24 
Books  as  a  Source  of  Disease. 
i  Am.  Jour.  Pharm. 
\    January,  1914. 
persons,  especially  in  the  convalescent  stage,  spend  a  great  deal 
of  their  time  in  reading  books  and  magazines. 
Disinfection. — This  process  in  killing  germs  in  books,  although 
recommended,  especially  by  those  who  have  the  disinfectants  and  the 
apparatus  for  sale,  may  be  dismissed  as  of  very  little  use,  on  account 
of  the  impossibility  of  the  gases  penetrating  into  the  interior  of  the 
volumes,  and  in  no  case,  even  if  the  entire  surface  is  reached,  will 
they  remove  all  of  the  spores. 
Sterilisation. — Both  steam  and  hot  air  sterilization  are  of  little 
value  for  books,  because  the  first  will  cause  the  paper  of  the  books 
to  absorb  the  moisture,  swell  and  deform  the  book,  and  while  in  the 
case  of  hot  air  sterilization,  the  heat  would,  by  drying  up  all  the 
moisture  in  the  books,  have  the  same  effect,  besides,  in  the  case  of 
books  bound  with  leather,  cause  the  leather  to  stretch  and  often 
break. 
The  heat  also  will  absorb  the  moisture  and  the  paper  will  become 
dry  and  brittle,  lessening  the  life  of  the  volume.  At  present  I  do 
not  believe,  that  there  is  any  method  which  may  be  depended  upon 
to  entirely  eliminate  the  possibility  of  diseases  being  contracted 
through  contact  with  fomites,  such  as  books  and  the  hundreds  of 
other  articles  in  daily  use,  constantly  being  transferred  to  a  sick- 
room, returned  and  ready  for  another  victim.  I  believe  that  some 
of  the  State  Boards  of  Health  are  now  beginning  to  recognize  the 
futility  of  quarantining  and  disinfecting.  Instead  they  are  spending 
all  their  energies  in  improving  sanitary  conditions  as  to  the  necessity 
of  cleanliness  and  the  proper  care  of  health.  If  a  person  using  books 
or  any  other  of  the  numerous  articles  named  as  conveying  germs  will 
use  precautions  as  to  the  degree  of  cleanliness  of  the  article  they 
handle,  and  will  take  the  proper  care  of  their  health,  they  need  have 
no  fear  of  contracting  any  disease  by  means  of  a  book  or  any  other 
article. 
Suppose  that  a  library  did  disinfect  their  books,  what  claim  can 
they  make  that  the  book  has  no  germs,  after  it  has  been  placed  on  a 
shelf  next  to  another  book  or  been  handled  by  a  reader  or  one  of  the 
assistants.  Dr.  A.  W.  Doty,  of  New  York  City,  states  along  the  line 
of  using  disinfectants  at  intervals,  "  I  know  of  nothing  in  public 
sanitation  which  is  more  farcical  than  the  general  or  periodical  dis- 
infection of  books  with  gaseous  disinfectants  for  the  purpose  of 
preventing  infection.  These  agents  have  no  penetration  of  any 
account,  and  I  have  little  faith  in  them  for  this  purpose.    I  believe 
