Military hygiene : a manual of sanitation for soldiers / by R.H. Firth.

  • Firth, R. H. (Robert Hammill), Sir, 1858-1931.
Date:
1908
Catalogue details

Licence: In copyright

Credit: Military hygiene : a manual of sanitation for soldiers / by R.H. Firth. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    germs. I'ood stored should be adequately protected from flies and dust. J\Iilk in particular needs to be safeguarded, as it is a suitable medium in which germs w'ill develop. ]\Iilk drawn from water-buffaloes in India and elsewhere should invariably be boiled before issue ; these milch cows are often driven straight from ponds or tanks to be milked, with their udders dripping with foul water. Raw vegetables and shell-fish need to be scrupulously washed in safe water before con- sumption. Supplementary to these precautions are measures taken not only to dispose safely of all excreta, but also to keep the latrines and closets sweet and clean, more especially where the dry earth system is in vogue, to ensure prompt and adequate protection from the fly. Valuable as these precautions are, they will be futile unless the personal cleanliness of the soldier is rigidly supervised and enforced. This in- volves not only cleanliness of the man, but also of his clothing and bedding. In camp and at other times when men are crowded together infection by bedding or clothing is very common. To these preventive measures may be added the encouragement of inocula- tion against enteric fever. Dysentery.—The early history of our army affords constant references to this disease. It is probable that under the name of dysentery may have been included many cases of what is recognised as enteric fever in the present day. Still, even so, we 6nd the disease very prevalent in our own times. There are two forms of dysentery, the one due to a small germ closely related to that of enteric fever, and the other to an amoeba. The symptoms of these two forms are indistinguishable
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