Stiles found that hookworm disease occurred most commonly in rural areas. It thrived where the soil was sandy, but not in areas with clay soil. He described hookworm disease (known by the scientific name uncinariasis) as “one of the most important and most common diseases of this part of the South, especially on farms and plantations in sandy districts”. He concluded that a lack of basic sanitation, along with poor nutrition, contributed to southerners’ susceptibility to hookworm infection. Privy is ideal for rural homes: it embodies the principles of the septic tank.
References:
- “Rockefeller Sanitary Commission (RSC).” 2015.100 Years: The Rockefeller Foundation. Accessed May 22, 2015. http://rockefeller100.org/exhibits/show/health/rockefeller-sanitary-commissio.
- Stiles, Charles Wardell. 1902a. “Hook-Worm Disease in the South–Frequency of Infection by the Parasite (Uncinaria americana) in Rural Districts.”Public Health Reports 17 (43): 2433–34.
- “A New Species of Hookworm (Uncinaria americana) Parasitic in Man.” American Medicine3 (19): 777–78.
- Report upon the Prevalence and Geographic Distribution of Hookworm Disease (Uncinariasis or Anchylostomiasis) in the United States. Hygienic Laboratory Bulletin 10. Washington, DC: U.S. Public Health and Marine Hospital Service. https://archive.org/details/reportuponpreval00stilrich.
- Stiles, Charles Wardell, and L. L. Lumsden. 1911. The Sanitary Privy. Farmers’ Bulletin 463. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Agriculture. http://archive.org/details/CAT87202664
Photo: http://www.oas.org/cdmp/document/codedraw/images/fig-f-3.gif