The morning call., 1892-09-17
INOCULATIoN FOR CHOLERA.

The value Of inOculation as preServatlve
against cholera is again to be tested by a
gentleman in the service of the New York
Herald. To-day or tomorrow this deyotee
of science, who has been twice inoeulated
with All injection of virulent cholera under
the skin, will leave for Hamburg and will
expose himself TO the c0ntagion with a
probability that if the prevention fails he
may sacrifice his life. NJ. Pasteur. who was
reluctant to have him go, furnished him
with credentials stating among other things
that a score Of persons, including Dr. Roux
and NJ. kaffkine, his assistant, have sub
mtted to inoculation in Paris and have since
exposed themselves to infection with i'm
punity
Six years ago, just after the cholera out
break in Spain, the Government at Wash
ington sent DR.. Shakespeare of Philadelphia
to Europe to investigate the cause of the
epidemic and especially to report ON the
value uf incubation as a preventive. The
doctor reported that whereas opinion among
the Spanish doctors had been widely divided,
some of them holding that incubation was
a cause of. cholera, there was, at the time he
was in Spain, a consensus of opinion that 1t
was harmless, if not effectual. All agreed
man twice. ana it followed that if the in
oculation "t0ok," as the phrase is. it consti-
tuted a safeguard against contagi0n. Il ap-
psared that in one of the infected localities
in Spain, where the disease was particu-
larry fatal, only u iuoculated persons in the
1908 were attacked, and of the patients 8 in
the loco among the inoculated died, ana SO
in the 1000 among those wh0 were not in
Fbs-AF Ff,a-a
more in Dr. Ferran's theory than the Spanish
doctors were at first inclined to admit
OF course, the escape of the Herald COM
missioner from cholera will prove nothing.
In every Christian country-it is different
in Asia-the persons attacked constitute q
small proportion of the persons exposed TO
the disease. The great bulk Of those who
asSoeiate with cholera patients. and come
within the range of the disease germ. Dc
not contract the malady. But ii, Of two
people who live in the same place, consume
the same food, drink the same water, and
mix equally with cholera patients, one is
attacked and the other not, presumption
will be raised in favor Of incubation.
a map which has been drawn of the course
pursued by the pestilence up to the present
time shows that it mas followed a narrow
line. In the trans-Caspian region its march
from Meshed 70 the Caspian shore is not
known exactly. But from Astrakhan we
follow it uD the Volga Valley to
Saratov, across Great Russia TO NoYEc-
rcd and ST. Petersburg. Thence We
trace it to Poland, where il was not
very severe; it has not been reported
from KEEL. Riga, Copenhagen. Stettin or
Amsterdam; then il broke out heFeely at
Hamburg, Il was light at Berlin, Bremen
and Antwerp, bat thence it went to HaETe,
and spread southwark from that point TO
Roasn ard Paris. All southern and con-
tTzl Europe has thus far escaped. Nc cases
sTe reported frCm Cologne. Cassei, Munich,
Vienna II Pes.h. The Mediterranean
ssoFes. on which tie epidemic used 70 rage
Z former times. bave uCt been visited. no
eases are reported fron Madrid. Lisbon.
OpoTtu, MsrssIjles. AlgieTs. Genoa. Naples,
Florence. Leg5orD. Trieste, Athens, Tan
ger. Cairo, Port Sid or C0BgtantlnoDle.
Most e these cities are 81 drained. and un-
provided with sanitary improvements but
thus far they have escaped. The epidemic
has adhered 10 z straight line along the
shore Of the Baltic aud North Sea, with
occasional short branches to the south.
The point Of interest a. present is Great
Britain. II it can be prevented from break
ing into the British Islands hopes of exclud-
ing il from the United States may be enter
tanned