No. 62. ADJUTANT GENERAL'S OFFICE, Washington, December 24, 1902. By direction of the Secretary of War, the following memorandum, prepared by the Surgeon General of the Army, upon the subject of typhoid fever contagion and the means of preventing it is published to the Army for the information and guidance of all concerned: OF TYPHOID PERSONAL HYGIENE FOR THE PREVENTION FEVER IN CAMPS.-Typhoid fever is a very common disease in the United States and is particularly liable to spread among soldiers in camp and garrison because of the intimate associa tion of men gathered together in barracks and tents. It is conveyed by the fecal and urinary discharges of persons suffering from the disease. It often happens that a soldier suffering from typhoid fever remains on duty for several days before he seeks relief at the hospital. Furthermore, very mild cases occur which are never treated as such. The disease is not contagious in the sense that the mere presence of a case determines contagion, as in smallpox or measles, but particles of human excrement containing the germ of the disease may in many ways be transferred from the sick to the well and cause typhoid fever. In this sense it is contagious. That an infected water supply is a common cause of the disease is well known but it is likely that in camp life a greater number of cases occur from direct contagion, man to man, than from infected drinking water. It is not probable that several hundred men can be assembled in a camp without at least one case of typhoid fever being introduced from outside and this case may not be recognized until infection of others has taken place. Therefore, the immediate destruction or disinfection of the discharges of all persons in camps without sewers is an imperative necessity. The fever may be spread by flies from infected excrement settling on articles of food in company kitchens and in other ways; also, by dust containing dried particles of infected matter. CIRCULAR, No. 58. HEADQUARTERS OF THE ARMY, ADJUTANT GENERAL'S OFFICE, Washington, December 6, 1902. By direction of the Secretary of War, the following circular from the Post-Office Department, which affects General Orders, No. 118, page 3, November 18, 1902, from this office, is published for the information and guidance of all concerned: POST-OFFICE DEPARTMENT, OFFICE OF THE THIRD ASSISTANT POSTMASTER GENERAL, 1902-03. ENVELOPE SCHEDULE. Circular. The following correction should be made in all copies of the schedule of envelopes to be furnished the several executive departments of the Government during the year ending June 30, 1903, which schedules were recently sent out from this office: In column 3, page 2, under the subcaption "Contractor," opposite item 45, erase "United States Envelope Company, Springfield, Mass.," and substitute therefor the abbreviation "do.," thus showing R. Carter Ballantyne. Washington, D. C., as the contractor for items 44, 45, 46, and 47 of the clothlined envelopes. July 25, 1902. EDWIN C. MADDEN, Third Assistant Postmaster General. BY COMMAND OF LIEUTENANT GENERAL MILES: H. C. CORBIN, Adjutant General, Major General, U. S. Army. |