CHAPTER XXXVI 
PREVENTION OF DISEASE 
382. Preventable Disease. — More than 600,000 lives 
and more than a million dollars are wasted in the United 
States each year by preventable disease. For this careless¬ 
ness and ignorance are chiefly responsible. Preventable 
disease can be practically wiped out by vigilance, cleanliness, 
and wholesome living, in short, by sanitation. 
Prevention of Communicable Diseases. — The prevention 
of these diseases depends upon an understanding of the causes 
which produce them, close adherence to the laws of hygiene, 
and especially the exercising of proper care in the produc¬ 
tion and cooking of our food. Germ diseases are unneces¬ 
sary, and it should be considered a disgrace to a community 
if some of them appear. 
Proper hygienic measures will do much towards eliminating 
most of the communicable diseases, but until the intelligence 
of communities can be aroused enough so that such measures 
shall be insisted upon, we must depend upon proper food, 
rest, fresh air, and exercise to keep ourselves fit, and thus 
avoid the conditions which help disease to gain a foothold. 
Tuberculosis, for example, is more likely to occur in persons 
who are underfed and overworked, and a cold often follows 
an attack of indigestion. 
Care of Food. — The care of food is extremely necessary 
in preserving our bodily well-being, for the same germs 
live and grow in food which cause disease when taken into 
our bodies. One method of keeping the bacteria on food 
from growing is by proper refrigeration. The temperature 
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