1 62 MILK AND THE PUBLIC HEALTH CHAP. 



The tables quoted are in favour of home infection for 

 much of the diarrhoea, since the store milk was usually heated 

 at home before feeding, and the condensed milk contained only 

 few bacteria. 



The authors are emphatic upon the influence of con- 

 taminated milk. They state that with the cleanest milk from 

 the best cared for cattle the smallest number of bad results 

 occurred. They also note that the difference between very 

 bad, highly contaminated milk, like that purchased at some of 

 the small stores previous to 1902, and the best bottled milk, 

 was in some cases very striking. Protracted diarrhoea in 

 infants who were taking store milk was often immediately 

 improved, and in several cases promptly cured, by simply sub- 

 stituting clean milk, after an interval of no milk, for the 

 previous food. In some severe cases, however, no improvement 

 followed the purer milk. 



The importance of clean milk is also shown by the 

 comparison between the results of feeding with pasteurised 

 and raw milk, 

 table : 



These results are summarised in the following 



1 Thirteen of the 51 infants on raw milk were transferred before the end of 

 the trial to pasteurised milk because of serious illness. If these infants had 

 been left on raw milk, it is believed by the writers that the comparative results 

 would have been even more unfavourable to raw milk. 



Some further interesting results are recorded by Park and 

 Holt in the following table. 



