Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1886-02-12
YELLOW FEVER GERMS.
INOCULATION AS APREVENTION
OF DISEASE,

~ @NoF Oh SenulDBa commission 10 DEA-
ell and Mexico to Investigate and study
CarmOnA's Alleged Discovery.
A resolution offered in Congress a few
days ago, providing for the appointment
Of yellow fever commission mas attracted
much interest among Savannah's medi'
cal fraternity. The object OF the commits
sion is TO investigate the discovery claim
ed to have been made in Brazil and Mex
leo of a preventive against yellow fever
The prophylactic is incubation of atten.
uated virus. DR.. Friere, OF Rio de Janeiro,
and DR.. Carmona, OF Mexico, both claim
to have practiced incubation with salts
factory results. DR.. Friere, following
somewhat in the footsteps of Pasteur,
claims to have discovered that yellow
fever is produced by germs.
DR.. Manuel Carmona Vale, senior
professor OF clinical medicine in the
Mexican Medical College, has expert
mented with incubation Tor twelve years
and he asserts that he has discovered the
virus which produces the fever,
DR.. VIM. Duncan, member OF Savaunah's
sanitary commission, remarked yesterday
that 1t is highly desirable that a commits
SION should be sent into the tropics TO in
vestigate the alleged discoveries in regard
TO yellow fever. The United States, and
more particularly the Southern seab0ard,
is deeply interested in anything that pur-
ports to be an advancement in the scien-
tifc knowledge and treatment Of the
scOuFge.
AS yet the medical profession does not
know what causes yellow fever. When
that is positively known the science will
have attained a very high degree Of per-
fQpfInn Whila nF EQEmOna1E aYnnrI.
ments are OF great value, it does not fol-
low that his conclusions can be accepted.
Perhaps his theory is correct, but il may
be he is an enthusiast and mistakenin his
deductions. A commission sent into the
tropics to study the germ theory and the
methods pursued may prove either its
truth or falsity.
DIR. Mcfarland, the local health officer,
says that the medical profession will
await with interest the report OF the COM
mittee. 1t is possible that incubation
may prevent in most cases an attack of
yellow fever. Vaccination is an almost
sure preventive OF smallpox. In the
case Of smallpox, however, the virus
is known. In yellow fever il is not,
unless it is the opaque, yellOwish
spOre pointed out by Carmona. These
spores, il allowed to develop in the blood
or elsewhere, always produce microscopic
branching into flaments, says the Next
can investigator. His plan is to prepare
the virus with distilled water and make
an injection under the skin of the fore
arm.
DR.. Mcfarland referred to the impos-
tor who last summer inoculated in Spain
for the prevention of cholera. Patients
who had been inoculated succumbed to
cholera as quickly as those who had not
been inoculated, and Nj. Feran was
proved a fraud.
For the benefit of science and humanity
the profession would be glad il CarmOna's
theory is correct aud his practice as
successful as he mas stated.
The doctor stated that some time ago he
Intercepted Captain who came from
Rio de Janeiro as to Friere's success.
The Captain replied that Friere's success
is exaggerated. He is making consider
able money out of his treatment by inOc-
ulation, but the seaman declared that
Friere's incubation is not preventive.
DIR. George a. Stone, who was a men,
Der Of a medical commission a few years
ago, thinks that DR.. Hollis plan OF sending
a commission OF regular skiltul and eX-
perienced physicians to South America
should be carried out.
He says with DIR. Holt, of New Orleans,
that even in municipal management bon
fires Of tar barrels, religious professions
and long drawn prayers no longer count
as disinfectants. If the essential element
or originating principle Of smallpox,
yellow fever and cholera can be demons
trated to exist within definite and cir
cumscribed limit, as in the field of mi
croscOpe, on the point of a scalpel, within
the compass of a hypodermic syringe, or
the hull of a ship, and is capable Of in
definite extension beyond that limit, 1t is
conclusive that the essential cause or
virus, having power of extension, can
only do so by reproduction. 1t is there
fore living entity and being definable in
a place, it can be destroyed in place.
When the decks, cabins, fOrecastle,
hold, bilge, and every available part OF a
vessel, together with all the baggage and
apparel Of every person on board has been
thoroughly wetted with the solution-one
to one thousand-ot the bi-chloride OF
mercury, and the entire atmosphere with
in displaced with the concentrated sui
phurous acid gas, the profession has
availed itself OF the highest assurance as
yet offered by science in the practicable
and speedy dis1nfectiOn of a ship. At
present there Is but one guarantee of a
more positive kind, and that is total de-
struction by fire.
1t is the opinion OF every physician in
this city who was interviewed on the sub
iect that the reported discoveries of Car
mona and Friere deserve to be investi-
gated by commission appointed for that
purpose.