Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1893-01-17

Two New Cholera BacIIIi Discovered by
Russian Doctors.

Two New Cholera BacIli Discovered by
Russian Doctors.
From the London Standard.
Our ST. Petersburg correspondent writes: "a
new theory Of the origin Of choleraic infection
has just been e1pOunded at special meeting
Of the Russian Medical Society Of st. Peters
burg by Prof. Nensky. This gentleman,
although not widely known, even in Russian
medical or scientific circles, has for the past
two years been investigating the subject from
all conceivable points Of view and under very
propitious circumstances, for he is director of
the meteorological laboratory at the, Insti-
tute of Experimental Medicine which belongs
to his highness Prince Oldenburg. This in
stitute dispatched four physicians to Baku
and Astrakhan while the cholera epidemic was
at it's height in those cities with instructions to
open meteorological station in each for the
purpose Of experimenting Cd the subject of
cholera. its origin and cure. These are the
cities in which, while the doctors went about
preaching the necessity Of killing the bacilli,
the people were still more jealous and enthu-
siastic i'll propagating the necessity of killing
the doctors. and one Of the latter, Dr. Blostein,
deserves great credit for the calm industry and
energy with which he persevered in his investi-
cations till he arrived at what now q salts
factory re0llt, calculated to impart a new and
fruitful direction to the efforts Of baceriologists
to discover the best means of doing battle with
the cholera.
Whenever DIR. Bostoin inoculated animals
with cholera infection by injecting an infusion
of koch's bacilli under their skin they con-
tinued to live and enjoy themselves as usual,
Just as Pettenkofer and many Of the OPP
ponents OF the bacillus system did after they
had swallowed whole colonies of Koch's cholera
bacilli But whenever, instead of the artifcially
cultivated bacillus, the subcutaneous injection
nf of fha tInnt "a
charges, speedy death with all the usual
symptoms of Asiatic cholera was the result.
Now. as Koch's bacilli we're present in the
former species of injections, DR.. Blostein
gued that, seeing that they were like
wise active in tho latter kind of IN
lection, it followed that something else.
probably some other kind of bacillus, must
be present in the discharges to account for
the difference OF result And it was to de-
termine the value of that algebraical x that he
next directed his efforts. After time they
proved successful, and the persevering investi-
gator discovered to his Joy two'perfectly new
micro-organisms, the influence of which he
very soon determined. Whenever he inocu-
lated an animal with supposed cholera virus
consisting either of Koch's bacilli alone or OF
the two newly discovered organisms, the inocu-
lated animals went about their business az
usual without hitch, and seemed as little
affected as il he had given them a lump of
best-root sugar instead Of cane sugar. But he
had only to united all three bacili in one infu-
sion, injecting this under the animals skin, and
the latter sickened and died of Asiatic cholera
in q worry short time. The conclusion would
seem to be that Asiatic cholera is the result OF
the ravages OF the different microbes, which
must be present in the human body SIM
ultaneousy. Hence Pettenkofer, Emmerich,
| and many others swallowed with impunity
whole colonies Of Koch's bacilli unaccom-
panied by the other two; hence also Khav-
kin's incubation OF Iatients was absolutely
fruitless.
Experiments are now being made for the
purpose OF discovering whether incubation, il
the simultaneous injection contains all three
Heterogeneous together, will guarantee the
patient from infection, and, il 80. for
how long The results OF these experiments,
which may possibly mean the final extirpation
of Asiatic cholera, are looked forward to with
impotence IN the medical circles of st. Peters
burg and Moscow