22 THE MODERN MILK PROBLEM 



Diseases Transmissible by Milk 



The following are the principal diseases transmis- 

 sible by milk : 



From human sources: typhoid fever, diphtheria, 

 scarlet fever, septic sore throat (epidemic tonsillitis), 

 tuberculosis. 



From the cow: tuberculosis, septic sore throat, and 

 other diseases of bovine origin. 



(Milk-caused gastro-intestinal disease of infants was 

 discussed in the last section.) 



"Milk as a cause of epidemics of typhoid fever, 

 scarlet fever, and diphtheria" is the title of a study 

 made by Dr. John W. Trask of the United States Pub- 

 lic Health Service, in which he collected and tabulated 

 the summaries of 317 milk-borne epidemics of typhoid 

 fever, 125 of scarlet fever, and 51 of diphtheria. 8 This 

 is the most extensive tabulation which has yet been 

 made, but hi addition to the instances recorded it is 

 certain that many epidemics have gone unrecorded, 

 while countless scattered cases of milk-borne infection 

 must have escaped notice. Rosenau 9 mentions how a 

 single city, Boston, suffered from milk-borne epidemics 

 in the space of four years, giving the following figures 

 (greater Boston) : 



1907 Diphtheria 72 cases 



1907 Scarlet fever 717 



1908 Typhoid fever 400 



1910 Scarlet fever. . 842 



1911 "Tonsillitis" 2,064 



4,095 



