Take another case. A man leaves London for the country, and a day or two after his arrival he is taken ill with small-pox. There is no system of drains to the house in which he is located. People living in this and other houses are affected with the disease, and the medical officer of health in his report states that the disease was conveyed from London to the district by this man. He was certainly the first one affected, and at first sight this case appears to be conclusive in favour of contagion, for if he did not contract the disease in London and bring it into the country how was it that he was first affected?
It is certain that putrid matter from which the poisons are derived exists in villages similar to that in towns, consequently the poisons are there, and medical men agree that when a person leaves one locality for another, for what is commonly called a change of air, the system undergoes a change. This change had such an effect on the system of this man that the poison from the putrid matter of the village had a greater effect on him and poisoned the blood more quickly, than on those who were inhaling the poison during its various stages of development: but when it was fully developed by atmospheric influences the disease appeared in those other persons who were in contact with the poison.
The action of sewer poison on the system is similar to that experienced by persons taking cold. Persons occupied in rooms which have an equal temperature, or are not subjected to cold chilly winds, take colds and contract all sorts of complaints on being exposed to currents of cold air even for a short time. The draught from a window only, when a cold stream of air is playing upon it, will do this: the blood is chilled, hence the cold, fever, or one of the many complaints follow; but on persons used to exposure it has no effect. In the same way sewer poisons act on those who suddenly inhale them, only the blood becomes poisoned instead of chilled; but on those who are in constant contact with them they have not such an effect, yet on these persons the effect of them can be traced.
The medical profession have hitherto placed too much reliance on isolation as the sole means of stamping out this disease.
The Metropolitan Asylums Board have had ample means at their disposal since 1867 to test the soundness of this theory, yet after spending something like 480,000l. per annum, small-pox has increased 100 per cent. since that date! This fact alone is sufficient evidence to prove that other means than those of isolation must be used to effectually stamp out this disease.
It is of little use to have elaborate arrangements in hospitals and camps to minimise the effects on persons who have taken the disease, and at the same time allow the source from which it emanates to remain undisturbed. I admit that it is a question too complicated to be exhaustively dealt with in a work on the testing of drains and sanitary fittings, but it is inserted to show what a power those who are engaged in designing or executing sanitary works hold for good or evil in affecting the health of the community.
Experience proves that ninety-nine zymotic cases out of every hundred are caused through imperfect sanitary works and appliances.
LONDON: PRINTED BY WILLIAM CLOWES AND SONS, LIMITED, STAMFORD STREET AND CHARING CROSS.
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