How to prevent contamination of the air by the respiration, bodily emanations, and excreta of diseased persons.
It is not possible with our present knowledge to prevent the multiplication of morbid germs in the human body, when they are once implanted there, nor to prevent their discharge; but we can destroy them after their exit from the body, and so protect other persons who are not yet affected.
The following instructions for the management of contagious diseases were prepared for the National Board of Health by Professors Chandler, Henry Draper, Barker, Vander Poel, E. G. Janeway, and Ira Remsen.
Instructions for Disinfection.
Disinfection is the destruction of the poisons of infectious and contagious diseases.
Deodorizers, or substances which destroy smells, are not necessarily disinfectants, and disinfectants do not necessarily have an odor.
Disinfection can not compensate for want of cleanliness nor of ventilation.
I. Disinfectants to be employed.
1. Roll-sulphur (brimstone) for fumigation.
2. Sulphate of iron (copperas) dissolved in water in the proportion of one and a half pounds to the gallon; for soil, sewers, etc.