Some observations on our present methods of disposal of human excreta, and their relation to the spread of epidemic disease : being a paper read to the Glasgow Philosophical Society, 30th March, 1881 / by Eben. Duncan.

  • Duncan, Eben.
Date:
1881
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Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Some observations on our present methods of disposal of human excreta, and their relation to the spread of epidemic disease : being a paper read to the Glasgow Philosophical Society, 30th March, 1881 / by Eben. Duncan. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by The University of Glasgow Library. The original may be consulted at The University of Glasgow Library.

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    Some Observations on our present Methods of Disposal of Human Excreta, and their Relation to the Spread of Epidemic Disease, By Ebek, Duncan, M.D., F.F.P.S.G. [Read to the Society, 30th March, 1881.] C If the recommendations of the last deputation of the Glasgow- Corporation, -which reported upon the question of sewage disposal, are carried out, the excreta of the vast population of this city -wdll continue to be disposed of as at present—about one-half by the dry method and one-half by water carriage. Looking at. the matter purely from the point of -view of a sanitarian, the modifica- tions of existing methods, which they recommend, only affect to a very limited degree the sanitary problems which we have been discussing for so many years. It is now well known that the most dangerous constituents of our organic refuse matter are human excreta. Most of the common forms of epidemic disease.—such as measles, scarlet fever, typhus fever, and small-pox—are known to be sj)read through the atmosphere. Although it may be true that, by dust collected in the houses of such patients, by water in which their persons are washed, or by the rags of clothing which they have worn, the germs of these diseases may gain access to the ashpit, manure heap, or sewer, yet up to the present time very little evidence has been adduced which connects outbreaks of these diseases with any of our ordinary methods of sewage disposal. Of all the epidemic diseases with which we are familiar, the one which has been most conclusively traced to aii- or water tainted -with human excrement is typhoid fever. It is no-w proven most con- clusively that the fever is propagated by the alvine discharges of those who sufier from it. Their poisonous effects are as clearly estabUshed as the poisonous properties of arsenic or strychnine. Wherever the diinking water of a community becomes tainted with these discharges, the fever appears. The investigations of the last ten years have all tended to prove that an outbreak of