New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1891-10-25

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by Cornet During her lifetime ne prOVcu ZIG u .
Of hcr room TO be infectious Six weeks aiter ncI
death hc again visited the dweling. nu ~ ,sbicb
dust from n SQUARE meter of the wall on WIN =
he had formerly found his infectious InaUteI, ans
which had not been ceansed after the woman
DEATH he inoculated with 1t three OF n DIS
pigs. Examined forty days after inc lnocuIiuon,
two of the three were found tuDercui0us' IN y
reasons thus No doubt the dust when n.o t .,.u
proved It's virucnce would have re'a ingce have
proved that after SIX months prcserN nu;, ,bis
sputum may retain its vrulence Dnrnie 'l hr
PERIOD therefore, the possibility Of lniecoon ~
This dust is obviously open. Wneh, moIco,.,,
the quantity Of infectious matter lnhaled IL VIZ
small a considerable time elapses before the ue-
vrlopment of the bacilli renders the malay us
tinct' Even il year should elapSe after the
death of a phthisical patient before anotneI
member of the same household shows symptoms
Of lung disease we are not enrter 70 Aware
~ the facts above mentioned, we ought Jatner 10
ascrbe the disease 10 infection by the u"entIh a
not to mention its possible Derivation from o'nei
sources"
On January a. 1858, Cornet visited patien.
who. for three-quarters of year, nae sune en-
from tuberculosis Of the lung and hryhN. me
dust of the room occupied by this man was Proneu
TO contain virulent iDfective matter oIo.i ie
OF the paticnt who at the time Of the examination
Of the dwelling, was alleged TO De IN peI,eoD
health, exhibited phthlsc OIL surely g ' saws Cor
net warranted in ascribing this result NOT 10
hereditary or any other hypothetical cause Dun 70
contained tnbercle bacli which were capable OIL
injecting the lungs and larynX of a man, as they
did the pertoneum of guinea-plg
On the 3ist December, 1887, Cornet visited a
man who for two years had suffered from phthlsic.
He lived in the same room with two brothers VINO
were very robust one of whom, however, nau
begun to cough, though without any TURNER LnI
evidence of serious disorder Inc patieIle hdu
been at home for eight days, while previously
he had acted as foreman in tailoring estaDllSu-
ment. 1t was proved to certainty tnue III, .no
patient had taken the place OF colleague VINO
had died from phthisic of the throat ana VINO
had been in the habit of eXpectorating coplousy
upon the floor. In the workroom, moreover. INC
present sufferer had occupied a place next 10 the
man who died. Cornet called upon the proprietor
OF the establishment who allowed MN every
opportunity of examining the room, N when
eight or ten wOrlImen were engaged. WIN duSO
rubbed from about two square meters Oh lhe wan
near the spot where the patient now WORKS, I9rleV
infected guinea pigs and produced tuperculoslss.
lie rdicules the notion Of ascrblng thls man
malady TO any hereditary endowment or predlspo-
sition derived, say from a phthisical mother,
which, after sleeping for twenty years WOKE up
rounded by infectfve matter. Our author regards
this, and other similar cases which he adduceS' as
of special interest The tuberculosis virus was nre
found in rooms containing several Workmeh, VINO
had thus an opportunity of injecting each other'
The infection, moreover, occurred among ,aiioIs'
who are known to be special sufferers from phthiss'
The general belief some time ago, which, to some
extent, may hold its ground to the present hour,
was that this wasting malady arose from some
popularity in the individual constitution, indie
pendent of infection from without Enormous o
incorrect notions regarding the influence OF pre-
disposition and inheritance. Members OF the same
family were observed to fall victims to this scourge,
but each was regarded independent source
of the disease TO the exclusion OF the Thought that
the one had infected the other. TWO or three uay
ago an old man here at Hind Head told me that
he had lost three children in succession through
phthisis: and he mentioned another case where
five or six robust brothers had fallen, SUCCESSFULLY
victims to the same disease. am sure, SAIL
the man, with fash of intelligence across his
usually uninteligent countenance, 1t must De
catching" Cornet describes some cases which n
resistibly suggest family infection. In 1887 he
visited patient, the father of family, who, SIX
years previously, had lost by consumption little
girl fourteen years old. A year and half after
ward a daughter of the same man, twenty-one
years old, fell a victim to the disease. One or
two years later robust son succumbed, while, o
fortnight before Comets visit, child year ana
n half old had been carried away. without DONG
violence 10 the evidence. COrnet remarks, these
cases may be Justly regarded as due to family in,
fection For many years the father had suffered
from phthisical cough, and directly or indirectly
he, in all probability infected his children.
In connection with this subject, may be per-
mitted to relate sad experience or my own. III
is an easy excursion from my cottage in the Alps
to the remarkable promOntory called " The Nessel,
on which stands cluster OF huts, occupied by
peasants during the summer months. On WISHING
The Nessel three years ago. l was requested To
look into hut occupied by man suffering from
a racking cough, accompanied by cOpous eXpecto-
ration. | did So 1t was easy to see that the poor
fellow was the victim of advanced lung disease
In Che same hut lived his daughter, who, when [
first saw her, presented the appearance of bloom
ing health and vigOr. Acquainted | was with
Koch's discoveries, / remarked to a friend who ac-
companied me, that the girl lived in the midst of
peril. We had here the precise conditions nOti-
fled by Cornet. Splitting on the floor drying OF
the sputum, and the subsequent ueadng of in
fictitious matter into dust Whenever the hut was
swept. this dust mingled freely with the air, and
was of course inhaled.
1 warned the girl against the danger to
which she was exposed. But it is
sometimes difficult to make even cult
waited people comprehend the magnitude of this
danger, or take the necessary precautions. A
wear afterward | visited the same hut. The
father was standing in the midst of tile room-a
wel-buit man. nearly six feet high, and as straight
as an arrow. He was wheeling heavily, being at
intervals bowed down by the violence of his cough
On a stool in the same room sat his daughter,
who q year previously, had presented such a
picture of Alpine strength and beauty. Her APP
pearance shocked me- The light had gone out Of
her eyes, while the pal or of her face and her pant
ing breath showed only too plainly that she had
also been grasped by the destroyer There are
thousands at this moment in England in the p0-
sition which | then Occupied-standing helpless
in the presence Of a calamity that might have been
avoided. All that could be done to send the
sufferers wine and such little delicacies as could
command Last summer l learned that both
father and daughter dead, the daughter hav-
ing been the first to succumb
In opposition to those who consider that they
have found the haclll In the breath or phthlslcal
patients, Cornet adduces number of very definite
results Patients have been caused to breathe
against plates of glass coated with gycerine which
would undoubtedly have held the bacill fast.
Water has been examined, through which the air
expired by phthsica lungs has been caused TO pass
In this case the bacili, being moist, would have
been infallibly intercepted by the water. The
aqueous vapOr eXhacd by cOnsumptve lungs has
been carefully condensed by ice but no bacilli
has in any OF these cases, been detected. 1t be-
hoves those who have arrived at opposite result
fl,atp rnfG
lous care, so that no doubt should be suffered 10
rest upon u point of such supreme importance.
The lungs, air passages, throat and mouth all
even with sputum rich in bacili, over which
a current OF air Of considerable force had been
driven, the air was found perfectly free from the
organism.
The mpurity as regards infection which to so
great an extent is observed, is ascribed by Cornet