THE CONTROL OF TYPHOID INFECTION

Abstract

The typhoid problem in Wilmington as elsewhere is occasioned by the exposure of infected feces to flies, and by the pollution of the soil and water. In rural districts, towns and small cities where the use of the sewer is limited or does not exist, it is obvious that the first attempt at typhoid control must be directed toward the sanitary disposal of human excreta, more especially that of typhoid patients. In the absence of a system of sewers the sanitary disposal of excreta is not so simple as it would at first appear. All forms of the sanitary privy are open to objections and most of these objections are easily magnified by property owners who desire to avoid expense and citizens who are unwilling to complicate their manner of living. The ordinary open surface-privy appeals strongly to the ignorant because all fluids are readily absorbed by the earth and