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7
the organisms by ultra-violet light, each has its adherents, but
no method of control of the spread of these diseases can be as
effective as proper spacing of the individuals, combined with
adequate ventilation. The standard beyond which crowding must
not be allowed to occur has been laid down as 50 cubic feet per
occupant, a standard, of course, infinitely removed from any at
any other time laid down for human-beings. Crowding to this
extent will necessitate the provision of other means for preventing
the spread of nasopharyngeal flora from one individual to another
if epidemics are not to take place. Adequate spacing implies
much more room space than this standard. The crux of the
problem is undoubtedly this question of crowding, in regard to
which lateral spacing is probably of more importance than cubic
content. The policy of dispersal, whether by evacuation of the
inhabitants of towns to reduce the demand on shelters, by
distributing the population in small bodies in a large number of
shelters rather than in large crowds in a small number of shelters,
or by reducing crowding and so to ensure adequate spacing in
the shelters is not less important as an epidemiological factor than
as a method of minimising casualties from air attack. The dangers
resulting from shelter existence arise not only from the degree of
proximity of the individuals with presumably at least a proportional
increased risk of the spread of infection as compared with that
obtaining when the more usual standards of accommodation are
adopted, but also from the added factor, the length of exposure
to any possible infection. Some diseases spread to the susceptible
members of the population on what would seem to be momentary
exposure, while others appear to require more lengthy exposure,
and it is to be imagined that a susceptible person who has been
partially salted might well successfully resist a certain dosage to
which he is exposed for a short time but succumbs to the same
dosage if he is exposed to it for many hours. The physical
discomforts and the psychological reactions of those at the shelters
would also tend to lessen whatever powers of immunity were
possessed by the shelterers, while the humid and stagnant
atmosphere must materially increase the opportunities for the
spread of droplet infections. These are the risks, which in some
cases might be considered to outweigh in importance the dangers
against which shelter existence was adopted. If congregation
of large numbers in shelters is to continue, adequate ventilation
must be provided. For this to be tolerated and so be permitted
to function at all, will necessitate an effective system such as
the provision of fans coupled with some method of heating the
incoming air. Better than the congregation of large numbers in
shelters, however, is the return to the family unit. Street surface
shelters, even though they are accepted as safe, are not popular,
very largely, it seems, because of the noise. The absence of noise
appears to be one of the contributory factors to the feeling of