328 



PATHOGENIC BACTERIA IN MILK 



Springfield, Mass., U.S. A., 1892 



{^Augusf). 

 Total number of cases . . 1 50 



Deaths 25 



Number of cases amongst 



drinkers of suspected milk . 135 



Percentage 90 



Number of polluted milk sources i 

 Number of milkmen . . . i 



Circumstances implicating the milk 

 supply. — Upon the farm supplying the 

 implicated milk there was one, and 

 probably more than one, case of 

 typhoid fever. The farmer submerged 

 his sealed milk cans when full of milk, 

 in the well adjoining the cow yards 

 with the object of keeping the milk 

 cool. The water in this was polluted, 

 and it was found that 4 of 9 milk cans 

 leaked, when inverted. Hence it 

 became evident that water could gain 

 access if the cans were submerged as 

 they had been. The investigators 

 suggest as an hypothesis that as the 

 typhoid excreta of the patient were 

 placed, undisinfected, in the privy, 

 and the contents of the latter spread 

 over the tobacco field, the germs of 

 typhoid may have gained access to the 

 well by dirt from the labourer's boots 

 who both worked in the field and at 

 the milk. Coliform organisms were 

 found in the well water. 



Probable exciting cause. — Human 

 source. 



Reporter and reference. — Drs W. T. 

 Sedgwick and W. C. Chapin. Boston 

 Med. and Surg. Jour.^ 1893, vol. ii., p. 

 485. 



Somerville, Mass., U.S.A., 1892 



(^A ugiisf). 



Total number of cases . . 35 

 Number of cases amongst 



drinkers of suspected milk . 30 



Percentage 85 



Number of polluted milk sources i 



Number of milkmen . . . i 



Circumstances implicating the milk 

 supply. — Farm sanitary. Infection of 



milk at milk-shop where the utensils 

 had been cleaned by the son of the 

 milkman whilst he was suffering from 

 typhoid fever. He continued his work 

 during the acute stages and died from 

 intestinal haemorrhage a few days 

 later. There was abundant evidence 

 to show that this young man assisted 

 in all the dairy work whilst suffering 

 from typhoid. When he was too ill 

 to work and withdrew altogether from 

 the dairy, the outbreak (allowing for 

 incubation period) ceased. 



Probable exciting cause. — Human 

 source. 



Reporter and reference. — Dr W. T. 

 Sedgwick. Boston Med. attd Surg. 

 Jour., 1893, vol. ii., p. 489, 



Shildon and East Thickley, County 

 Durham, 1893 {July-September). 



Total number of cases . . 45 

 Number of cases amongst 



drinkers of suspected milk . 45 



Percentage on total cases . . 100 

 Number of families supplied by 



milkman 147 



Number of such families invaded 26 

 Percentage . . . .17-6 



Circumstances implicating the milk 

 supply. — Room used for storing milk 

 had one large window opening on to 

 three uncovered privy middens, the 

 furthest of which was 33 feet away, 

 the nearest 23 feet. Also 13 feet away 

 was an imperfectly trapped gully in 

 yard communicating with sewer. 

 Inside storeroom a sink-pipe passed 

 direct to sewer. Three undoubted 

 cases of typhoid occurred on the dairy 

 premises in July and August. The 

 milk was stored all night in room 

 exposed to emanations from sewer, 

 which ventilated directly into room. 

 The room was also open to infection 

 from privy midden on which were 

 cast the untreated bowel discharges 

 of the dairy fever patients throughout 

 their illness. 



