a. Food Handlers. Food may be contaminated by infected food handlers who
are careless or dirty in their personal habits.
b. Flies. Houseflies that come into contact with human or animal feces may
"pick up" disease-producing organisms on their feet or body. These flies then
contaminate foods with which they come into contact in the dining hall or the kitchen.
c. Self-Contamination. A person who does not wash his hands adequately
after using the latrine may have fingers contaminated with feces. Disease-producing
organisms can enter his mouth when he touches his mouth area with his fingers or
when he eats food, which has come into contact with his fingers.
d. Improper Cooking. Carcasses of beef, pork, chickens, and turkeys may be
contaminated by disease-producing organisms (particularly Salmonella) from the
intestines of these animals while they are being dressed. Eggs, especially duck eggs,
can become contaminated by fowl feces in the nest. Improper cooking (not getting the
food items hot enough to kill the organisms or not cooking the food long enough to kill
the organisms) allows the disease-producing organisms to survive and infect those who
eat the food.
e. Water. Natural sources of water, such as lakes and streams, often are
polluted by drainage from latrines and sewers. Springs and wells may be similarly
contaminated. In the field, careless disposal of human waste is a frequent source of
danger. Such waste material may drain into a nearby water source or furnish a
breeding place for flies.
f. Rodents. Rodents frequently urinate or defecate on foods to which they
have access and contaminate the foods with disease organisms.
1-24. INTESTINAL DISEASE CONTROL MEASURES
a. Responsibility. Commanders at every level, as well as platoon leaders and
noncommissioned officers, are responsible for enforcing sanitary regulations and taking
all other necessary precautions against the spread of intestinal diseases. Each
individual soldier is responsible for personal hygiene and taking proper preventive
measures.
b. Controlling Transmission. The most effective method of preventing
intestinal diseases is to control the source and agencies which transmit them--food
handlers, human waste, flies, food, and water. Continuing and unrelaxing attention to
the following measures are required.
(1) Good food service sanitation, including the careful selection, education,
and daily inspection of food handlers.
MD0535
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