House-Flies or Typhoid-Flies 65 



this filth without more or less of it clinging to their 

 bodies. Now if these flies would breed only in 

 barn-yard manure and fly directly from the stable 

 to the house there would be comparatively little 

 reason to complain, at least from a sanitary stand- 

 point, for the amount of barn-yard filth that they 

 carried to our food would be of little consequence. 

 But when they breed in privy vaults or similar 

 places, or visit such places before coming into the 

 house or dairy or market place the results may be 

 much more serious. 



FLIES AND TYPHOID 



It has been abundantly demonstrated that the ex- 

 crement or the urine of a typhoid patient may con- 

 tain virulent germs for some time before he is aware 

 that he has the disease, and it has been shown that 

 the germs may be present for weeks or months, 

 and in some cases even years after the patient has 

 recovered. If a fly breeds in such infected ma- 

 terial, or feeds or walks on it, it is very apt to get 

 some of the germs on its body where they may re- 

 tain their virulence for some time, and should it 

 visit our food while covered with these germs some 

 of them would probably be left there where they 

 might produce serious results. More than that. If 

 the fly should feed on such infected material the 



