Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1891-02-17
A LYMPH FOR DIPHTHERIA.
DISCOVERED ny THE oovEi'SMhSI
MEDICAL AuTnoniTIEs--Titff CAN
iRoDucL IMMUNITY. ASD 1iihN
norE A CURE.

rRoDucL IMMUNITY, AID 1iihN
norE CuRf.
A Washington letter 10 the Boston
7ranscrpt tolls Of tho important woik
being done by the government mcdl'
cal auth orltics n, Washington. This
writer says Already acting upon the
lines of IN. Koch discovery they he
lleye they have found cure Tor dlph-
liberia, Researches In this connection
are being carried on by Dr. T.. A.
Hcbwelnitz Of tho department OF
agriculture and Dr. William Gray,
meteorological Of the army medical
museum. The diphthcria cure Is not
A certainty yet, but almost. 10 Tar
thry merely know that they uan pre-.
dtlce immunity from the disease, Just
ns smallpox may he rendered impo--i.
lie by vaccination. IL lisa medical
axiom TINT what IL true Of n guinea
pig, pathoiogically speaking Is true OF n
man. For this reason the un'
fortunate guinea pig Is the chosen
victim OF the pathological OK
pcrlmcnter, Guinea pigs, inocu-
lated with gelatins extract Of diph.
iberia germs are proof against the
dIseasa. That has been determined
absolutely. The question that remains
~, can the preventive bc utilized ~ a
cure! The probability IL, yes. IL Is
not settled yet, though pretty nearly.
The latest experiments upon two
guicna.p pigs showed that both, having
been treated with the "cxtract" sub
sequantly TO incubation with the
disea-. Ia sufficient quantity TO XIII
them ordinarily, recovered. IL looks A-
though dipthheria must rclinquish IT.
fatal grip upon the human race, hut II Il
unsafe 10 Jump at q conclusion. Never
theles-, undeniably II seems A. II nav
buIwark against the most serious com.
plants which afilict mankind has been
discovered. Can the essential poisons
Of typhoid fever, carbuncls, pneumonia
aud other diseases commonly fatal, he
successfully utilized by incubation for
combating those troubles? II would
- go s----s. --------. slst thav can In,
bat there IA great hopo and even
some expectation OF its NO turning out
IL II shall no eventuats, u new ern IN
the history OF civilized man will have
been begun.
The question IL often asked, How
does the lymph operate? by what
means does II accomplish It's end? TIL,
answer In very simple. Consumption
begins with the breathing into III,
lungs Of germ nfioat In the air. Sucl
germs ara constantly afioat every
where. When conrumptivc cough
and splits In street car or elscw her,
he In exercising such means as arc q
his command for circulating the dis
ease. The sputum thus coughed ~
dries and N conveyed In tho shape o
dust 10 tho lungs Of the well person. I
the person has healthy lung-tissuc
the bacilli do not md Judgment; ", OF
the other hand, no has tendency I,
consumption, hereditary or otherwise
they may secur. resting place. Hav
ing accomplished thus much, the,
rapidly propagate, feed ON the tissue 0
the lungs, and break II down, thu
forming lump Of dead, checsy mat
ter, which IN called a "tubcrclc.v Tn
blood, circulating through the lungs
carries the bacilli elsewhere through
their substance, and they form othc
nberclc,, thus clogging up the air cells
such Ia consumption. But tho lymph
has the effect OF causing the tubercle
10 slough off from the healthy tissue o
the hings, leaving the organs In con
dition towork properly. In this name
DIR. koch's remedy acts.
Because the bacillus spoken OF act
by feeding upon the tlssucs 10 M /.
form Jumps OF dead matter called stu
bercles," the disease occa-ioncd by I
u called "tuberculosis." II may attacl
tho lungs, In which shape II n Gale,
consumption" or II may nssail tn,
glands the Joints and tho skin. On,
fact OF most acut. Interest In that thi
lymph OF DIR. Koch's operates m effect
lively In cases OF lepfosy as In consump
ton. Why, nobody knows. 1t suffice
that II Is 10. What rays Of hope thl
discovery may shed upon complain
hitherto deemed hopeless must lie dc
termined Ia the future.
The world entertains little recogni
tion ut present Of what II owes TO tn,
meteorological. The science IL n now one
though the results 1t has achieved al
ready are NO great. II has brought hu
man knowledge closer 10 nature thai
studious eyehhave ever before reached
It's teaching has unraveled many OF tn,
mysteries hitherto deemed too profounl
for human research. IL has instructe,
mankind IN causes, where phenompn
only had been observed before
Through Its agency the sources Of fata
disease have been discovered and thel
cure aimed Mt upon grounds OF certain
~. To lis researches are 10 he referre'
NIL methods Of aseptlc and antiscp,i
treatment, by which, among othe
things, the numerous cases Involving
the cutting open OF the abdomen OF tn
patient are successful nowadays In min
cases out Of ten, instead Of occasioninl
death In nine cases out Of ten, as for
merry. Through this branch Of stud,
The most remarkable medical discover
les OF the future are destined 10 b
brought about. The medical art II
fact, may be said TO bu about 10 take
Tremendous leap Into the space OF posi-
tive understanding.
In conclusion, II Is worth sayinl
what these bacilli are. They are baC
terra OF r0d.ahape, Ia which tn
name "baclllus" has been given
What are bacteria, then? Simpl
vegetable organisms. All vegetabl.
may 10 roughly divided into thre
classes. First comes the plants, us W
know them. Next are the fungi man.
OF them proving upon the plants, whicI
are more numerous than the plants II
kinds. Third arp the bacteria, whicl
ars lowest In the vegetable acal,