New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1891-09-06
COMMUNICATING DIPHT'HERIA.
EASY PROPAGATION OF THE DISEASE

tected by a patient weeks or months previously, OF
to objects injected by being in the room occupied
by the patient or 10 garments or objects Injected Dy
| being worn handled by him while SICK mas III hunl
berless instances communicated the disease. Inltt
| persons or objects that they often communicate
dplthera at distance from the source Of tile infec
a child with fatal diphthera, sceroby me in consultation
apparently contracted the disease by embracing play
mate who was la the street for the hTS time altef al
recent French medical journal has called atten
ton 10 the flct that resident physicians and nurses IN
dphther wards, whose persons and clothing become
fully il ed by the dlphtherltic germs, as very liable
TO ,unlcdt3 the disease, unless they constantly
employ precautionary measures: Thus the shawl o.
a nurse sent to the house Of q friend introduced
Many children have dphthera mildly that they dc
not complain of being sck have some appetite ana arr
not confined TO their homes. Hence dphthela IS Oite1
contracted from these mild In the public convey
ances and In places of public resort In me outdQ0f
department at Bellevue have often seen children Win
dphtheTia sitting among other children waiting hclr
! turn for treatment These children with mild dpl-
theria taking their meals regularly, though WIN poor
appetite and having little fever that IL Is hoI
noticed. are often sent by their unsuspecng parents
10 the public and private schools, and there cOnmuni
cate dphtheria, frequently OF malignant ana lltal
form. to their classmates. have been able 10 trace
attacks of dphthera not only TO the public ana private
weekday schools, but also to the sunday schools ana
especially to the mission schools designed for tenement
house children These mild cases are often DrOugnt 10
physicians Offices for treatment and here IN New iOrh
| / might mention many physicians families that nave
been dcsOated by dphtherla contracted rom thein.
The occasional lacncy OF dphthcra, and the nccessl
OF frequent inspection OF the lauccs OF chdiTh
to detect and isolate these walking cases, was fQrclbN
shown by the following instance. was once called 10
his Sister Who lad lett the cali at my oce. She
heG In the street with some playmatcs ana was aPpt
Ing her fauces small but characteristic Sraylslwhtc
match was observed tOnsil.
there is another important mode of the propasa
ton OF dphthera which greatly InctcaSe5 its dh
disease The KcLs-LoeGicr bacillus obtains indus
favorable for its development and propagation IN lIi
accommodations OF all kinds DR. SternbeIg, In his LOmb
nIiZa rel Ia
such sewers, cellars and ill-ventlned spaces uc1
floors where the sunl -ht enters and where refuse
collects. afford conditions favorable 10 the growth Oh
dphtlcria germs The germs conveyed by mouse uinaTe
or otherwise to a deposit of filth grow and multiply IN
IT, and ascending i'm the foul vapOrs which arise from IT,
i1haies them In Ncw.Yorl CITY insantary conditions
and denominations OF refuse existed prior to 1850 even
to great extent than at present Dnt "9GO d dp
iberia was introduced its germs, conveyed from thi
sick by house drainage entered the sewers anu
wherever the ga' escapes into The domlceS
OF this great city it carries with IL the pestllentai
germs and causes an outbreak of the DISEASE IN az
parts of the city children constantly falling SICK
from nalng the infected sewer gas. ard II Is chleny
from to walking cases, ana to sewer gas that
dphtheria IS so prevalent In New-Iork.
Il IS now known that several animals, even those
that are pets in the nursery liable to be attacked
have Seen. in the Laboratories COR bacerologists in
vcsgang the nature Of diphheria have IN numerleSs
instances communicated the genuine disease 70 aInaS
by inOculating them with cultures of the kcDs-
Loenfer bacillus. 1t is very important that parents
should know that milk, the common food of the
nursery is a culture medium OF the diphthertc germ.
The specific bacillus falling into the milk In the hand
ling at the farmhouse elsewhere grows and multi
piles in IT, Mr. Cole veterinary surgeon Of Austria
ia, published in the Australian veterinary Journal
February, 1882, the history of an epidemic Of dpl-
diseased cow The London Medical Times and
Gazette" for January. 1879. states that Mr. w. II:
Power health inspector investigated an outbreak of
diphheria and obtained sufficient evidence in his opln
ion, that it was caused by the use Of milk that Gon-
furnished the milk had what the veterinary surgeons
designate garget or infectious mammitiS The ,DGcl-
dental Medical Times for July, 1890, publishes
an interesting and instructive paper by Dr. D.
Klein. the well-known bacterioOgist OF London,
lie 1stes that he inOcglatcd two cows upon
the shoulder with the diphtheritic virus The
incubation was followed by the occurrence Of YES
iclcs and pustules upon their udders, and microbes
were found in their milk. Two calves were in
and pustueS. and similar erUptiOns produced IN
hem, follower by bronchopneum)nia and fatty kidneys
milk from the cows sickened with feline diphtheria
and this followed by an epidemic among the cats
kept for experimental purposes in the laboratory;
IS evident from the above observations and facts that
designed for the nursery from healthy source and 10
prevent its subsequent Infection. We may also antlc
Stating that milk designed for the nursery should al
he boiling point which DESTROYS all pathOgenic germs
invariably direct that be steamed In over boiling
Klein has made eynermehfs shaving tbe identity of
feline and human diphtheria though diphtherla in the
th6,e i'm man and the following observations appear
10 Show that IT IS Sometimes Communicated by this
pet Of the nursery to the children that fondle it,
The Medical Press and CrcuIar.0 June 1900 states
that Dr. Lawrence reports two eases under his care
in which dphtheria seems 10 have been communicated
full inquiry showed that She had not been exposed to
prevailing within mile of the patients residence but
hat She had nrsed a sick cat some days previously
The cat died soon after and second cat became sick
that nelghborng farmer had lost seventeen cats and
another farmer fifteen cats from throat dstemper
one Of the farmers stated that he had examined the
r. c. Coleman, Of Colorado, Tex. states that after
n residence Of five years a. Colorado he saw the first
Of dphthora. child Of four years, living thirty
miles distant in the country, and with no neghbOr
within six miles had diphtheria followed by paralysis
The child far away from any source Of human
contagion and had rarely seen other children The
father stated that two kittens had recently died from
frequently kissed them Dr. Coleman does not doubt
that the dphthera contracted from them {" Medl
cal Record November l, $500 DE- George Turner
children sick with dlphthera also suffered severely with
what seemed TO be the same disease. DR.. A. jacob
relates the following example Three kittens we're al.
lowed to remain with FIVE children sick with dlphherla
The kittens slckened and died, and postmcrem e4-
pseudo membrane in their threats. Cats travel from
house to house, often cCngIegate, and peted by
contagious disease which II Is possible for them to
contract 1t appears from the above observations that
they have communicated diphtheria In some Instances
in which its origin was obscure.
Observations, show that the feathered tribe are
SIdsthos OIL The northeastern coast Of Greece mo- dpS
liberia had occurred during at least thirty years
previously TO 1854, according TO Dr. Bid the medical
practitioner OF the island. In 1884 dozen turkeys
were introduced from SalOnica. Two of them were
sick at the time and died aftcrward. The Others
became affected soon aftcTward and of the whole mum
Der died three recovered and two Were sick at
the time of the inquiry. These two had difficult
breathing, swelling Of the glands Of the neck and a
pseudo membrane extending b the laynx. As further
evidence that the disease diphthera, one OF the
turkeys that survived had paralysis of the feet. The
turkeys were In garden upon the north side OF the
town, and the prevailing winds upon the island are
from the north. When this sickness was occurring
among the turkeys. epidemic Of dphthera begun
in the houses In proximity to the garden, sad spread
through the town. II lasted five months and of l25
individuals attacked by dphthena in q population of
1000 thirty six died. From this time diphhera has
been established on the island, and frequent epdemics
Of il have since occurred e. Bull Med" January -,
1885,
According to NJ. Menzles, diphtheria is common
among the poultry Of Italy, in which country the fiat
roofs Of the houses afford resting place for turkeys,
fowls, pigeons and rabbits, whose excavations are
carried by the rains into the cstcrns and wells A
physician at Pasilppo, near Naples, had directed his
servant not to obtain drinking water from the well
next to his house. but from d well at a distance As