 



111 Rosenau, Lumsden and Kastle, Pub. No. 52, Hyg. Lab. U. S. Pub. Health 

 Serv., 190S. 



112 Veeder, Medical Record, 45, 1898. 



113 Soper, Military Surgeon, 45, 1919, 1. 



