The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1890-09-11
FIGHTING MICROBES.
They Are Pitted Against Each Other
with Wonderful Results.

They Are Pitted Against Each Other
with Wonderful Results.
The newest thing in the medical world"
said leading physician who. keeps abreast
with the science, "is the cure for diphtheria.
1t is nothing less than curing that danger
Gus disease by inoculating the patient with
erysipelas. DR.. Babtchinsky, of ST. Peters
burg, recently accidentally discovered the
antagonism which exists between the diph-
liberia microbe and that of erysipelas by
observing how the sudden appearance of
erysipelas in patient suffering with diph-
liberia caused speedy cure OF the latter
THE Doctors own son was stricken with
severe attack of diphtheria, and as all
the remedies which had been applied
proved fruitless death seemed inevitable
Suddenly the symptoms of erysipelas set
in, when the lad seemed nearly half dead
and not the slightest cause could be as
signed for this new complication, and it's
attendant dangers seemed only to hasten
the approach of the almost certain demise
of the victim.
During the next few hours his condition
grew visibly worse, and every moment the
dying out of the scarcely Pickering spark
of life was apprehended. But on the fol-
ished considerably, the patient improved
rapidly and in Il comparatively short time
was completely restored to health This
accidental combination of the two mi
crobes called to Babtchinsky's mind the
doctrine to which Cantani had held.
Soon after the recovery of his child the
doctor was called to the bedside of diph-
liberia patient who was dangerously
ofa1 uo 4
case at the same time, and, encouraged by
the experience which he had made with his
son, he decided to inoculate the poison of
the erysipelas microbe into the lower Jaw
of his diphtheria patient. The latter re-
covered without the application of any
other remedy. From this time forth DIR.
Babtchinsky hesitated no longer to extend
his practice in this direction As he did
not always have erysipelas patients on hand
when he needed the poison, he established
an artificial breeder of erysipelas bacil-
laria. He succeeded in twelve more cases
in saving his diphtheria patients byapply-
ing the erysipelas microbe. Only two pa
tlents died, because the inoculatory mi
crobe was effete, perhaps. But this need
not cause us to doubt the effectiveness of
the new treatment. for the following ex-
ample Will demonstrate that it is still con-
firmed by another case:
six children were stricken almost stimuli
taneously with diphtheria in one family.
Five of them were inoculated with the cry
sipelas bacillaria, and they recovered in a
wonderfully short time. The sixth child
had been at once removed to remote part
of the city and died of the dread epidemic.
Strange as this method is in itself it is no
less singular than the progress of the cry
sipelas is a painless and quiet one, not &C.
companied by unfavorable results upon
the general condition of the patient while
the cure of the diphtheria is being effected.
Whether the theory that the erysipelas
microbe destroys the diphtheria poison is
founded upon fact, or is simply a delusion,
leaving the cause of those wonderful recov-
cries to be sought for in other quarters, we
care less at the present moment for the So
luton of this purely scientific question, as
our interest centers primarily in the re-
suit, which alone is satisfactory to the lay
man. The close and controlling observa-
lions to which physicians will subject the
new method will soon demonstrate wheth-
er DR.. Babtchinsky has found the real en-.
envy of the diphtheria microbe, and that
we are rid of foe which demands annual
ly the lives of thousands of our little Ones"
Cincinnati Enquirer.