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Building mapping applications with QGIS create your
own sophisticated applications to analyze and display
geospatial information using QGIS and Python Westra
Digital Instant Download
Author(s): Westra, Erik
ISBN(s): 9781783984671, 1783984678
Edition: Online-Ausg
File Details: PDF, 5.59 MB
Year: 2014
Language: english
Building Mapping Applications
with QGIS

Create your own sophisticated applications to

analyze and display geospatial information using
QGIS and Python

Erik Westra

BIRMINGHAM - MUMBAI
Building Mapping Applications with QGIS

Copyright © 2014 Packt Publishing

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval
system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, without the prior written
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Publishing, and its dealers and distributors will be held liable for any damages
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However, Packt Publishing cannot guarantee the accuracy of this information.

First published: December 2014

Production reference: 1231214

Published by Packt Publishing Ltd.

Livery Place
35 Livery Street
Birmingham B3 2PB, UK.

ISBN 978-1-78398-466-4

www.packtpub.com
 Credits

Author Project Coordinator

Erik Westra Kinjal Bari

Reviewers Proofreaders
David McDermott Cathy Cumberlidge
Pablo Pardo Ameesha Green
Heegu Park Sonia Sanghera
Christopher Wesson
Indexer
Commissioning Editor Monica Ajmera Mehta
Pramila Balan
Production Coordinator
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Cover Work
Content Development Editor Conidon Miranda
Rikshith Shetty

Technical Editor
Shruti Rawool

Copy Editors
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 About the Author

Erik Westra has been a professional software developer for over 25 years, and has
worked almost exclusively with Python for the past decade. Erik's early interest in
graphical user interface design led to the development of one of the most advanced
urgent courier dispatch systems used by messenger and courier companies
worldwide. In recent years, he has been involved in the design and implementation
of systems that match seekers and providers of goods and services across a range of
geographical areas. This work has included the creation of real-time geocoders and
map-based views of constantly changing data. He is based in New Zealand, and
works for companies worldwide.

He is the author of Python Geospatial Development, Packt Publishing.

I would like to thank Ruth, the love of my life, for all her support
and encouragement. I would also like to thank my two children,
Anneke and Oscar, for reminding me what is important in life.
 About the Reviewers

David McDermott (MPhys Geog PGCE (Cantab)) is a proud Yorkshireman who

has a keen interest in science fiction and Rugby League, as well as in GIS.

He studied at the University of Hull, where he acquired a 2:1 master's degree in

Physical Geography. During his 4 years at university, he developed an interest in
GIS, subsequently gaining his highest marks in GIS-related modules. He went on
to use GIS to analyze remote sensing data as part of his master's level dissertation.

Following on his master's degree, he qualified as a secondary school geography

teacher at the University of Cambridge. He spent 6 months teaching before
embarking on a career in GIS.

His first GIS position was for a UK-based unaddressed mail company. He spent 18
months working with address data, promoting the use of GIS, redesigning delivery
maps, and creating Python scripts to automate common repetitive tasks.

He currently works in the GIS team for a local authority in the UK. Along with
working in GIS, he is the Local Land and Property Gazetteer Custodian and Street
Naming and Numbering Officer. In this role, he has expanded his knowledge of
database management, programming, and web GIS. He has also presented at the
QGIS South East user group, and was part of the panel at GeoUtilities London 2014.

I would like to thank James Rutter for allowing me the time to peer
review this book.
Pablo Pardo is a geographist from Spain. He has studied MSc in GIS, and
specialized in natural risk assessment, focusing his MSc thesis on open data quality.
He also received a certificate of higher education in software development.

After several years of working as a GIS technician, he is now starting his freelance
career, mixing GIS consulting with data analysis and programming.

This is the first book he has helped review. He likes open data, free software,
and geo stuff. You can find more about him at www.pablopardo.es.

Heegu Park began his career at an IT company as a software engineer, and

developed some web programs for a famous Korean fashion company. After a short
period of time as a software engineer, he moved to the gaming industry, which was
booming at that time in South Korea, and he experienced technical producing and
coordinating of several online games at leading online game companies.

A five-year work experience drove him to get a higher degree in business and
management, so he went to the Korean Advanced Institute of Science and
Technology for his MBA (Master's degree in Business Administration), and to the
University of Southern California for his MSBA (Master of Science in Business
Administration). During his time at two graduate schools, KAIST and USC, he
mainly focused on IT and the creative industry. His studies have given him great
opportunities to enhance his cooperation and management skills of various teams
and people, and his knowledge, along with this work experience, has driven him
to pursue successful IT business and efficient marketing strategies.

Now, he works at Gaia3D, a geospatial company based in South Korea, and is in

charge of marketing and business development. Gaia3D is actively using many open
source GIS to develop systems or services for clients. Also, Gaia3D participates in
open source GIS activities such as FOSS4G, open source GIS training, and so on. He
has conducted several lectures on open source GIS for many people from all over the
world, and also participated in translating open source GIS software such as QGIS.
His goal at Gaia3D is to make Gaia3D become a global open source GIS company.
Christopher Wesson is a cartographic design consultant at Ordnance Survey.
Qualified with a master's degree, he studied a wide range of disciplines at the
University of Southampton, including oceanography, engineering, management,
and finance. He has authored and presented papers domestically and
internationally, and makes time to share a blog on cartographic design
(http://christopherwesson.azurewebsites.net/).

A member of the British Cartographic Society and a contributor to International

Cartographic Association activities and several multi-organization projects, he
has a keen interest in partnering modern technology with traditional cartographic
excellence. Most of his recent work has been in automated cartography and the
visualization of geographic data across different platforms.
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 Table of Contents
Preface 1
Chapter 1: Getting Started with QGIS 7
About QGIS 7
Installing and running QGIS 8
Understanding QGIS concepts 10
Linking QGIS and Python 11
Exploring the Python Console 12
Examining a Python plugin 15
Writing an external application 20
Summary 26
Chapter 2: The QGIS Python Console 27
Using the console 27
Working with geospatial data in the console 34
Scripting the QGIS user interface 39
The status bar 39
The message bar 40
Progress indicators 41
QGIS logging 42
Custom dialogs and windows 43
Summary 44
Chapter 3: Learning the QGIS Python API 47
About the QGIS Python APIs 47
Deciphering the C++ documentation 48
Table of Contents

Organizing the QGIS Python libraries 53

The qgis.core package 53
Maps and map layers 54
Coordinate reference systems 55
Vector layers 56
Raster layers 61
Other useful qgis.core classes 63
The qgis.gui package 64
The QgisInterface class 64
The QgsMapCanvas class 65
The QgsMapCanvasItem class 66
The QgsMapTool class 66
Other useful qgis.gui classes 67
Using the PyQGIS library 67
Analyzing raster data 68
Manipulating vector data and saving it to a shapefile 70
Using different symbols for different features within a map 73
Calculating the distance between two user-defined points 76
Summary 78
Chapter 4: Creating QGIS Plugins 79
Getting ready 79
Understanding the QGIS plugin architecture 80
Creating a simple plugin 82
The plugin development process 86
Using the Plugin Builder 87
Automating the build process 88
Plugin help files 91
Unit testing 92
Distributing your plugin 95
Writing a useful plugin 97
Possibilities and limitations of plugins 105
Summary 106
Chapter 5: Using QGIS in an External Application 107
Introducing Lex 108
Getting the data 109
Designing the application 110
Creating the application's framework 111
Adding the user interface 113
Connecting the actions 117
Creating the map canvas 118

[ ii ]
 Table of Contents

Labeling the points 121

Filtering the landmarks 122
Implementing the zoom tool 124
Implementing the pan tool 124
Implementing the explore mode 125
Further improvements and enhancements 127
Summary 128
Chapter 6: Mastering the QGIS Python API 129
Working with symbol layers 129
Combining symbol layers 134
Implementing symbol layers in Python 137
Implementing renderers in Python 142
Working with custom map layers 144
Creating custom map canvas items 148
Using memory-based layers 151
Summary 157
Chapter 7: Selecting and Editing Features in a
PyQGIS Application 159
Working with selections 160
Using the layer editing mode 161
Adding Points 163
Editing Points 164
Deleting Points and other features 165
Adding lines and polygons 166
Editing lines and polygons 173
Summary 179
Chapter 8: Building a Complete Mapping Application
using Python and QGIS 181
Introducing ForestTrails 182
Designing the ForestTrails application 182
Creating the application 184
Laying out the application 185
Defining the toolbar icons 187
The constants.py module 188
The forestTrails.py module 188
The mapTools.py module 192
The ui_mainWindow.py module 192
Running the application 196

[ iii ]
Table of Contents

Obtaining the basemap 196

Defining the map layers 201
Defining the map renderers 204
The Pan Tool 209
Implementing the track editing mode 210
Summary 212
Chapter 9: Completing the ForestTrails Application 213
The Add Track map tool 213
Testing the application 218
Vertex snapping 220
The Edit Track map tool 223
The Delete Track map tool 226
The Get Info map tool 228
The Set Start Point and Set End Point actions 233
The Find Shortest Path action 237
Adjusting the toolbar actions 240
Suggested improvements 241
Summary 242
Index 243

[ iv ]
 Preface
As software applications become more and more a part of people's lives, the
concepts of location and space become more important. Developers are regularly
finding themselves having to work with location-based data. Maps, geospatial data,
and spatial calculations are increasingly becoming just another part of the everyday
programming repertoire.

A decade ago, geospatial concepts and development was limited to experts in the
Geographic Information Sciences. These people spent years working with maps
and the complex mathematics that underlie them. Often coming from a university
background, these specialists would spend years becoming familiar with a particular
Geographic Information System (GIS), and would make a career of using that system
to draw maps and process geospatial data.

While the ever-popular Google Maps meant that anyone can view and manipulate
a map, the more advanced custom display and processing of geospatial data was
still limited to those who used a professional GIS system. All this changed with
the advent of freely available (and often open source) tools for manipulating and
displaying geospatial data. Now, anybody can learn the necessary concepts and start
building their own mapping applications from scratch. Rather than being limited to
the minimal capabilities and restrictive licensing terms of Google Maps, developers
can now build their own mapping systems to meet their own requirements, and
there are no limits to what can be done.

While the necessary tools and libraries are freely available, the developer still needs
to put them together into a workable system. Often, this is a rather complex process
and requires a lot of understanding of geospatial concepts, as well as how to compile
the necessary wrappers and configure the tools to work on a particular computer.
Preface

Fortunately, now there is an even easier way to include geospatial programming

tools and techniques within your Python applications. Thanks to the development
of the freely available QGIS system, it is now easy to install a complete geospatial
development environment, which you can use directly from within your Python
code. Whether you choose to build your application as a plugin for the QGIS system,
or write a standalone mapping application using QGIS as an external library, you
have complete flexibility in how you use geospatial capabilities within your code.

What this book covers

Chapter 1, Getting Started with QGIS, shows you how to install and run the QGIS
application, and introduces the three main ways in which Python can be used
with QGIS.

Chapter 2, The QGIS Python Console, explores the QGIS Python Console window,
and explains how it acts as a useful tool while building your own custom mapping
applications. It also gives you a taste of what can be done with Python and QGIS,
and improves your confidence and familiarity with the QGIS environment.

Chapter 3, Learning the QGIS Python API, introduces the Python libraries available
for the QGIS Python developer, and shows how these libraries can be used to
work with geospatial data and create useful and interesting maps based on
your geospatial data.

Chapter 4, Creating QGIS Plugins, introduces the concept of a QGIS plugin, and
explains how to write a plugin using Python. We take an in-depth look at how
plugins work, and how to create a useful geospatial application as a QGIS plugin.
We also look at the possibilities and limitations of QGIS plugins.

Chapter 5, Using QGIS in an External Application, completes the process of building

standalone Python applications that make use of the QGIS Python libraries. You
will learn how to create a wrapper script to handle platform-specific dependencies,
design and build a simple but complete standalone mapping application, and learn
about the structure of an application built on top of QGIS. Along the way, you will
become a far more competent QGIS programmer as you build your own turnkey
mapping application from scratch.

Chapter 6, Mastering the QGIS Python API, delves once more into the PyQGIS library,
looking at some more advanced aspects of this library, as well as various techniques
for working with QGIS using Python.

Chapter 7, Selecting and Editing Features in a PyQGIS Application, looks at how Python
programs built using PyQGIS can allow the user to select, add, edit, and delete
geospatial features within a map interface.

[2]
Exploring the Variety of Random
Documents with Different Content
 CHAPTER XLVI.
NOTIFICATION AND ISOLATION.

We are confident from the actual discovery of the micro-organisms

causing certain infective diseases, that the other diseases of an
analogous nature are similarly caused by living contagia. On this
supposition, action is taken for the prevention of these diseases.
This action comes under a number of different heads, which may be
classified as follows:—
1. Means for the early recognition of the infectious
character of a disease. The bacteriological aids to recognition in
diphtheria (page 299), enteric fever (page 301), and phthisis (page
310) have been already mentioned. It is important to call in medical
aid when any suspicious symptoms arise, even when these
symptoms do not appear to be urgent. If an infectious disease is not
recognised in its early stage, it may be easily overlooked, and the
patient cause a serious epidemic. The following hints for teachers
are in Brighton sent with each circular letter as to excluding infected
children from school. The list is not exhaustive, but may aid in
drawing attention to suspicious symptoms. The only safe rule when
in doubt is to act as though a case is infectious until a skilled opinion
can be obtained.

HINTS AS TO INFECTIOUS DISEASES.

As infection is sometimes spread by means of children attending school while
suffering from undetected infectious diseases, the following hints may be useful to
the teacher:—
1. Any scholar having a sore throat should be sent home and regarded as
infectious until the throat has been examined by a doctor.
 If a scholar has enlarged glands in the neck, and especially if he or she is very
pallid, the suspicion of possible diphtheria should be entertained. Many slight
cases of diphtheria escape detection.
2. Any scholar suffering from a severe cold, with sneezing, redness of the eyes
and running at the nose, should be sent home. It may mean an influenza cold or
the commencement of measles, and both are infectious. This recommendation is
particularly important when measles is known to be prevalent.
3. A child with a violent cough, especially if it is severe enough to cause
vomiting or nose-bleeding, should be suspected of whooping-cough, and sent
home, even if the characteristic “whoop” is not heard.
4. Slight cases of scarlet fever sometimes escape notice, and the patients are
sent to school with the skin on the hands, etc., freely “peeling.”
5. In any of the above instances, or any other case of suspicion, the Medical
Officer of Health, on receiving a confidential intimation, will be glad to make an
investigation.
SYMPTOMS OF ONSET OF SCARLET FEVER.
Sudden onset.
Usually vomiting.
Always headache.
Feverish, with dry, hot skin.
Sore throat.
Red rash on chest in a few hours.
MEASLES.
Severe “cold in the head” for 72 hours before the blotchy rash appears.
Measles is extremely infectious in this preliminary stage.
Consider every severe influenza cold as possibly measles.
DIPHTHERIA
may be very indistinct.
Languor and sore throat.
Glands under and behind jaw are enlarged.
Patient very pallid.
White or yellow patches seen on examining inside throat.
Whenever doubtful, send the scholar home.
WHOOPING COUGH.
 In a child under seven, a severe cough should always be regarded as possibly
whooping-cough, although no “whoop” has yet been heard.

2. The notification of all cases of infectious diseases to the

medical officer of health, is clearly a means to an end, that of
securing that the preventive measures to be next named are
effectively carried out.
3. Means for the production of an artificial immunity. This
is only practicable at present for two diseases of this country, small-
pox by means of vaccination (page 293), and a temporary immunity
against diphtheria by a dose of antitoxic serum (page 299). Apart
from these means, any measures for improving the health of a child
tend in the same direction. Enlarged tonsils, “adenoids” at the back
of the nose (causing the child to snore at night and to breathe
through his mouth), discharges from nostrils or ear, and similar
conditions should receive early medical attention.
4. Isolation: preventing the conveyance of the contagium from
the sick to the healthy.
5. Disinfection, i.e. destruction of the contagium of the disease.
The Infectious Disease (Notification) Act, 1889, and the
corresponding London Act of 1891, impose a dual duty of
notification (a) on every medical practitioner attending on or called
in to visit an infectious patient, as soon as he becomes aware of its
nature; and (b) on the head of the family to which the patient
belongs or the nearest relative. The intimation must be sent by each
of these to the local medical officer of health, the practitioner being
paid a small fee for his trouble. Usually notification by the
householder is only enforced when no doctor is in attendance. The
diseases to which this Act applies are small-pox, cholera, diphtheria,
membranous croup11, scarlet fever, erysipelas, and the fevers known
by any of the following names: typhus, typhoid, enteric, relapsing,
continued or puerperal. The list of notifiable diseases may be
extended by resolution of the Local Authority.
 The enforcement of notification is most important for the public
health. (a) It enables the medical officer of health to take immediate
steps to prevent the spread of infection, by enforcing proper
isolation of the patient, efficient disinfection, and by preventing the
attendance of children from infected houses, at school, etc. (b) It
enables the links of evidence connecting a series of cases to be
identified, e.g. cases due to a common milk supply, or attendance at
a particular school. (c) It has a valuable educational effect on all
concerned in the cases.

ISOLATION.
Both the patient and his attendant need to be isolated in diseases
like scarlet fever, diphtheria and small-pox. The rule is less absolute
in enteric fever. In the following description the standard of
requirements taken is that of the most dangerous infectious disease,
small-pox. The first point to decide is whether the patient may be
safely isolated at home. For small-pox this ought never to be allowed
in a town. For other diseases, this may be permitted, if the following
conditions can be fulfilled.
For Isolation at Home a couple of rooms are required,
preferably on a higher floor or in a detached wing of the house. The
w.c. used for the dejecta of the patient must not be used by any
other members of the household. All linen, towels, handkerchiefs,
etc., should be immersed in actually boiling water containing some
washing soda, before leaving the sick-room. Other articles to be
washed, if they will be deteriorated by soaking in boiling water or a
chemical disinfectant, must be tightly wrapped in bundles, and
covered with a clean wet sheet saturated with a strong disinfectant
solution (page 331). Solid and liquid excreta, expectoration and
other discharges must be treated as described on page 331. The
nurse should not eat her meals in the patient’s room. She should
wear a cotton dress to be changed before going out for a walk. Her
hands must be thoroughly washed and brushed after handling or
helping the patient, particularly in enteric fever. It is advantageous if
the nurse has previously had the patient’s complaint. Attention on
the part of the nurse to minute detail is essential, especially in view
of the possibility of receiving infection from infected articles as well
as directly from the patient. The measures required for the
subsequent disinfection of the sick-rooms and of clothing, bedding,
books, etc., are given on page 332.
The use of hospital isolation has rapidly increased in recent
years, thus releasing private families from a serious burden. The
number of beds which a Local Authority should supply for their
district is usually stated as one for every 1,000 inhabitants, but in
poorer districts this does not suffice. The site of the hospital should
be well removed from houses. There must be a minimum zone of 40
feet between all infected buildings and the boundary walls, and the
same distance between neighbouring buildings. A wall at least 6 ft. 6
in. high should enclose the hospital site. The hospital is divided into
separate detached pavilions for the treatment of different infectious
diseases. A floor space of 156 square feet should be allowed for
each bed. The height of the ward should be about 13 feet, its width
from 24 to 26 feet, and the total cubic space for each patient should
be 2,000 cubic feet for scarlet fever, 2,500 for diphtheria. The
lavatories and water-closets are separated from the main ward by a
cross-ventilated lobby. In an isolation hospital every surface should
be washable; all corners should be rounded off, and all projections
on which dust can lodge avoided. The proportion of window space
should be about 1 square foot to every 70 cubic feet. Special
isolation pavilions are required for cases of doubtful diagnosis. The
ventilation and warming of wards must be carefully regulated. Cross-
ventilation by windows open on opposite sides of the ward can be
maintained in nearly all weathers. The temperature of the ward
should be maintained at 55°-60° F.
Ambulances are usually provided by the Local Authority for the
removal of infectious patients. The ambulance should be cleansed
and disinfected after each journey. The use of private conveyances
for infectious patients is forbidden, except under special limitations.
The hospital isolation of small-pox is beset with special
difficulties. There is a considerable body of evidence indicating that
small-pox may be aerially carried from patients in hospitals to people
living within a zone of half a mile, or possibly further. Without
accepting the view that aerial dissemination of small-pox to
considerable distances from the patient frequently occurs, it still
remains true that, either by this means or by errors in the
administration of small-pox hospitals, they do frequently constitute a
source of danger to persons living in the vicinity. The Local
Government Board recommended that a Local Authority should not
contemplate the erection of a small-pox hospital. (a) On any site
where it would have within a quarter of a mile of it as a centre either
a hospital, whether for infectious diseases or not, or a workhouse, or
any similar establishment, or a population of 150-200 persons; (b)
on any site where it would have within half a mile of it as a centre a
population of 500-600 persons, whether in one or more institutions
or in dwelling-houses.

QUARANTINE.
This term has been chiefly employed to denote the limitation of
the movements of vessels coming from infected ports, for a term
which, as the name indicates, was formerly forty days, but is now
shorter. It may be conveniently employed, however, to signify the
restriction of the movements of all persons who have been
apparently exposed to infection, or who continue to live in infected
dwellings. In this sense we may speak of:

1. Domestic Quarantine.
2. Scholastic Quarantine.
3. National and International Quarantine.
 Domestic Quarantine, to a varying extent, is desirable for the
members of a family of which one member has been attacked by an
infectious disease. For small-pox every member of a household
should be kept under strict watch until sixteen days have elapsed
since the last contact with the case of small-pox, or until successful
vaccination has been secured. For enteric fever this strict watch
would be unnecessary, but the remaining members of the household
should be warned to call in a doctor on the first symptom of malaise.
Quarantine is specially indicated for certain occupations. Thus if
the child of an out-door labourer had been removed to a hospital
with scarlet fever, it would be unnecessary to keep the latter away
from work during the following week. If, however, he were a milk-
carrier, or a tailor, or an assistant in a sweet-stuff shop this would be
a desirable measure.
The Quarantine of School Children is more necessary than
that of adults, because the former are more susceptible to infection.
Children are kept from school:
(a) Because the infectious patient still remains in the house. In
this case the healthy children must be kept from school until the
patient has ceased to be infectious and disinfection has been
thoroughly carried out; and for a further period longer than the
longest known period of incubation of the disease in question (page
287), a margin being left for contingencies. It would probably be 8
plus 2 weeks for scarlet fever.
(b) Children are kept from school for a period exceeding the
longest period of incubation when the patient has been removed to
hospital.
The table on page 322, modified from the Author’s School
Hygiene, is introduced as furnishing a convenient summary of the
subject.
Objection is sometimes taken to the exclusion of children under
the above circumstances from school, on the ground that they
continue to mix with others in the street or in neighbouring houses.
Clearly, however, in a school-room, a suspected child may
communicate infection to children coming from widely scattered
streets, while out-of-doors the danger is comparatively slight, and
among neighbours the danger is very limited in area.
It is assumed in the following table that all infected articles have
been disinfected before the termination of the period of quarantine.
DURATION OF
DATE AT WHICH
QUARANTINE OF
DURATION OF SCHOOL
DISEASE. CHILDREN
INFECTION. ATTENDANCE MAY
EXPOSED TO
BE RESUMED.
INFECTION.
Scarlet From 5 to 8 weeks; Not less than 8 weeks 14 days.
fever ceases when all peeling 14 days. from the
of the skin has been beginning of the rash,
completed, and when and then only if no sore
the child is free from throat or sore places.
discharge from the nose
or ear or sore places.
Diphtheria At least 21 days; often Not less than 2 months, 12 days.
much longer. Absence of and not then if strength
infection should be not recovered, or if any
confirmed by sore throat or any
bacteriological tests. discharge from nose,
eyes, ears, etc.
Small-pox About 4 to 5 weeks When every scab has 18 days.
and fallen off.
Chicken
pox
Measles From 3 to 4 weeks; Not less than 4 weeks 21 days.
when all cough and from beginning of rash.
branny shedding of skin
has ceased.
Rötheln 2 to 3 weeks From 3 to 4 weeks from 21 days.
(German beginning of rash.
measles)
Mumps About 21 days from the 4 weeks from the 24 days.
beginning. beginning.
Whooping 6 weeks from the In about 8 weeks 21 days.
cough beginning of whooping,
or when the cough has
quite ceased.
Typhus and 4 to 5 weeks When strength 28 days.
enteric sufficient.
fevers
Influenza 2 to 3 weeks 1 month 10 days.

School Closure is occasionally required to prevent the further

spread of an infectious disease. This can be enforced on the order of
any two members of the Local Sanitary Authority acting on the
advice of the medical officer of health. This ought to be only
occasionally necessary if notification of infectious diseases is strictly
enforced, and if suspicious individual children are excluded from
attendance at school. In diphtheria school closure may occasionally
be rendered unnecessary by systematic bacteriological examination
of the throats of children who had been exposed to infection (see
page 299). School closure is more useful for country than for town
schools, as in the former the homes of children are more remote
from each other, but it is occasionally necessary for both. For
measles school closure is specially indicated in Infants’ Schools. We
have already seen that this disease is chiefly fatal when caught at a
tender age (page 297). The early closure of Infants’ Schools, and
particularly of the Babies’ Class is therefore indicated. It is
unfortunate that the attendance at school of children under six years
of age is encouraged. Such children have more severe and more
frequently fatal attacks of diphtheria, scarlet fever, measles, and
whooping-cough; and these are frequently acquired at school.
International Quarantine was originally enforced against
plague; but in many countries has been extended to other diseases,
as cholera, yellow fever, typhus fever, small-pox and leprosy. In
England cholera is the only disease in connection with which it has
been in the past enforced. It has now been entirely abandoned. It
consists in the compulsory isolation at the port of entry of all
persons who have come from an infected district, or have been in
contact with a case of the infectious disease against which
quarantine is enforced, for a length of time which will enable it to be
determined whether the persons detained are or are not incubating
the disease. If this measure could be strictly enforced, and if
infectious diseases were conveyed only by infectious persons,
quarantine would undoubtedly be effective. But in practice
quarantine cannot be enforced in Europe; and as it cannot be
efficiently enforced it forms an ineffective and irrational
derangement of commerce. Thus if plague prevailed in France it
would be impracticable to detain for ten or twelve days every person
entering England. Furthermore, in this instance, infection is brought
by rats as well as persons; and measures effective for the latter do
not prevent the former from importing infection. Because of its
impracticability and of the disorganization of commerce which would
be associated with any attempt to enforce it, England has
abandoned quarantine and other countries are gradually following its
example. England bases its action on the ground that (a) sanitation
is the true chief means of defence, especially against cholera. It
does not trust to this alone but to this along with (b) medical
inspection at the ports, (c) and subsequent medical supervision of
persons landed from suspected vessels. By these means a watch can
be kept over persons who have been in contact with infection.
Regulations are issued at intervals by the Local Government Board
requiring the disinfection by steam of all rags and similar materials
imported from towns in which small-pox, cholera, etc., are prevalent.
 CHAPTER XLVII.
DISINFECTION.

By disinfection is meant the destruction of the active cause of

each infectious disease. A disinfectant is therefore synonymous with
a germicide. Disinfectants must be distinguished from deodorants or
deodorisers, such as charcoal, and from antiseptics, which are
antagonistic to the growth of bacteria, without necessarily killing
them, e.g. common salt. Disinfection may be effected by chemical or
physical means.

CHEMICAL DISINFECTANTS.
A chemical disinfectant should fulfil the following conditions: 1. It
must be an efficient germicide. 2. Its germicidal power should not be
destroyed by the fæcal or other polluting matter, with which the
bacteria of infection are associated. 3. For many purposes, it must
not be destructive to or liable to stain the skin, or fabrics, or other
articles to which it is applied. 4. It should preferably not be a virulent
poison; and should be moderately cheap. The search for a
completely non-poisonous disinfectant is a chimera.
There are three great classes of chemical disinfectants.
1. Oxidising agents, as the halogens (chlorine, etc.) and
permanganates.
2. Deoxidising agents, as sulphurous acid (SO₂) and formic
aldehyde (CH₂O).
3. Other disinfectants, which act by coagulating protoplasm or
otherwise, as carbolic acid, corrosive sublimate.
 The number of disinfectants is legion. Only the chief ones can be
mentioned and their chief properties described. It is a good rule to
eschew the use of all disinfectants of which the exact composition is
not given; and all disinfectants which are described by “fancy”
names, which are not descriptive of their composition.

A. Oxidising Agents.

Chlorine has been most commonly used as chloride of lime

(CaCl₂, Ca(ClO)₂). This is somewhat unstable in composition. A
solution of sodium hypochlorite containing 10 per cent. of available
chloride is preferable. Chloride of lime for sprinkling on decomposing
matter should contain at least 10 to 15 per cent. of available
chlorine. Sulphuretted hydrogen and other offensive gases are
decomposed by it. Thus
SH₂ + Cl₂ = S + 2HCl. Its chief action is as an oxidising agent.
Thus H₂O + Cl₂ = 2HCl + O.
A large excess must be used in disinfecting, otherwise the chlorine
may simply oxidise fœcal or other organic matter, and not effectually
destroy contagia.
Methods of Use—(a) As a gas, by the action of hydrochloric acid
on strong chloride of lime. The molecular density of chlorine is 35·5,
of formic aldehyde 15, of sulphurous acid 32; and the rate of
diffusion of gases being inversely to the square-root of their
densities, clearly chlorine does not compare favourably as a gas with
formic aldehyde. The bleaching effect of chlorine on coloured articles
of apparel is a disadvantage.
(b) As a liquid: used thus chlorine is very efficient, applied either
as a spray or brushed on walls and other surfaces. Delépine found
that a solution of one part of chloride of lime in 100 parts of water
applied to wall paper impregnated with tubercular matter, disinfected
it in a few hours, or in a few minutes if the layer of infected matter
was not thick.
 Bromine, Iodine, and Euchlorine (a mixture of chlorine and
Cl₂O₄) are efficient disinfectants.
Iodine Trichloride (ICl₃) was found by Behring to share with
corrosive sublimate (HgCl₂) carbolic acid and cresol mixed with acids
(see page 327), the halogens (Cl, Br, and I), and chloride of lime a
superiority over other disinfectants in their power of killing anthrax
spores in a short time.
Permanganates have been largely used as disinfectants, but
their value is small. Impure sodium manganate (Na₂MnO₄) with
much common salt (NaCl) containing some permanganate is known
as “Condy’s Green Fluid.” “Condy’s Red Fluid” consists of
permanganate and sulphate of soda. To be of any use it must be
employed in 5 per cent. solution. It stains fabrics brown, and it
exhausts its feeble disinfecting power in first oxidising decomposing
organic matter.

B. Deoxidising Agents.

Sulphurous Acid (SO₂) acts chiefly as a reducing agent on

organic matter. It is used chiefly as a gaseous disinfectant, and for
this purpose is generated (a) by burning 1 lb. of sulphur for every
1,000 cubic feet of space in the room (which will equal 1·12 per
cent. of SO₂). The windows and chimney of the room are first
closed; the sulphur is placed in a saucepan supported over a bucket
of water, and its ignition is aided by a small quantity of methylated
spirit. The door of the room is then sealed, and the room left until
the next morning. (b) Carbon disulphide may be burned in a
benzoline lamp. (c) SO₂ liquefied under pressure is supplied in
cylinders available for convenient use. The experimental results of
the action of SO₂ on various bacteria are somewhat discrepant. It
probably is fairly efficient for some diseases, but not in tuberculosis.
Formaldehyde or Formic Aldehyde (CH₂O) is produced by the
slow and incomplete oxidation of methyl alcohol (CH₃OH) under
access of air. A saturated solution in water containing 40 per cent. of
the formaldehyde gas is known as formalin. The simple evaporation
or heating of formalin is liable to produce the polymeric paraform
which is solid and inert. To prevent the formation of paraform when
formalin is evaporated, Trillat adds to it a solution of calcium chloride
(CaCl₂), the mixture being known as formochloral. It is stated that
when the air of a room is charged with less than one per cent. of the
vapour, rapid and complete disinfection of surfaces occurs, and that
it possesses a certain amount of penetrating power into loose
fabrics. No damage is done to textile fabrics; and disinfection by this
means possesses the advantage over disinfection by sulphurous acid
or chlorine that the room can be entered without serious discomfort
soon after the disinfection is carried out. In solution formalin is
undoubtedly a powerful disinfectant, and in the gaseous condition it
is at least equal in value to SO₂, probably better. Formaldehyde is
used as a disinfectant.
(a) By evaporating a 60 per cent. solution of CH₂O in methyl
alcohol (trade name holzine) over pieces of glowing coke placed
under an asbestos plate (Opperman-Rosenberg apparatus). (b) By
subliming tabloids of paraform by the heat of a lamp. A methylated
spirit lamp is employed, and the moisture from the combustion in
this causes the transformation of a considerable proportion of
paraform into CH₂O vapour. It is doubtful if the quantity of the latter
evolved is sufficient for efficiency. (c) In Trillat’s apparatus formalin
(i.e. the 40 per cent. solution in water of CH₂O) with CaCl₂ solution
is heated in an autoclave worked at a pressure of 40 lbs., provided
with a pressure gauge and thermometer. In all these methods the
room must be carefully sealed, as the tendency for the disinfectant
to escape is greater than with SO₂ or Cl. (d) The best method is to
spray a solution of formalin 4 oz. to one gallon of water on all the
surfaces of the room (see page 333). This is equal to a strength of 1
in 40 of formalin, or 1 in 100 of formic aldehyde.

C. Other Disinfectants.
 Tar Acids.—When coal tar is treated by acids and alkalies in
succession, it becomes separated into (1) hydrocarbons, (2) phenols
or tar acids, carbolic, cresylic, etc., (3) aniline and other basic
substances. The hydrocarbons are known in commerce as “neutral
tar oils.” They are brown and syrupy, turning milky with water, and
feebly disinfectant. The two most important “tar acids” are phenol or
carbolic acid (C₆H₅OH) and methyl-phenol, also called cresol or
cresylic acid (C₆H₄(CH₃)OH). The higher members of this same
group yield milky emulsions with water, and are less poisonous than
phenol. Various mixtures of them are used as disinfectants, and sold
as creolin, Jeye’s and Lawes’ fluids. Izal belongs to the same series.
Carbolic Acid (phenol) did not kill anthrax spores until a 3 per
cent. strength of its solution was used for 7 days (Koch), but
sporeless anthrax bacilli were destroyed in a few minutes by a 1 to 2
per cent. solution. The disinfecting power of carbolic acid is greatly
increased by adding mineral acids. Carbolic acid and lysol are
superior to creolin for disinfecting stools. A 5 per cent. solution of
carbolic acid destroys tubercle bacilli in sputum in 24 hours. Carbolic
acid powders are in common use. In my opinion quicklime is more
valuable.
Cresol is obtained from “crude carbolic acid” by fractional
distillation at a temperature between 185° and 205° C. A one-half
per cent. solution has equal disinfecting power to a 2 or 3 or
sometimes a 5 per cent. of phenol (carbolic acid).
Creolin consists of cresol emulsified in a solution of hard soap.
Behring classifies the comparative germicidal power of phenol,
cresol, and creolin on bacteria in broth as 1, 4, and 10 respectively.
When albumen is present, creolin loses a part of its disinfectant
power.
Lysol contains 50 per cent. of cresol, dissolved by means of
neutral potash soap. It is completely soluble in water and does not
turn milky as creolin does when water is added. It is more effective
than creolin, and still more than HgCl₂ in albuminous liquids.
 Soap has, owing to its alkalinity, disinfectant as well as cleansing
action. A temperature of 55°-75° C. greatly aids its action. Antiseptic
soaps possess no special value as germicides, but carbolic soap is a
useful insecticide.
Lime in a one-tenth per cent. solution destroys typhoid and
cholera microbes.
Mercuric Chloride (HgCl₂, corrosive sublimate) was found by
Koch to destroy anthrax bacilli in a dilution of 1 in 20,000. Others
have obtained less favourable results, but it is certainly a powerful
germicide. The germicidal effect is greatly diminished by contact
with organic matter, an insoluble albuminate of mercury being
produced. For this reason HgCl₂ is not the best disinfectant for
fæces unless mixed with acid, as in the following solution: HgCl₂ ½
oz., HCl 1 oz., aniline blue 5 grains to three gallons of water. This
gives a solution of 1 in 960. The colouring is added to avoid
accidental poisoning. HgCl₂ is not a good disinfectant for linen.
Stains are apt to be fixed by it, and if linen soaked in it is
subsequently washed with soap, without first carefully washing out
the HgCl₂, it is darkened in colour. It attacks metals, and must not
therefore be placed in metal receptacles.
Chloride of Zinc in a solution containing 25 grains to the fluid
drachm is known as “Sir William Burnett’s solution.” It is a good
deodorant, but an inefficient disinfectant.
Chinosol (C₉H₆NKSO₄) belongs to the quinoline group. It is an
almost inodorous powder, very soluble in water, noncorrosive, and
does not stain. A solution of 1 in 1200 forms an efficient germicide.

DISINFECTION BY PHYSICAL MEANS.

Natural processes tend to the destruction of pathogenic microbes
after their elimination from the patient. Of these desiccation,
sunlight, and fresh air are the most potent. Heat and cold have a
similar effect. Filtration or mechanical separation deprives a
contaminated liquid of its microbes.
Desiccation attenuates the virulence of and finally kills most
microbes. In laboratory experiments the vibrio of Asiatic cholera
when dried dies in from three hours to two days, according to the
degree of desiccation. The bacilli of enteric fever, tuberculosis, and
diphtheria only die after drying for a few weeks or even months. The
anthrax bacillus may retain its vitality for several years in a
desiccated state. Clearly, therefore, desiccation has no administrative
value in the prevention of disease, and on the contrary it aids the
dissemination of the microbes of tuberculosis, small-pox, scarlet
fever, etc.
Direct Sunlight kills a large proportion of the sporeless
pathogenic microbes. Diffuse is less energetic in its action than
direct sunlight. The bacillus of diphtheria is destroyed by a half to
one hour’s exposure to sunlight. As to tubercle bacilli, see page 316.
Downes and Blunt showed that diffused sunlight retards the
putrefaction of organic infusions, and that direct sunlight inhibits
putrefaction. Sunlight cannot, however, be trusted as an efficient
disinfectant. It only secures surface disinfection, and could not be
relied upon for pillows, mattresses, etc. M. Ward’s experiments
showed that the actinic rays of the sun are germicidal, independent
of the heat.
Fresh Air, like sunlight, should be employed as a valuable
auxiliary, not as an agent to be depended upon apart from
systematic disinfection. The experiments of Downes and Blunt
showed that light and oxygen together accomplished what neither
alone could do. The presence of air in anthrax increases danger. The
anthrax bacillus does not form spores in an animal suffering from
this disease, and does not do so post mortem, unless the animal is
dissected. Hence the importance of keeping the skin unbroken in this
disease, only examining a drop of blood to establish the diagnosis.
 Filtration is a means of separating microbes from the gases or
liquids containing them. For the filtration of water see page 96. The
carbolic sheet outside a sick-room is supposed to filter the air leaving
the room from microbes. It is probably useless except as a reminder
to the nurse to change her dress and adopt other precautions on
leaving the sick-room.
Settlement of dust also acts as an aerial disinfectant. If a room
be locked up, its air next day is almost free from particles, and all
that is then required is disinfection of the surfaces of the room and
of the articles in it. Whatever method of disinfection is employed, it
is not disinfection of the air, but of the surfaces of a room which is
the end in view.
Washing is the most efficacious means of removing infection. It
is a mechanical means of removing the particular matter of which
the contagium consists from the person or article to which it adheres
into the water, which subsequently enters the drain, in the same way
as do urine and fæces. Washing is an absolutely efficient means of
purifying articles that can be completely submitted to it. A
consideration of the physical laws governing the spread of
infection will make this clear. The contagia are passive. When
contained in a liquid they cannot escape from it under ordinary
circumstances. Thus foul smelling gases may escape from sewage,
but bacteria do not escape, except rarely during bubbling, or from
dried portions of the invert of the sewer. Barring rare accidents
“microbes submerged are imprisoned.” Contagia are harmless until
they become dust. Hence the danger associated with the use of
pocket handkerchiefs in such diseases as influenza and phthisis; and
the importance of keeping all infectious discharges wet, until they
can be finally disposed of.

DISINFECTION BY HEAT.
Heat may be applied in various ways: (1) Prolonged boiling in
water of materials which are not spoilt by this means. (2)
Destruction by fire of infected articles. (3) Dry hot air. (4) Steam.
Boiling kills most pathogenic microbes. The cholera vibrio is killed
in four minutes at a temperature of 52° C. (126° F.); the typhoid
bacillus at 59°.4 C. (138°.8 F.) in ten minutes. If boiling be continued
for five minutes, the spores of pathogenic microbes are killed. The
addition of one to two per cent. of washing soda to the water
hastens this effect. For infected linen nothing beyond this is
required.
Destruction by Fire is to be recommended for comparatively
worthless articles, such as toys, straw from beds, rags, old clothing
and bedding.
Dry Hot Air has been largely used in the past in ovens, for the
disinfection of bulky bedding. It is now entirely superseded by
steam. Its disadvantages are that (a) heat penetrates very slowly
into the interior of bedding. Disinfection in test experiments was not
accomplished in the interior of small bundles of clothes in three or
four hours. (b) Scorching of articles often occurs. The sole
advantage of this method is that bound books and leather goods are
less liable to be damaged by it than by steam. If no other apparatus
is available a baker’s oven will serve to kill the non-sporiferous
microbes of cholera, enteric fever, and diphtheria, as well as animal
vermin. If, however, we accept the proper test proposed by
Buchanan of the efficacy of disinfection, the “destruction of the most
stable known infective matter,” dry heat is unsatisfactory.
Steam may be employed as a disinfectant either (a) superheated,
or (b) saturated, i.e. close to the temperature at which condensation
occurs. This temperature depends upon the pressure under which
the water has been boiled. At ordinary atmospheric pressure it is
100° C. (212° F.). The temperature of boiling is raised by subjecting
the water to pressure. Consequently boiling water and the steam
produced from it may be at any temperature. Thus steam may be

(a) Under pressure, with a temperature above 212° F.

 (b) Not under pressure, at a temperature of 212° F.

Fig. 57.
Equifex Saturated Steam Disinfector.

A—Disinfection chamber. B—Partition wall separating infected from disinfected

side. C—Door on disinfected side. D—Door on infected side. EE—Safety-locking
bolt for securing door. FF—Stiffening rings on doors. G—Steam inlet from boiler. H
—Steam separator for arresting water condensed in G. I—Valve controlling
admission of steam to disinfecting chamber. K—Valve controlling admission of
steam to coils. LM—Safety valves regulating steam pressure in chamber and coils
respectively. NU—Pressure guages indicating steam pressure in chambers and
coils respectively. OO—Objects after disinfection. P—Wheeled carriage and cradle
for OO. Q—Hinged rails on which P runs. R—Exhaust pipe for steam and air on
first admission. S—Thermometer showing rise of temperature (to control complete
air evacuation). T—Valve for closing exhaust pipe R when air is completely
evacuated. V—Sluice valve to cause sudden escape of steam. W—Cock to admit
steam to ejector. X—Exhaust pipe fitted with ejector for escape of steam before
and of air during drying. Y—Valve for admission of air for drying under suction of
ejector. [In some types of this machine this valve is placed on the lower part of C.]

Steam when admitted into a disinfecting stove comes into contact

with cold objects. If the steam is saturated, immediate condensation
to 1 ∕ 1600 part of its original volume occurs. Its latent heat is at the
same time evolved. The condensation causes enormous shrinkage in
bulk. More steam is thus insucked into the partial vacuum produced,
and this is repeated, until in every part of the mattress or other
material undergoing disinfection equality of temperature is reached,
when condensation of steam will cease, and disinfection is complete.
If the steam is superheated and no condensation allowed,
disinfection occurs by the relatively slow method occurring with dry
heat. In practice at the early stage cooling causes some conversion
of superheated into saturated steam, though subsequently the much
slower process of disinfection by conduction of heat goes on. Hence
superheated steam is a less efficient disinfecting agent than
saturated steam.
Superheating is produced in disinfecting stores in two ways: (1) By
a jacket around the stove, which is kept at about double the
pressure and about 20° to 30° F. hotter than the interior of the
stove; as in the older patterns of the Washington Lyon stove. (2) By
having a jacket containing a solution of calcium chloride, which is
heated by a furnace under the stove. This solution is kept at a
constant strength by an automatic supply from a cistern. The
temperature of the boiling water is thus raised without pressure to
225° F. This is the principle of Thresh’s stove. The object of
superheating steam is to assist in rapidly drying materials; but this
object can equally well be secured by periodically allowing the
sudden escape of the steam confined under pressure, in pressure
disinfectors. This last method is the best, as it can not only be
utilised at the last stage of the disinfection for drying the articles;
but at the earlier stage for sweeping the air out of the stove, and
thus removing what, owing to its low conductivity for heat is one of
the most serious obstacles to rapid and efficient disinfection.
In the above description it has been assumed that the steam,
whether saturated or superheated, is confined, except when the
exhaust is employed for drying purposes. Steam may also be
employed as current steam. Current steam disinfectors are initially
cheap, but more steam, and therefore more fuel, is required in their
use; and unless pressure is used by impeding the escape of the
steam a temperature of only 212° F. can be secured. Accepting
Buchanan’s dictum, a stove supplying saturated steam under
pressure at a temperature in the interior of the stove of 234° F. is to
be preferred. This temperature with saturated steam destroys the
spores of the most resistant known microbe (that of symptomatic
anthrax). With superheated steam or hot air stoves on the same
basis a temperature of 280° F. would be required, which is damaging
to most textiles, except horsehair.

THE PRACTICE OF DISINFECTION.

The Management of the Sick-room and Patient requires
careful and conscientious attention to detail. Certain details are
given on page 319. All unnecessary furniture, carpets, and hangings
should be removed as soon as the nature of the illness is known; but
unless these articles have been contained in close trunks or drawers,
and not opened since before the onset of the illness, they must be
disinfected. Food left over from the patient’s meals must be burnt, if
solid, in the patient’s room; if liquid, emptied down the water-closet.
Dry sweeping of the floors is to be avoided, only wet brushing or
cloths being used. Volatile aerial disinfectants during the sickness are
valueless.
The Treatment of Discharges from the Patient is the most
important point in the management of infection. The stools should
be received into a bed-pan containing a 5 per cent. solution of
carbolic acid, a 3 per cent. solution of cresol or lysol, or a 5 per cent.
solution of chloride of lime. Milk of lime (20 per cent. strength) is
very reliable, when added like the preceding solutions in bulk equal
to that of the stool to be disinfected. The urine and vomit, if any,
should be treated in exactly the same way. The infection of enteric
fever is often spread by undisinfected urine.
Discharges from the throat, nose and mouth of patients should
be received into a solution of
 lysol 5 oz. to 1 gallon of water, or
carbolic acid 7 oz. to 1 gallon of water,

The efficacy of the carbolic acid solution is increased by adding 2

oz. of NaCl, or 12-14 oz. of NaCl to each gallon. Pocket-
handkerchiefs must be avoided, linen rags being employed instead,
and placed at once in one of the above solutions or burnt.
The skin may scatter infection, especially in small-pox and scarlet
fever. Frequent baths and inunction with vaseline or oil are useful.
The disinfection of hands is most important for all attendants
on the infectious sick. A solution of corrosive sublimate 1-1000, or
one of the above solutions may be used for this purpose; but this is
to be supplemented by the free use of the nail-brush and soap and
water. The treatment of linen has been described (page 329).
Woollen articles of underclothing, and blankets can be
disinfected by steam, which shrinks them less than boiling water.
The ordinary laundry processes appear, however, to suffice to rid
them of infection, without boiling.
Bedding, curtains, and carpets should be disinfected by steam.
Certain precautions are required in removing these to the
disinfecting station. Surface disinfection of the room must have been
first effected (see below); and the infected bedding should be
encased in canvas bags or sheets. When a steam disinfector is
inaccessible, the mattress and pillows should be taken to pieces, the
covers washed, and their contents disinfected by spraying with
formalin solution (1 in 40) or HgCl₂ solution (1 in 1,000), and
subsequently exposing to sun and air. For disinfection of suits of
clothes, current steam may be improvised as follows:—Over two
bricks at the bottom of the kitchen “copper” thin floor-boards are
placed, above the level of 2 or 3 inches of water previously placed at
the bottom of the copper. The cover of the copper is put on, and by
means of a brisk fire steam is kept streaming through the clothes.
This is continued for an hour, and the clothes then hung out to dry.
 Furniture, when wooden, can be washed. If upholstered it can
be disinfected by spraying (see p. 333), and then beating and
dusting in the open air.
Furs, Boots, and Shoes are spoilt by steam. For the first,
spraying freely with formalin (1 in 40), or exposure over a formalin
lamp (page 326) is recommended. Boots and shoes should be filled
and washed with a solution of HgCl₂, chinosol, or formalin.

Fig. 58.
Equifex Spray Disinfector in Use.

The sick-room can only be efficiently disinfected after the patient

has left it. The aim is surface disinfection. Aerial disinfection is
sufficiently effected by open windows. Four chief methods of surface
disinfection are practised. (a) Fumigation by SO₂, formalin, cresol, or
other vapours (see page 326). (b) Spraying the ceiling, walls, floor,
and furniture with a disinfectant solution is probably the most
convenient method of disinfection. It is more effectual than
fumigation, less laborious than rubbing down walls, etc., by bread or
wet cloth, and less likely to damage wall-papers than brushing a
disinfectant solution on them. Solutions of HgCl₂ 1 in 1,000, or
chinosol 1 in 1,200, or formalin 1 in 40 are efficient. A special spray
apparatus (Fig. 58) is usually employed. A practical point is to spray
the wall from below upwards, to prevent the solution running down
the wall and producing streaks of discolouration. (c) Washing ceiling
and walls with the disinfectant solution may be substituted. A one
per cent. solution of hypochlorite of lime is largely used for this
purpose, applied by a long-handled whitewash brush. (d) Attrition of
walls, etc., by means of bread or dough sterilises them by
mechanically removing microbes. The bread is cut into pieces
suitable for grasping in the hand, the cut surface being applied to
the wall. The crumbs must afterwards be burnt in the room. This is
the official method in Germany.
Floors may be treated like walls and ceiling after the patient has
left the room. During his occupancy of the room, tea-leaves or
sawdust thoroughly impregnated with lysol or cresol should be
sprinkled on the floor before it is swept, or washing substituted for
sweeping. Scrubbing with soap and water constitutes the best
disinfectant for floors and all other washable surfaces.
Books are difficult of disinfection. Steam damages leather. The
penetrating power of dry heat is doubtful. Cheap books should be
burnt. Abel discovered virulent diphtheria bacilli on toys six months
after the patient, to whom they belonged, had diphtheria. Formalin
and phenol vapours have been used to disinfect books in closed
chambers, the books being stood on end. Letters can be rendered
safe by steam disinfection.
Corpses of infectious patients should be placed in the coffin and
buried as early as possible. A thick layer of sawdust saturated with
lysol or cresol should be placed at the bottom of the coffin, and the
corpse enveloped in cotton wool. Cremation is better than burial.
 CHAPTER XLVIII.
VITAL STATISTICS.

Vital Statistics is the science of numbers applied to the life-history

of communities. Its significance is similar to that of the more
recently coined word—Demography—though the latter does not
necessarily confine itself strictly to study of life by statistical means.
Another term has been frequently used in recent years—“Vital and
Mortal Statistics.” The continued use of the word “mortal” in this
connection is undesirable and objectionable. The term “Vital
Statistics” is comprehensive and complete, as death is but the last
act of life.
Of the problems of life with which the science of Vital Statistics is
concerned, population, births, marriages, sickness, and deaths,
possess the chief importance; and in the following sketch of the
subject I shall concern myself chiefly with these. The subject
naturally divides itself into two sections: the sources of information,
and the information derived from these sources, and both of these
will require consideration.
The importance of numerical standards of comparison in science
increases with every increase of knowledge. The value of
experience, founded on an accumulation of individual facts, varies
greatly according to the character of the observer. As Dr. Guy has
put it: “The sometimes of the cautious is the often of the sanguine,
the always of the empiric, and the never of the sceptic; while the
numbers 1, 10, 100, and 100,000 have but one meaning for all
mankind.” Hence the importance of an exact numerical statement of
facts. The sneering statement that statistics cannot be made to
prove anything can only be made by one ignorant of science. In fact,
nothing can be proved without their aid, though they may be so
ignorantly or unscrupulously manipulated as to appear to prove what
is untrue. Instances of fallacious use of figures will be given as we
proceed.
An accurate statement of population forms the natural basis of
all vital statistics. Thus the comparison of the number of deaths in
one with the number of deaths in a second community has no
significance unless we know also the number living out of which
these deaths occurred. Even then our knowledge would be defective,
without further particulars as to the proportion in each population
living at different ages, and the number dying at the corresponding
ages. For other purposes we should require to know the number
married and unmarried, the number engaged in different industries,
and so on; in order that the influence of marital conditions, of
occupation, etc., on the prospects of life may be calculated. The first
desideratum of accurate vital statistics is a census enumeration of
the population at such intervals as will not cause the intervening
estimates of population to be very wide of the mark. In this country
a decennial census is taken, the last occurring in 1901. In the
intervals the population of the entire country, and of each town or
district is estimated. Various methods of estimating the
population have been adopted. (1) If a strict record of emigration
and immigration is kept, then in a country in which a complete
registration of births and deaths is enforced, the population can be
easily ascertained by balancing the natural increase by excess of
births over deaths, and the increase or decrease due to migration.
This is done in New Zealand, but is impracticable in England, as no
complete account of migration can be kept.
(2) The increase of inhabited houses in a district being known year
by year, the increase of population may be estimated on the
assumption that the number of persons per house is the same as at
the last census. This may not be strictly accurate. In 1901 it was
found that in England and Wales the average number of persons per
house was fractionally less than in 1891.
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