The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1874-11-21 00:00:00

FEVER GERMS.

The following letter has been opportunely tent to The
Times for publication :

Sir,—Now that the question of the nature and origin
of fever poisons is before the public, will you allow me
to direct attention to one or two points which, besides
being of great scientific interest, have a highly-im-
portant practical hearing?

As regards the nature of the poison. That it grows
and multiplies and increases its kind like other living
things is now beyond dispute; but whether it is of the
nature of a microscopic fungus originating without, or
a living partiCle arising within, and from the living
matter of man's body itself, there has been, is, and
will be much difference of opinion. Some consider
we owe to external nature the production of these
disease-producing particles, and assign to them a place
in the scale of living beings at least as definite as
that held by every species of animal and vegetable
parasite.
I contend, on the other hand, that evidence prepon-
derates in favour of the view that it is in our bodies
these poisons are formed; that we human beings are
alone responsible for their production, and ifir their
maintenance and spread; that, therefore, a state of
civilized society is conceivable in which fever germs
would neither multiply nor arise, and, in the event of
their being introduced at extra, would themselves
certainly perish, instead of damaging or destroying the
higher hfe. _

Fever, as is well known, may, on the one hand, re-
sult from changes in the body, without any poison at
all. In certain states of the system, a little not very
soluble food will so disturb our nerve and blood changes
as to cause the temperature of the body to rise from 98
degrees to 103 degrees, or even higher, and within-a
very few hours. General fever, too, soon follows upon
a local injury, without any fever germs having been
introduced. On the other hand, it has been proved
that fever May result from the generation anew, with-
in the body itself, of some poison, and also from the
introduction of a poison which has been generated in
the body of another. Not only so, but each particular
or specific fever has its own special germ, which will
educe that particular form of fever and no other.
What is the nature of the specific contagious fever
germ which is so powerful for mischief? So inveterate
is the deleterious agent in question, that no mere
cattle-plague, smallpox, or vaccine poison than is
sufficient to moisten a pin's point will be more than
enough to induce the disease. An equally minute
portion of the poisonjof pundent ophthalmia from the
eye of a suffering child is enough to develope the
disease, if transferred to the eyA of a child not infected.
As minute a trace of the poison of certain forms of
erysipelas, pysemia, and of certain other febrile and
inflammatory affections, if introduced beneath the skin
by the slightest prick, or wafted in infinitesimal
quantity in a current of air, will be sufficient to induce
the disease.
Now, such poison germs as those referred to have
been produced—nay, some of them may at this very
moment be coming into being under our very eyes,
where crowded, uncleanly, and unventilated rooms
supply the conditions required for their production.
Some of us have long been studying these things, and
by working carefully with very high magnifying powers
at tissues in which the changes induced by fever germs
had been effected, we have been able to learn much con-
cerning the nature and origin of certain disease-carrying
particles. I have shown that by the rapid growth and
multiplication of the living matter of the healthy
tissues, as occurs in every case of inflammation and fever
if it reaches a certain degree of intensity, morbid living
matter results. By observing within the microscopic
limit, in which the apparent size of an object may be
increased to about 5,000 diameters, I am able to dis-
cern the origin of a disease producing living particle.
Arguing, then, from facts which have been established
in the course of careful and prolonged investigations into
thE nature of these poisons, I am led to the conclusion
that all the fever poisons of man and the higher
animals are closely allied as regards their essential
natsre. All arise by degradation from the living
matter of and in the body itself. They are not
microscopic fungi, nor are they derived from them ;
neither are they bodies which have been formed or
evolved in the world outside.

The practioadbearing of this great question will, I trust,
be considered a sufficient reason for extending to me
the advantage of drawing public attention to it in
The Times. It will be understood how, in accordance
with the views above stated, fever poison may be pro-
duced, may originate in an organism which was en-
tirelrfree from it—for fever germs probably do from
time to time arise anew.

Outbreaks of fever occurring at different periods and
in different places, though called by the same name,
have been found to differ so much from one another
that it would be more reasonable to refer some of them
to a new fever poison actually produced in persons
residing in the locality than to attribute each outbreak
to germs of the same kind imported from a distance
and modified by it, special circumstances of the
place.
Fever germs will not be developed direct from filth,
but by permitting people to live year after year in open
defiance of well known sanitary laws, the generation of
fever poison in their bodies is favoured, while its free
growth and multiplication, if imported, is reduced to
a sertainty. It is therefore our aim to prevent people
from falling into that condition of health which
favours the organisation and propagation of centagions
fever poisons in their bodies. Dr. Carpenter says in
his letter to The Times of November 13, • Prevent the
introduction of those germs," and the disease will no
longer arise. But, unfortunately, we cannot practi-
cally prevent the introduction of fever germs. At
least all persons attending the sick mill be freely ex-
-1,0,0.1 to invasion. Happily, they generally escape
being hurt, for though the poison gsrins may have
gained an entrance, if the body be not in a state
favourable to their growth and multiplication, they
will die. . . . . .

We may successfully and without fear contend with
fever germs if only we preserve our healthy powers of
resistance; and what we doctors are and have been
striving with all our might to do is to prevent the
bodies of our fellow.citizens from falling into a state
favourable to the formation and to the growth and
multiplication of fever poisons. In many of our
cities and towns awl villsges, it is to be feared, hun-
dreds of organisms are slowly preparing themselves for
invasion. . . .