DISINFECTANTS AND DISINFECTION 343 



2 per cent, of carbolic acid is added. No injury is done to the books or 

 clothing, provided they are carefully handled until dry. Gasoline will, 

 however, injure oil paint lettering, etc. 



D. Postmortem Disinfection and Sterilization of Cadaver. — After 

 autopsies on bodies after infectious disease, thorough disinfection must 

 be resorted to. A liberal use of a 4 per cent, solution of calcic hypochlor- 

 ite, allowing this to act for at least one hour, will serve the purpose. 



In cases of death from contagious diseases all orifices of the body should 

 be packed with cotton well soaked in a 1-500 bichloride solution. The 

 entire body should be washed with i-iooo bichloride solution. Crema- 

 tion is desirable and the funeral should be private. 



■ The so- called embalming fluid of funeral directors are aqueous solu- 

 tions of various chemical disinfectants, having corrosive sublimate and 

 formalin as the chief ingredients. The following formula is said to 

 have the approval of the National Funeral Directors Association of 

 the United States: 



Formalin (40 per cent.) 11 lb. 



Glycerin 4 lb. 



Borax 2 . s lb. 



Boric acid i lb. 



Potassium nitrate 2 . s lb. 



Solution of eosin (i per cent.) i oz. 



Water, to make 10 gal. 



The salts are dissolved in six gallons of water; the glycerin, formalin 

 and eosin added and enough water to make up the ten gallons. 



E. Disinfection of Public Buildings andPublic Conveyances. — Only rarely 

 will it become necessary to disinfect an entire large building, whether 

 private or public, and then the method of procedure is much the same as 

 for the sick room disinfection, already described, treating each room as 

 though it were independent of other rooms, excepting that inner con- 

 necting rooms need not be closed and sealed. 



In disinfection, one important fact should never be lost sight of, namely, 

 that it is just as important to destroy the carriers of disease (flies, fleas, rats, 

 mice, and other animals), as the disease germs themselves. This is par- 

 ticularly important in public disinfection, so much so that it is a general 

 rule to always use a disinfectant which destroys the disease carriers, as sul- 

 phur dioxide. In the yellow fever district, for example, the chief fumi- 

 gating agent is burning Pyrethrum which is a sure death to the Aedes 

 mosquito as well as to other insects. 



Wherever and whenever practical therefore, sulphur dioxide should be 

 used for public disinfection. In many European cities, the health depart- 

 ment is provided with portable generators which are run alongside the 



