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Show 'HEALTH " BY UNCLE SAM, M..D. Health Questions Will Bo An- owe red If Sent to Information Bureau, U. S. Public HcaJth Serv. Ice, Waohlngton, D. C. - - ' 6 Infectious diseases areiisually trans-1 mlttcd (1) directly from one person' to another through tho medium of discharges dis-charges from the body which contain Infectious germs or oranlsms in their i active state; (2) indirectly through1 the medium of contaminated food and! drink, and (3) by certain biting In- Beets. . mosquitoes, for example, which In the manner of their kind, transmit i infectious agents from one person to 'another. i If all cases of Infectious diseases, were well marked and could be' promptly and easily Identified, the danger of their spread would bo greatly great-ly diminished, for we could then better bet-ter guard against infective discharges; but, unfortunately, these diseases very often appear In a mild. Irregular and1 unrecognized form, and are &ver-, looked or mistaken for some simple' malady and usually treated with homo remedies. Another very common and dangerous danger-ous source oL Infection, and ono which Is now becoming more fully recognized, recog-nized, is what are known as "carriers," that is, persons who retain actively infective in-fective organisms within their body und who themselves are apparently well, yet through the medium of infectious in-fectious discharges may transmit disease dis-ease to others This very frequently occurs In connection with typhoid fever. fe-ver. Certain insects transmit Infection. Wo have Indisputable evidence that malarial and jellow fever aro conveyed con-veyed from ono person lo another by the bite of certain Infected mosquitoes and, as far as we know at tho present time, thero arc no other means by which these diseases are communl- The fly Is also regarded as a mc- Idium of Infection. The flea that infests the rat -transmits the Infection of bubonic plague, and It has recently been shown that tho body louse carries tho germ of ! typhus fever from one person to another. an-other. Filth does not cause Infectious disease, dis-ease, but disease thrives best where there is filth, overcrowding and bad air. To illustrator During tho outbreak of typhus fever, which ocurred In New York In the winter of 1893-1. over seven hundred cases wcro discovered, and all but two or three of thorn wcro found among the tenement and lodging lodg-ing house population, whore unclcanll-ncss, unclcanll-ncss, lice and overcrowding wero rife. The prompt detection of an Infectious Infect-ious disease is vitally important, for I this not only offers belter chance J for recovery for those who are 111. but goes far to prevent the spread of infection. in-fection. Unfortunatly, tuberculosis, which exists almost everywhere, frequently reaches an advanced stage beforo Its character Is known, and llttlo can bu dono for tho patient; meanwhile infective in-fective matter has been slowly distributed. dis-tributed. Smallpox often appears in a mild form, and not Infrequently is mistaken for a condition which is not Infectious. Through such orrors, serious outbreaks may follow Dipthorlo, measles and scarlet fei:r. which are moro or less constantly present, aro frequently unrecognized. Thore is no doubt that the increased number of cases which occur at tho boginnlng of the school year, is due largely to the transmission of dls-i dls-i charges from mild and undetected leases, and not from infected clothing, !as was formerly supposed. |