50 SHELLFISH CONTAMINATION FROM SEWAGE-POLLUTED WATERS. 



(11) Steaming contaminated oysters and clams in the shell, or 

 cooking them after shucking for 15 minutes at boiling temperature, 

 practically destroys all organisms -of a questionable character, but 

 since in practice shellfish are never cooked for this length of time, 

 cooking can not be depended upon to remove this danger. 



(12) Oysters intended to be eaten on the half shell, above all others, 

 should be produced from beds of unquestionable purity, and they 

 should be consumed preferably while fresh from the beds; although 

 if properly kept at cool temperatures under sanitary surroundings 

 shell oysters may remain wholesome and in good condition for several 

 weeks after dredging. 



(13) The investigations show that vast areas of valuable shellfish 

 grounds in this country are now \reason ably free from sewage pollu- 

 tion, but this territory will gradually diminish in size if sewage is not 

 properly cared for in the future. Comparatively speaking only a 

 small acreage is now subject to serious pollution. Active steps are 

 now being taken in some instances 'to overcome this difficulty; how- 

 ever, it is not the satisfactory conditions which require regulation and 

 future protection, but those places which are polluted at the present 

 time, and yet are being used for the cultivation and sale of shellfish. 

 The presentation of these facts should stimulate every citizen and 

 health official alike to see that the wastes under their own jurisdiction 

 are not adding to the difficulty of keeping our natural bodies of water 

 and the shellfish therein free from contamination. 



BIBLIOGRAPHY. 



[References consulted in conducting oyster investigations.] 



(1) Abbott, A. C. Bacteriological study of water. (In his The principles of bac- 



teriology. 1909, p. 589.) 



(2) Beale, J. F. An outbreak of typhoid fever due to eating clams from an infected 



source. (In The Lancet. 1907, 1 (1): 20-21.) 



(3) Bissell, W. G. The bacterial examination of 104 samples of water, together with 



a detailed study of the colon bacillus. (In Amer. Public Health Assn. 

 Papers and Reports. 1904, 29: 360.) 



(4) Brewer, W. H., and others. Report of the committee appointed by the State 



Board of Health April 15, 1904, "To investigate and report on the possible 

 danger of typhoid fever resulting from oysters as frequently prepared for 

 market in sewage-polluted water." (In Connecticut State Board of Health. 

 28th Annual Report. 1905, pp. 63-69.) 



(5) British Medical Journal. Oysters and enteric fever in New Zealand (editorial). 



1903, 1 (2199): 451. 



(6) Same. Pathogenic oysters in Manila (editorial}. 1903, 1 (2214): 1338. 



(7) Same. Remedies for the contamination by sewage of oysters and other mollusks 



(editorial). 1903, 1 (2194): 161-162. 



(8) Same. Sewage-fed cockles and oysters (editorial). 1903, 1 (2197): 325-329. 



(9) Same. To prevent the pollution of shellfish (editorial). 1903, 1 (2197): 334-335. 

 (10) Buchan, E. F. Mussels and typhoid fever. (In Public Health. London, 1908, 



22 (2): 54-56.) 



