HEALTH BULLETIN Entered as second-class matter July 28, 1908, at the post-office at Richmond, Virginia, COMMONWEALTH OF VIRGINIA DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH RICHMOND, April 1, 1909. DR. ENNION G. WILLIAMS, Commissioner of Health, Dear Sir: Richmond, Va. We herewith transmit you a report on The Sanitary Aspects of the Oyster Industry in Virginia. This report is prepared as a result of the investigation made under your orders by us, February 3rd-17th, 1909. Respectfully, ALLEN W. FREEMAN, Assistant Commissioner of Health. MEADE FERGUSON, Bacteriologist. Sanitary Aspects of the Virginia Oyster Industry INTRODUCTORY STATEMENT. On November 23d, 1908, the following resolution was received from the Secretary of the Elizabeth City County Medical Society: "Resolution of the Elizabeth City County Medical Society. In regular meeting Nov. 9th, 1908. Resolved, That the matter of Oyster Infection with Typhoid Bacilli is hereby referred to the State Board of Health, with the request that they take steps to investigate the oyster beds of Virginia as a probable means of typhoid dissemination. The Secretary is instructed to send a copy of such resolution to the Health Commissioner with an explanatory letter. (Signed) GEO. K. VANDERSLICE, Vice-Prest. and Asst. Seet'y." Accompanying the resolutions was a letter calling attention to the necessity for the investigation mentioned in the resolutions, and giving some details as to unsanitary conditions known to members of the Society. Shortly after the receipt of the above letter, a representative of the Department of Health of the City of Norfolk called the attention of the Department to the necessity of the investigation of the practice of "floating" or "drinking" oysters in fresh or brackish water as practiced by certain parties in the vicinity of Norfolk. As soon as possible after the receipt of the above information steps were taken looking to the investigation of the whole problem. of the sanitary aspects of the Oyster Industry. The problem was a large one, involving a wide sweep of territory, and the importance of the financial interests involved, necessitated a careful and comprehensive investigation. Co-operation with the Board of Fisheries. As the problem under investigation was of vital importance to the whole oyster industry, co-operation was invited on the part of the State Board of Fisheries, and was promptly and cheerfully extended. The Board of Fisheries placed at the disposal of the Department the steamer Commodore Maury, the flagship of the Oyster Navy. The use of the Maury made the investigation much more effective than it could have been by any other means, and the information furnished by the Commissioner of Fisheries and the crew of the Maury, as well as the various inspectors of the Board, was of the greatest value. Plan of the Work. The work was planned along the following lines: 1. A sanitary survey of the principal oyster beds of the State, with bacteriological examination of the oysters as they leave the water and of the waters from which they come. 2. An investigation of the methods of handling oysters for shipment, including storage, shucking, washing, iceing and packing. 3. An investigation of the alleged practice of "floating" or "drinking" oysters for the purpose of increasing the bulk of the oysters. 4. An attempt to verify the work of previous investigators tending to prove the absence of the colon bacillus from the normal unpolluted oyster. Equipment and Methods of Study. Upon the arrival of the Commodore Maury at Richmond, her cabin, which was large and roomy, was equipped with the apparatus necessary for the carrying out of the bacteriological work on board. This equipment included a special incubator, made for traveling and rough weather, a large supply of prepared and sterilized media, and a large number of fermentation tubes and Petri dishes, sterilized and wrapped for transportation. The method of work was simple. In waters of sufficient depth the Maury would proceed directly to the beds to be inspected, collecting samples from the oystermen when any were found, or tonging or dredging them from the bottom, working from the deck of the ship. In shallow waters the gasoline launch, tender to the Maury, was used in the same manner. Shore pollution was inspected either from the water or the land side, as conditions indicated. As soon as the specimens were taken from the water they were thoroughly scrubbed with a stiff brush, using water collected from the same locality for the purpose. This scrubbing was necessary to remove the mud and slime from the shells before they could be satisfactorily opened for examination. The oysters were then opened, using the usual precautions to prevent outside contamination, and the inoculations made at once. While this work was being done, the boat proceeded to another spot where the process would be repeated. In this way much time was saved. The Oyster Beds. As is well known, the oyster is found in salt or slightly brackish water, growing on the bottom, at depths usually not exceeding thirty feet. The Chesapeake Bay, with the numerous tidal estuaries emptying into it, forms an almost ideal area for oyster culture, and almost the whole of the shoal waters of the territory are given up to the industry. The waters devoted to oyster culture are of two great classes, the natural rocks and the plant beds. The natural rocks, or bottoms, are areas in which the oyster grows naturally, and from which they are tonged year after year, without any effort to replenish the supply. The plant beds are areas in which the osyter does not grow normally, but which are planted with young oysters, or "seed," which remain on the bottom for periods varying from several months to a year or more, and are then taken up for the market. |