A HOUSEHOLD DANGER.

Marlborough Express, Volume XLVI, Issue 10, 12 January 1912, Page 2

A HOUSEHOLD DANGER.

According to Professor A. Ritschl. of Freiburg, familiar table utensils common to every household, such :>s .forks, spoons, and glasses, wlucn come into contact with the mouth ore seriously dangerous factors m tne spread of infectious conditions ot tnn mouth, nose, end pharynx. The professor points out- that these utensils are usually washed awl often very perfunctorily, and then dried upon the so,me cloth, so that it is not surprising that the infected agent should be distributed by this means. Be further declares that m his own family the utensils used, by any member suffering from an infectious condition -s-re separately sterilised in boiling water. One rt his. children • having contracted mumps at school recovered without communicating the disease to siny other member of the family. Pro fessor Ritschl insists upon the importance of strict measures in regard to this matter in restaurants, hotoU, and pensionsl, and he is of tne opinion that if these precautions were adopted the complaint about "catching cold" would be less comman than it is to-day. Tn endorsing this theory Lancet ex'pivsses the Lelief that such preoautions arc generally "adopted in sanatoria for the treatment of pulmonary tuberculosis, where this danger is recognised, and at all hospitals and public institutions in Engmid. At the name time Professor Ritsohl's warning may serve to draw the attention of tho public to the question, since there can be little doubt that the ordinary process- of washing, unless carried out thoroughly with very hot water, is not calculiited to destroy infected organisms.