52 OYSTERS AND DISEASE. 



This Table indicates that, so far as regards anaerobic milk-coagulating bacilli, 

 oysters as bought in the town shops are considerably better than the other shellfish. 

 The inoculations, however, were not in any case followed by death within 24 hours ; 

 while simultaneous experiments, in which the anaerobic milk-coagulating, spore-bearing 

 bacilli were isolated from sewage, gave fatal results in that time. We are thus not yet 

 prepared to say whether the bacilli from the shellfish are distinct from B. enteritidis, 

 or represent attenuated (less virulent) conditions of Klein's form. 



It is evident from the result of these experiments, and a consideration of all the 

 facts brought to light in recent years in regard to the bacteriology of shellfish and its 

 influence on public health, that we must regard oysters, mussels, cockles, and the like 

 as nutritious food matters which, from their nature and the circumstances of their 

 cultivation and sale, are liable to become contaminated with organisms — pathogenic or 

 otherwise — and their deleterious products. 



Once this is recognised the practical applications are largely a matter of common 

 sense. Shellfish must not be taken as food from grounds where there is any possibility 

 of sewage contamination ; after removal from the sea, while in transit, in store, or in 

 market, they should be carefully protected from any possibility of insanitary environment ; 

 they should not be kept longer than is absolutely necessary in shops, cellars, &c., in 

 towns, where, even if not running the risk of fresh contamination, they are under conditions 

 favourable to the reduction of their vitality and the growth of their bacterial contents — 

 the fresher they are from the sea the more healthy they are likely to be ; finally, only 

 absolutely fresh shellfish should be eaten uncooked, and those that are cooked must be 

 sufficiently cooked, raised to boiling point and kept there for at least ten minutes. 



