Food and Drink | AdventAI

International Tract and Missionary Society · Oakland, California · Mar 4, 1886

Food and Drink.

It is well established that cholera and typhoid fever are very frequently, and perhaps usually, transmitted through the medium of infected water or articles of food, and especially milk. Fortunately we have a simple means at hand for disinfecting such infected fluids. This consists in the application of heat. The boiling temperature maintained for half an hour kills all known disease germs. So far as the germs of cholera, yellow fever, and diphtheria are concerned, there is good reason to believe that a temperature considerably below the boiling point of water will destroy them. But in order to keep on the safe side, it is best not to trust anything short of the boiling point (212 degrees F.) when the object is to disinfect food or drink which is open to the suspicion of containing the germs of any infectious disease.

During the prevalence of an epidemic of cholera, it is well to boil all water for drinking purposes. After boiling, the water may be filtered to remove sediment, and then cooled if desired. A sheet of filtering paper such as druggists use, and a funnel, furnishes the best means for filtering water on a small scale. A fresh sheet of paper is to be used each day.—Sel.