128 
BACTERIOLOGY. 
tion should be given to destroying the secretions from 
the nose and throat. These should be collected in 
paper bags and burned. The patient should be quar¬ 
antined until the skin and mucous membranes are clear. 
After recovery the room should be disinfected. 
Rubella, or German Measles. 
The infection is very much like: measles, but is 
usually not so severe. In preventing its spread the 
same precautions should be taken as in measles. 
Variola, or Smallpox. 
Smallpox is an acute infectious disease character¬ 
ized by a skin eruption that passes successively through 
the stages of papule, vesicle, pustule, and crust, and 
usually leaves a depressed scar. The infectious agent 
is in the pustules, secretions, excretions, and in the 
breath. The scales are particularly infectious, form¬ 
ing a part of the dust in the room and becoming 
attached to the furniture, hangings, and clothing. The 
poison is very tenacious and remains virulent for 
months. 
In caring for smallpox patients the first thing to 
do is to isolate them, preferably in a building removed 
from other dwellings, because of the possibility of the 
virus being carried in the air. The strictest quarantine 
should be enforced not only of the patients, but of the 
attendants. Everyone that has been exposed to the 
contagion should be vaccinated and kept under obser- 
