New Orleans Republican. [volume] (New Orleans, La) 1867-1878, 1877-05-26

.
Spread OF EnfaGssea.s DE~~aaee,
London newspaper of April 80 says
Professor TynSall occupied the chair on
Saturday night at the con- ludine lecture
of Or. COrfieldss course on the laws OF
health. The subject Of the lecture was
Infectious Diseases. In proposing a vote
Of thanks Professor Tyndan paid high
compliment TO the lectarer for the 6ho-
roughly sound instruction which he had
so clearly conveyed. Reterriug to the
cause of diseases, he had made il plain
that the contsgion consisted of definite
PARTICLES sometimes floating in gas, or ia
the air, or in the liqaid which we drank,
and that, like organic seeds in the soil,
they multiplied themselves indefinitely in
suitable media. the great probability be.
ing that these disease producing particles
were living things. A close study of the
subject, extending now over two years,
enabled Him to agree entirely with the
lecturer in the parallelism Throughout
Which he had declared to exist be-
tween the phenomena of these dis
ease poisons and the phenomena Of or
binary putrefaction. Take the case
Of hies communicating disease from
one pereen to another, that was exactly
paralleled by phenomena ia pEtrefaction
Thus he had chopped up beefsteak,
STEPPED 1t in water, raised the temperature
"a little above the temperature of the
blood, poured of the water, filtered it,
and got perfectly clear liquid; but that
liquid placed in q bottle and exposed to
the air began to get more and more tur-
bid, and that turbid liquid, under the
microscope, was soon found to be swarm
ing with living organisms. By heating
this perfectly clear beef tea, it will be
sterilized, everything being killed that is
capable of producing those little organ
isms which produced the turbidity, and,
by keeping it perfectly stopped from the
air and from coming in contact with any
floating particles, it might be preserved
for years. He had now some sterilized
beet tea of this sort, which had been pre-
served for eighteen months in a state of
perfect transparency, but if a. fly dipped
its foot into an adjacent vessel containing
some of the turbid huid and then into the
transparent liquid, that contact would be
sufficient 70 affect the sterilized fluid
just as q surgeon dipped the point Of
lancet into vaccine lymph to vaccinate-
and in forty eight hours the clear LIQUID
would be swarming with these living or
gauisms. In this, as in the case of con-
tagious disease, there was period Of in.
cubation.
In proof of whet the lecturer had stated
that here the contagion of these commun-
leable diseases was not gaseous or liquid,
but solid particles, he would describe an
experiment he had made only few weeks
since. Eighteen months since he had q
place prepared from which all floating
particles of dust were removed, and in it
he placed number of vessels containing
animal and vegetable refuse aud also two
or three vessels containing perfectly clear
beef tea and mutton broth as Transparent
as water in which the infected articles
had been killed by heat. Although all
these vessels lad stood during that time
side by side, there had been no commu-
nication Of contagion from one to the 9th
or, the beef tea and mutton broth remain
ing as transparent as when put in, though
the other vessels emitted the most moi.
some stencil; but if bubble was caused
in one of the putrefying masses by blow
ing into il, and that rose to the surface
and burst, and the spray of the bubble
was allowed to fall on the transparent beef
tea or mutton broth. in forty-eight hours
they became as bad as their neiehbors.
Il was not, therefore, sewer gas
which did the mischief, but the
particles which were driven up and
by the sewer gas. Referring to
another point on which the lecturer had |
viz: That there was no power of |
'pontaneous generation of the germs Or |
,ontagion of diseases, Professor Tyndall |
said that though OF present great name |
we're opposed to that view, he would ven I
lure to predict that ten years hepck there |
would be very few efsal names opposed /
% the lecturer on that matter With re,
gard to the power Of diseased poisons To 1
% generated in decomposipp animal mat
or, he would say that foS the last twentv-
me years be had been ia the habit of VS. |
ting the upper Alpine valleys, where.
lmohg the Swiss chalets, there was the |
most abominable decomposition going on |
rom day to day, and exceedingly bad 1
smells, but there these contagious dis |
Eases were entirely unknown. II, how
ever, q person suffering from typhoid |
lever were transported there, it would |
spread like wildtife from this infected |
focus, and the disease would pass through |
NE entire population. Itmight betaken,
lnShoAvIeS suhb lAuy OF THESE Sp6clal dis |
eases required its special germ or seed |
for its production, just as you REQUIRE o
grape seed to producers vine He entirely
agreed with all the lecturer had stated as
10 these diseases breeding true, for
they never found the virus Of smallpox
producing typoid, OF vice versa The snb- |
lect was one of the most important which |
could engage the attention OF the scientific
physician, for in the whole range Of
medical art and science these was not a I
subject Of equal Importance But in APP
plying to daily practice this question Of |
diseases, the scientific physician |
must not stand alone he ought "a be aided |
BY the sympathy Of an eniig htened public. ]
Here, in England, We did not like TO !
be pressed into good behavior By ex-
.esnal ipHdence; and # anylhing was 70 1
sotne ia the way Of Aally great sanitary
Improvement, Il would Be from the people |
themselves, Hence, in e people who were I
ealeus Of government Interference, It was
# primary importance that they should |
be properly INSTRUCTED; and he did not |
sxaggetatg Ia the sli9htest degree 10 de- |
slariDg that solemn, sound and healthy |
Instruction had been imDarted to them ia |
he lecture 70 which they had ust listened
H.HlaHI fQs ia.HN 7. 81