26o MANUAL OF BACTERIOLOGY. 



fectant. The same rule applies to the disinfection of the 

 fluids — an exposure of at least one hour to the disinfectant 

 before final disposition. 



The Cadaver in Contagious Diseases. — In cases of death 

 from a contagious disease all the orifices of the body should be 

 packed with cotton soaked in a strong solution (1-500) of 

 bichloride of mercury, the skin washed with a i-iooo solution, 

 and the cadaver wrapped in a sheet wet with the same. The 

 funeral should be private and the body disposed of within 

 twenty-four hours, preferably by cremation. 



House Disinfection. — After infectious disease it is essential 

 that the house or the apartment in which the patient has been 

 confined should be disinfected. It is rarely necessary to carry 

 out the process in more than two rooms; but should it be so, 

 the process can be applied to the whole house. 



After thorough bathing of the patient, preferably with an 

 antiseptic soap, the individual should be wrapped in a clean 

 sheet and removed to a clean room. All articles or materials 

 that are of little value should be destroyed. All bedding, 

 towels and the like should be placed in wooden tubs and 

 covered with a i-iooo solution of bichloride of mercury. The 

 room should then be made as nearly airtight as possible; this 

 can be accomplished by pasting strips of paper over registers, 

 cracks, spaces between window-sashes and the like. Formal- 

 dehyde gas is then passed through the keyhole into the room 

 (or it may be generated by formaldehyde candles) in sufficient 

 quantity to destroy the infectious element. The room should 

 be sealed for at least twelve hours, after which time it may be 

 opened and aired. The process is completed by washing all 

 exposed surfaces in the room with i-iooo bichloride of mer- 

 cury. This latter requirement is not essential if the gaseous 

 disinfection has been complete, but since we have no absolute 

 knowledge on this point, the secondary washing should -be 

 carried out. This method can be considered reliable for sur- 



