, 1884-05-28

lie Moniteur de la Martinique of the Goth
Of April gives the following most interest
ing and important information, without,
however, mentioning the source from which
it is obtained -
"Dr. D0mingos Fraire, professor of chemis-
try to the Faculty of Medicine of Rhode
Janeiro, has discovered for yellow fever
what Jenner discovered for small pOx and
NJ PaSte0r for anthrax and other conta-
gi0u8 diseases among animals, that is to
say q preventive remedy by incubation
with a special vaccine.
Dr. Fraire has in0culated with the vac
cine OF yellow fever 173 persons of different
ages. sexes, natioualities and professions,
without any mishap in q single instance.
In from - to - hours there was produced
in the yaccinated person a Slight febrlle
reaction. nausea, pains III the limbs and
other uneasy symptoms Of sufficiently little
Importance to allow the patient to go about
his ordinary occupations.
The doctor has yaccinated some out OF
groups Of w0rkmen among whom some
cases Of yellow fever had recently appear
ed. Not one of the yaccinated men has
been attacked. while several among the
unvaccinated have died.
The incubation is made, after Jenner's
method, III the skin (methode e~ndcrmiQueJ
and the micr0bp, cultivated III gelatlne or
beef broth after Pasteur's method, is rem
dered |inn0cuou3 10y the influence Of the
atmospheric aIr.
Dr. Freire. authorized by the Brazilian
Government to practice the yellow fever
vaccination, awaitS-we will not say with
impatieuce-but with confidence, the next
epidemic. in order to give a brilliant
1-.,,rtrot;>D IF 4ho aNptoiDfv of .+ha dis
covery."
We NAV mention in connection with the
above passage from lie MoniteNr that DR..
Freire has been engaged for some time i'll
making researches into the cause of yellow
fever and had already arrived at some very
interesting results, which were made known
last year in the West Indies through q
circular from the English Colonial Office,
in which a summary Of them was given.
DR.. Treire believed that he had already
discovered the organism which caused vel
low fever, and had tried many experiments
in inoculating animals with the virus, all OF
which died with symptoms of the disease.
From a cemetery where persons who had died
from the disease had been buried he took
earth, and discovered it to be full OF the
deadly organisms. Some of this earth he
placed in a box in which was a guinea pig,
and the animal shortly SlckeHeu
and died, the symptoms being those OF
yellow fever. 1t did not appear at that
time that he had isolated the microbe, but
it seems that he has since not only sue
ceedpd in doing this, but has also reared
in gelatine an almost innocuous variety
of it, which being used as a vaccine produ-
ces a slight fever and thereafter gives
immunity from The attacks of the %virulent
form. The Importance of the discovery
for the Western World can scarcely be
overrated, and if it should be found that
the vaccine can be transported without
taking on again its poisonous condition, the
discovery will be available for use over q
large area and in the remotest corners.
Before leaving the subject we would
remark that DR.. Kalmer of this island IN
his most interesting treatise on Acclim atl-
sation in relation to yellow fever, published
in 1882, brings under review numerous