Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1890-11-15
FIGHTING MICROBES.
They Are Pitted Against Each Other
by Doctors With Wonderful Results.

lney Are Fitted Against Each Other
by Doctors With Wonderful Results.
From the Cincinnati Enquirer
THE newest thing in the medical world"
yesterday said a leading physician who keeps
abreast with the science, sis the cure for diph-
liberia. 1t is nothing less than curing that dan
gerous disease by inoculsting the patient
with erysipelas. DIR. Babtchinsky Of st. Peters
burg recently accidentally discovered the an
tagonism which exists between the diphtheria
microbe and that of erysipelas by observing
how the sudden appearance OF eryspeas in
patient suffering with diphtheria caused
speedy cure Of the latter.
''The doctors own son WAS stricken with Sc
we're attack Of diphtheria, and as all the reme-
dies which had been applied proved fruitless
death seemed inevitable. Suddenly the symp-
toms of erysipelas set in, when the lad seemed
nearly half dead, and not the slightest cause
could be assigned for this new duplication aud
its attendant dangers seemed only to hasten
the approach of the almost certain demise of
the victim. During the next few hours his con-
dItion grew vlsibly worse and every moment
the dying out OF the scarcely Pickering spark
OF life was apprehended. But on the following
morning the exhaustion had diminished con-
siderably, the patient improved rapidly and in
a comparatively short time was completely re-
stored to health. This accidental combination
OF the two microbes called to Babtchinsky's
mind the doctrine to which Cantani had held
Soon after the recovery of his child the doc
tor was called to the bedside Of q diphtheria
patient, who was dangerously affected. He
was treating an erysipelas case at the same
time, and. encouraged by the experience which
he had made with his son, he decided to inocu-
late the poison of the erysipelas microbe into
the lower jaw of his diphtheria patient. The
latter recovered without the application Of any
other remedy. From this time forth DR..
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 arti-
fetal breeder of erysipelas bacillari9. He sue
ceeded in twelve more cases in saving his
diphtheria patients by applying the erysipelas
mIcrobe. Only two patients died. because the
lnoculatory mlcrobe was effete, perhaps But
this need not cause us to doubt the effective
ness of the new treatment, for the following
example will demonstrate that it is still con-
frmed by another case:
six children were stricken almost stimuli
taneously with dphtheria in one family. Five
Of them were inoculated with the erysipelas
bacillaria, and they recovered in a wonder
fully short time. The sixth child had been at
once removed to a remote part Of the city and
died of the dread epidemic. Strange as this
method is in itself, it is no less singular that
the progress Of the erysipelas is painless and
quiet one, not accompanied by unfavorable re-
suits upon the general condition OF the patient
while the cure of the dipththeria is being
effected Whether the theory that the erysip.
elias microbe destroys the diphtheria poison is
founded upon fact or is simply 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 solu-
ton Of this purely scientific question as our
interest centers primarily In the result, which
alone is satisfactory to the layman. The close
and controlling observations to which physi-
SLAMS will subject the new method will soon
demonstrate whether DR.. Babtchinsky has
found the real enemy Of the diphtheria mi
crobe and that We are rid Of foe which de-
mands annually the lives Of thousands of our
little ones"