There is, in the Washington, DC, of 1841, a large area where human waste—“night soil,” as it is known—is dumped in a field near the White House. The city has no sewer system. This excrement is collected from chamber pots and outhouses and then hauled to this field each day by government workers. The refuse becomes a breeding ground for the Salmonella bacteria responsible for typhus and its derivative, paratyphus. Together, these are known as endemic fever and wreak havoc on an individual’s gastrointestinal tract.
