The morning call., 1893-01-29
CHOLERA INFECTION.
Two New Cholera Bacilli Discovered
by Russian Doctors.

London Standard.
Our st. Petersburg correspondent writes
"a new theory of the origin OF choeraic in
lection has just been expOunded at a special
meeting of the Russian Medical Society of
ST. Petersburg by Professor Nensky. This
gentleman, although not swidely known
even in Russian medical or scientific circles,
has for the last two years been investigating
the subject from all conceivable points OF
view and under very propitious circunn-
stances, for he is director of the bacterolo-
gical laboratory at the Institute of Expert
mental Medicine, which belongs TO his
Highness Prince Oldenburg. This institute
dispatched four physicians to Baku and
Astrakhan while the cholera epidemic was
at its height IN those cities, with instruc-
ti0ns to open a archaeological station in
each for the purpose OF experimenting on
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 enthusiastic in propOgat-
ing 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 iu his in
vestigati0n till he arrived at what now
seems a satisfactory result, calculated to
impart new and fruitful direction to the
efforts Of psychologists 10 discover the
best means of doing battle with the cholera.
whenever DR.. Blostein inoculated
animals with cholera infection by injecting
an infusion of Koch'S bacili under the
skin they continued TO live and enjoy them
selves as usual, just as PettenkOfer and so
many of the opponents of the bacillus
system did after they had swallowed whole
colonies of Koch's cholera bacilli. But
whenever. instead of the artifcially cult
waited bacillus, the simultaneous injection
consisted Of portion of the patients dis
charges, speedy death with all the usual
symptoms of Asiatic cholera was the result.
Now. as Koch's bacill were present in the
former species of injections, DIR. Blnstein
argued that, seeing that they were likewise
active in the latter kind OF injection,
it followed that something else, prob
ably some other kind of bacillus, must
be present in the discharges to account for
the difference Of result. And il was TO de-
termine the value of that alge braeal * that
he next directed his efforts. After time
they proved successful, aud the persevering
investigator discovered to his JOY two per-
fectly new heterogeneous, the influence OF
which he very soon determined. Whenever
he inoculated an animal with supposed
cholera virus consisting either of KOch's
baclli alone or of the two newly discovered
organisms, the inoculated animals went
about their business as usual without
hi ch. and seemed as little affected as if he
U4u given lIIbIIl Il IuUlp III UttL-ECOL sugar
instead OF cane sugar. But he had only TO
unite all three bacilli in one infusion, in
jecting this under the animals skin, and the
latter sickened and died of Asiatic cholera in
very 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
simultaneously Hence Pettenkofer, En-
merich and many others swallowed with
impunity whole colonies OF koch's bacilli
unaccompanied by The other two; hence
also Khavkin's incubation of patients was
absolutely frultless.
Experiments are now being made for
the purpose cf discovering whether inocu-
lation, if the simultaneous injection con-
tains all three micrO-Orga together,
will guarantee the patient from infection,
and. if SO, for how long. The results of
these experiments, which may possibly
mean the final extirpation OF Asiatc chol-
era, are looked forward to with impatience
in the medical circles Of ST. Petersburg aud
MOScOWp