

__ AMERICAN MUSEUM GUIDE LEAFLETS 

It was the experience of the American troops in the Spanish 
War which first forcibly called attention in this country to the danger 
of the transmission of disease by flies. About one out of five of our 
volunteer soldiers contracted typhoid during the campaign, and the 
investigators who studied the cause of this disastrous affair concluded 
that ‘“‘the number of cases of typhoid fever in the different camps 
varied with the methods of disposing of the excretions.’ The 
typhoid germs, in most cases, were probably spread from person to 
person by more or less direct contact, but the fly undoubtedly played its 
part. Doctors Reed, Vaughan and Shakespeare pointed out in their 
official report that “flies swarm over infected fecal matter in the pits 
and then deposit it and feed upon the food prepared for the soldiers 
at the mess tents. In some instances, where lime had recently been 
sprinkled over the contents of the pits, flies with their feet whitened 
by lime were seen walking over the food.’’ 
‘The investigators also point out that, “‘Officers whose mess tents 
were protected by means of screens suffered proportionately less 
from typhoid fever than did those whose tents were not so pro- 
tected,” and again that ““Typhoid fever gradually disappeared in the 
fall of 1898 with the approach of cold weather and the consequent 
disabling of the flies.”’ 
In the World War flies have constituted a grave menace to the 
health of troops operating in tropical and semitropical regions. On 
the western front they have been remarkably well controlled by 
burning manure and garbage and by protecting latrines. At 
Gallipoli and in Egypt, however, they have been responsible for the 
spread of dysentery and many other parasitic diseases among the 
French and English troops. 
The most striking evidence in regard to the importance of the fly 
as a carrier of disease is, perhaps, that furnished by the experience 
of Jacksonville, Fla. Ever since the encampment of troops at 
Jacksonville in 1898 the city has been heavily infected with typhoid 
fever. No reliable data are available before 1908, but the typhoid 
death rates per 100,000 population for the years 1908, 1909, and 1910 
were 82, 75 and 106 respectively. In the late summer of 1910 a law 
was passed requiring that all dry closets within the city should be 
rendered fly-proof. By March, 1911, about 75 per cent. of the closets 
had been brought into conformity with the law and the typhoid rate 
for the year dropped to 63. By January, 1912, practically all the closets 
had been rendered fly-proof and the typhoid rate dropped to 26. 
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Py arene a. 
