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IOWA ACADEMY OF SCIENCES. 
And recently Schuder, * who collected statistics of 638 
epidemics of typhoid fever in different countries finds that 
70.8 per cent of such epidemics are spread by drinking in- 
fected water; 17 per cent by drinking infected milk, and 
3.5 per cent by other forms of food. The remainder, 9 per 
cent, are caused by clothes, etc., worn by typhoid patients. 
29 per cent of the epidemics spread by infected milk are 
caused by the use of dairy utensils washed w r ith infected 
water. Swithinbank and New 7 man have likewise collected 
statistics on this subject. Of the 200 epidemics studied by 
them they arrived at the following conclusions: But in 
epidemics, it has been possible to obtain the likely channel 
of infection betw T een 70 and 80 typhoid epidemics. 
Milk-borne typhoid epidemic probably started: Percent. 
( a ) By cases ot typhoid at the farm or milk-shop. 70 
( b ) By cases of typhoid at the farm 40 
( c ) By cases of typhoid at the milk-shop 30 
( d ) By using polluted water for dairy purposes, method of pollution 
unknown 20 
( e) By insanitation at the farm or milk-shop and miscellaneous 10 
Sedgwickf in his “Principles of Sanitary Science and 
Public Health’ 7 makes the following interesting comments 
of the spread of typhoid fever in the village of Marlbor- 
ough, Mass., through skimmed milk. 
‘‘ In August and September, 1844, a small epidemic of typhoid fever 
appeared in the city of Marlborough, Mass. Various ‘theories’ of the cause 
of the outbreak were held or suggested, and the local newspapers contained 
numerous letters on the sub-ject, some alleging that the water supply was 
infected, some that the sewers were to blame, and some that accumulations- 
of filth, especially dump-heaps, were responsible. The localization of the 
cases, however, not only disproved these theories but also suggested milk as 
the probable cause. It soon became evident, nevertheless, that none of the 
regular milkmen were involved, the cases apparently deriving their milk 
supplies from a variety of different sources. Eventually, however, it turned 
out that there existed within the city itself a creamery from which was dis- 
patched daily a wagon loaded with skimmed milk (‘separator’ milk), and 
that nearlv all of the cases of typhoid fever had been supplied with such 
skimmed milk either from this wagon or directly from the creamery itself. 
Further investigation showed that the driver of the skimmed-milk wagon 
was at the time of the inquiry living on the upper floor of the creamery, and 
just recovering from a severe attack of typhoid fever. This young man had: 
♦Swithinbank and Newman —Bacteriology of Milk. 315. 
t Sedgwick. —Principles of Sanitary Science. 275. 
