Staunton spectator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1849-1896, 1878-11-12
Germ Theory Of Disease.

Germ Theory OF Disease.
INTERESTING DISCUSSION-A yAIuARI
PAPER ON AN IMPORTANT SJBJEC
READ BEFORE THE SOCIAL SCIENC
ASSOCIATION BY PROFESSOR RICH.
RDSON, OF THE UNIVERSITY OF PEN,
SYLVANIA.
i DIR. Joseph G. Richardson, professt
of hygiene in the University of Penn
sylvania, delivered lecture recentl
IN the hall of the College of Physician
Thirteenth and Locust streets, ON tn
subject of "The Germ Theory of d
sease." and its present bearing upo
public and personal hygiene. The Al
tendance was large. DIR. Isaac Ray in
troduced DIR. Richardson, who spoke {
the following effect:
The devastating epidemic which ha
been raging in sections of the South hs
created SO much discussion that ther
are few who have not, in consequence
heard more or less of the germ theory.
The speaker, by way of preface, stat
ed that he had long been a warm advo
cate of this theory. which some hav
treated with derision and cOntempt
The germ theory of disease proposes I,
account for small pox, yellow fever, ty,
phoid fever, measles, diphtheria, relaps
Ing fever, &C., by attributing them tC
the mechanical irritation and other dis
turbances set up by masses of spores
and mycelial threads developing in th,
blood and in the affected tissues. The
period of incubation or Matching out iby
which is meant the time between expo
sure to small pox. for example, and the
develOpement of the disease) is suppos
ed to correspond with the termination
of these spores or seeds of the fungi.
After examining the claims for and
against the germ theory. DIR. Richard
SON said: At the outset of my plea in
favor of the doctrine, let me say that, In
spite of the bold assertions of certain en-.
thusiasts and savans, with whom zeal
outruns knowledge, no really skillful
microscoplst will at present maintain
that minute vegetable organisms, found
In connection with contagious maIadies.
are as yet proved to have any definite
relation TO them as causes of disease,
l'he doctor quoted from former writ.
ings by himself, published some wears
ago, some notes relating to experiments Is
he had made about that time IN estab-
fishing the theory that bacteria NAV OBJ
tain entrance to the blood through the
respiratory organs or alimentary canal.
The researches Qfan eminent New York
DOCTOR subsequently confirmed the re-
suits OF the speakers researches at that
time. Notwithstanding these expert.
ments, however, the germ theory made
little progress, especially in English
speaking countries, until after tha ex-
peiiments of eminent London physi-
clans, which gave fresh impetus to the
study of the theory. After reciting the
results of Investigations conducted by
other scientists in this country and
abroad, the speaker replied to objections
urged against the germ theo-
ry, to wit, that such organisms as have
been referred to are frequently observed
in perfectly healthy bodies, and cannot,
therefore, be the cause of disease.
DIR. Richardson then proceeded to re-.
view the chief evidences in favor of the
germ theory, commencing with his own
proofs by experiments upon himself.
that millions of these minute organisms
called bacteria, when taken into the
stomach by drinking, could thence be
absorbed into the blood and be detected
in drops of the circulating fluid drawn
from the tips of the fingers. Secondly.
That punctures made in rabbit with
needles dipped in dipthetio false mem
brane conveyed the disease, which
could be recognized under the micro
scope by the presence of the bacteria or
miCrococi of diphtheria.
Thirdly. That in the relapsipg fever
a crop of these microscopic organisms
called sparill. and shaped like little
corkscrews, to the number of millions,
are found circulating in the blood and
fourthly the fact that Professor Klein, of
London, had just stsdemonstrated that the
in occulation of fdescendantsin the eighth
generation of bacteria, found in kind
of typhoid fever of the pig, is followed
by Development of the same disease.
Of these spores, the doctor stated,
row of twenty thousand of them placed
end to end would measure less than one
inch in length, and mass the diameter
of one of the dots OR periods { :. upon a
printed page might contain over fifty
millions. Each one of these fifty mil.
lions is capable, under favorable circum.
stances, of reproducing its kind with al
most incredible rapidity. The germ
theory teaches us, said the speaker, that
every new case of the contagious disea-
ses enumerated is the immediate off.
spring of preceding case and the di-
rect result of the exposure of an unpro-
tected human being to the chance of
having the spores or seeds of disease i'm
planted in its system. an exposure which
it only required sufficient knowledge suf-
fcie'at fore sight and sufficient care to
avoid. In all such instances the isola-
tion of the affected person from unprO-
tected persons was recommended and,
under other conditions, means which
will destroy the life of the spores, such
as dry heat of high degree, superheated
steam, prolonged boiling in water, cos
tic acids or alkalis, etc., are to be used
with firm confidence that if they are
employed thoroughly enough they will
absolutely put stop to all spread Of the
disease. 1t is useless to expect any GER
tain and complete results from the mild
er aerial disinfectants usually employ
ed.
The lessons deduced by the doctor from
these teachings in regard to public by
giene were. he said. as important as
they were simple. They were, first, to
avoid. at any cost, the entrance into
COululuuiIieS VI living SpOTeS VI SSeuS VI
disease. With proper care infection
cannot occur. In a German town q
single potato bug caused the authorities
to cover whole plantation with kero-
sene soaked straw, to which they set
fire and destroyed every germ of vege-
table and animal life for acres around
and, yet, this apparent waste of time,
trouble and potato vines was the most
economical expenditure that could pos
sibly have been made. How much more
then, when our own lives. the lives OF
those dear to us, and, in addition, scores
of millions of dollars are at stake, as
they are in the South at present, should
sanitary authorities be armed with al
most despotic power in the order that
they may shut out CT kill every one OF
these actually visible. or even tangible,
seeds of disease. quarantine, and pro-
longed detention of persons with disin-
fection or frequently total destruction OF
goods from infected di-tricts, as it az
pears, the right of the many at the ex-
pense of the few; and. even if ample
compensa tion for loss of time and pro-
perty were allowed by law to those who
suffered, the community at large would
bo fou fold bottor off noon N Il riIv fO cou