KEVIEW OP LITERATURE. y 



and hawk the fish from such places, and the public purchases them not knowing, 

 nor apparently caring, what their previous history has been. 



(10) On February 5, 1907, M. Nettor ^ and others, reported to 

 the Academy of Medicine 33 cases of typhoid fever due to eating 

 oysters from Cette. The cases were very virulent in character, 

 7 of the 33 resulting fatally. The illness usually began with diar- 

 rhea, and in some cases the disease resembled acute tuberculosis. 



(11) During the year 1908, Dr. H. D. Pease, then working under 

 the authority of Dr. Porter ^ of the New York State Board of Health, 

 reviewed the literature on the subject of typhoid transmission from 

 infected shellfish and made bacteriological and sanitary investiga- 

 tions pertaining to the oyster industry. He pointed out some of 

 the unsatisfactory conditions prevailing in that State and called 

 particular attention to the grossly polluted condition of Jamaica Bay. 



(12) One of the most exhaustive reports on the conditions under 

 which shellfish, other than oysters, are grown, collected, cleansed, 

 and stored, and the relation of such treatment to the prevalence of 

 enteric fever and other illness, is submitted by Dr. Bulstrode ^ of 

 England. A large number of cases of typhoid fever and other gastro- 

 intestinal illness are shown to have been due to eating infected 

 cockles, mussels, and sea food other than oysters. 



On page 44 the author summarizes the review of literature in the 

 following : 



The evidence brought forward in this chapter shows — 



1. That oysters, mussels, or cockles are at times responsible for isolated cases and 

 groups of cases of enteric fever, of gastroenteritis, and of mytilotoxin poisoning, 



2. That such shellfish have also to be held responsible for extensive outbreaks of 

 enteric fever and gastroenteritis, and that the amount of mischief in this latter sense 

 has not hitherto been adequately appreciated, 



3. That these shellfish have also been shown to have played and to be still playing 

 an important part in certain towns in maintenance of enteric-fever prevalence. 



4. That for the most part the specific contamination of such shellfish takes place 

 on the beds or layings, in the storage ponds, or in the process of "washing," but that 

 occasionally the shellfish may become infected by the retailer. 



On page 127 occur the following conclusions: 



The investigation to which the foregoing report relates has brought out prominently 

 the following considerations: 



(a) That both enteric fever and gastroenteritis are not infrequently caused by the 

 consumption of mussels or cockles eaten raw or imperfectly cooked. 



(6) That the shellfish here in question are in many instances collected from natural 

 "scalps," beds, or layings, which are liable to become specifically polluted by sewage. 



1 Netter, M. Epidemic typhoid fever due to oysters. (The Lancet, Feb. 23, 1907, 1 : 551.) 



2 Porter, Eugene n. Sanitary inspection of shellfish grounds, (New York State Board of Health, 29th 

 Ann. Kept., 1908, 2: 833-892.) 



3 Bulstrode, H. Timbrell. Shellfish other than oysters in relation to disease. (39th Ann. Rept. of the 

 Local Government Board, 1909-10, Supplement.) 



