The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1888-08-19
Yellow Fever incubation.

j. McF. CASTOR, of Atlanta, suggests that
DIR. Sternberg, of the United States army,
shall test the incubation theory for the pre-
vention or mitigation of yellow fever, by
obtaining from Jacksonville, during the
prevalence of the yellow fever epidemic
| there, some yellow fever virus and expert
menting with it, DR.. Sternberg was sent to
Rio Janeiro by the government, about
| year ago, to make inquiries relative to the
| results of the experiments of DIR. Freire, OF
that city, in inoculating people with the
attenuatcd virus of the yellow fever DIR.
Freire has iuOculated many thousands OF
people with the virus, and, he asserts, with
the most gratifying results.
DR.. McF. Castor refers to published re-
port of DR.. H. M. Lane, who formerly re-
sided in Carthage, Mo-, and who, two years
ago, spent some time III Rio Janeiro In
his report DR.. Lane declares that he was In
oculated with the attenuated virus of yell
low fever, and that he suffered no harm
whatever from the inoculation. He further
declares that in his opinion the incubation
afforded him absolute protection from vel
low fever, and that it is his belief from OBJ
servation that those who have been prop
erly inoculated are proof against the al
tacks of the disease.
When Dr. Sternberg was in Rio Janeiro
there was no yellow fever there, but his in
vestgations led him to believe that there
was nothing in DR.. Freire's theory. In
communication to the editor of the Santa
1idn, published in the July number of that
magazine, DR.. Sternberg says that he ar
rived in Rio Janeiro about June and that
DR.. Freire, returned there from Paris
July l, bringing with him culture of the
liquefying staphylococcus, which he said
was a yellow fever germ. Dr. Sternberg
says he visited him in his laboratory almost
daily for five weeks, and assisted in a
series of experiments upon guinea pigs,
in which DIR. Freire attempted to prove the
specific pathogenic character of the micro
coccus which he brought from Paris. Dr.
Sternberg was not convinced that DR..
Freire ever had in his possession genuine
yellow fever germ. In his communication
in the Sdnitoridn he says: 81 have demon
strated by tho microscopic examination of
numerous specimens that, when proper pre-
cautions are taken, no micro-organisms are
found in blood drawn from the
finger of yellow fever patients, and
that no development occurs in cul-
ture media inoculated with such
blood. l infer, therefore, that the micro
cocci, etc, found by DR.. Freire in his cul-
lures are due TO the accidental introduction
of heterogeneous from without and espe,
cialy from the surface of the finger during
the collection of the blood. | may remark
here that Dr. Frere's cultures in liquid me-
dia, which were made before he went to
Paris. and which were placed in my hands
for examination, were all impure, and con-
tanned several different micro-organisms"
DR.. Sternberg calls attention to the ex-
perience of DIR. Gibiero, the French
bacteriologist, who went to Havana last
November for the purpose of making per-
sonal Investigations relative to the yellow
fever germ. He expected to find the Freire
microbe and to practice innoculation. He
didn't find the microbe nor "any other
micro-organism in the blood and tissues of
yellow fever cases"
DIR. j. McF. CASTOR thinks that DIR. Stern
bergs Investigations were not sufficiently
thorough to settle the question whether or
not there is anything in the incubation
theory, and that it is his duty to test it
further during tho opportunity which pre-
sents itself at jacksonville.
1t is quite evident that incubation will
play no part in the Jacksonville epidemic
Sanitation and quarantine are the only
things which communities yet have to guard
themselves against yellow fever.