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47
to become a mere sexual one. and it decreases in number. " This
creature is often termed the harmless fly. I ccrtainly give it the first
place as a pathogenic agent during the summer months. It is a useful
scavenger if kept in its place, but when allowed to fly straight
from the dung or refuse heap to commit suicide in the milk bowl, or
alight on the lips of a sleeping infant, or walk over meat and other
articles of food on the table, I repeat that I consider it the most active
pathogenic agent during the summer, and the principal causes of
summer Diarrhœa."
Dr. Fraser, of Portsmouth, in his Annual Report, also associated
an epidemic of Diarrhoea with accumulations of refuse and the
usual litter of rubbish associated with the making of bricks in the
town. The heat of the refuse and the brickmaking had afforded a
breeding ground for millions of flies, that had been passing backwards
and forwards from the refuse to the houses, and he attributed
the epidemic in a certain district of Portsmouth entirely to the infection
of the food in the houses by these insects. This particular
epidemic occurred during a period when there had been no deficiency
of rain, nor had the heat been excessive. The families that suffered
were by no means of the lowest classes, being composed of respectable
working and middle classes; their houses were new, clean, and,
as a rule, well kept. Curiously, in Acton, the district in the vicinity
of the refuse tip and the brick works was the area least affected by
Diarrhœa. On page 68 is given a list of the streets, together with
the. number of deaths caused by Diarrhœa in these streets. The
figures are admittedly limited, but it does seem curious that so few
deaths occurred from Diarrhœal diseases to the north of the Great
Western Railway, as undoubtedly this constitutes the fly-infected area
of the district.
It was stated that the article of food most frequently contaminated
is milk. That this is so is suggested by the age incidence of the
fatal cases. The following table gives the ages at death:—
Under 1 month. 1-2 months. 2-3 months. 3-4 months. 4-5 months.
2 9 10 11 10
5-6 months. 6-7 months. 7-8 months. 8-9 months. 9-10 months.
9 6 4 7 5
10-11 months. 11-12 months. Total under 12 months.
5 1 78
1-2 years. 5-15 years. Over 65 years.
11 1 1