Frostburg mining journal. [volume] (Frostburg, Md.) 1871-1913, 1894-08-04
THE TU BERCLE BACILLUS.
CONSUMPTION is A CONTAGIOUS
DISEASE.

That eminent physician. r. Mitchell
! Pruddcn. says that while it is com.
monty unwise for the people to think
much about disease, yet such is the
| appalling prevalence of tuberculosis
;hat the subject demands immediate
attention. The doctor asserts that this
Il sraSc in some form affects at least
one-half of the human race and causes
one-Scvcnth of the death rate. killing
onr-third of those who pass away be.
! tween the ages of fifteen and forty
| five.
DR.. Pruddcn declares that the dis
ease is communicable. Up to 1850 the
cause of the disease was not known.
but most people are aware that since
that year IA rev domain of life has
been discovered and exposed. 1t has
been learned that in earth and air and
water there exists countless myradS
nf living things so minute as not to
be visible without the aid of powerful
microscopes. These are called germs,
microbes or micro o-organiSmS. An i'm
| portant group or class of germs are
! termed bacteria, and the germ which
alone can cause tuberculosis is known
as the tubercle bacillus. 1t does not
| exist in the body of men or animals
| germ as follows:
"Thc tubcrclc bacillus is little col
orlcSs rodlikc plant. so small that even
many thousands of them piled together
would make Il heap still far too small
to be visible to the naked eye. 1t can
| not rlovc about. nor can it grow with
nut moisture. nor at temperature
much above or much below that of the
human body. The material on which
it feeds must be very nicely adapted
to its requirements. and it has no
| lurking or growing places i'll nature
nutSid" of the bodies of men and Il
| few warm-blooded animals. 1t can he
cultivated artiticially in the laborato-
iy. and we know more about its life
ana pccularitieS than about almost
any other germ. While it can remain
alive in IL dried state for many weeks,
it is readily killed by heat. by sun
| light. and by many of those chemical
substances which we call disnfectantS.
1t does not flourish equally well i'll
the bodies of all human beings"
But this gcr'a once within a body
suited to its growth it multiplies slowly
bnf surely. and while almost any part
of the body may be affected tubcr
r'lloSiS of the lungs is by far the most
common form Of the disease. and it is
;hS form to which the term ''consump-
ten is applied by the laity.
The only way in which we can ac-
r"irr conSumption-let us adopt the
commonly accepted tern-is by getting
MO orr bodies the tubrrcle germ from
tllhcrcrlar mon or cattle. From the
utter the germ comes to men through
~" use of either milk or meat The
- unholed milk is real and serious.
hut not to be compared with another
>rnrc"-that of acquiring the disease
rom our fcllow-men.
Neither the person nor the breath of
Il conSunptive is a direct source of
danger. even to Il most constant at
| !rnlant.
The greet danger is from the sputum
Il fter its discharge from the mouth
"1f in any way the sputum becomes
dried. on floors or walls or bedding.
IN hankrrchicfS or towels. or ON the
person of the patient. it may soon be
come SSrmnated in the air as dust
1nI can then be breathed into the
lungs of exposed persons This germ
laden material floating in the air may
De swallowed. and thus enter the re-
cnSsrS of the body through other por-
i'lS than the lungs. but these are the
most vulnerable and accessible organs
'''rhc wide distribution of tuhcrclc
hac;lli in the air of living rooms. and
in other dusty places where people 60
is due partly to the frequency of the
disease. and the large numbers of liv-
in- bacilli which are cast off in the
Sprtum (>omctimcs millions in a day..
ana partly to the fact that many of
the victims of consumption go about
among their fellows for purposes of
business or pleasure for months or
years SO each consumptive. if not
| ,ntclli@cntly careful. may year after
year be- to his feilow-mcn source of
active and serious and continual infec-
| ton
This. then. the dried. uncared-for
Sputum of those suffering from pulmo-
nary tuberculosis. is the great source
of danger: this the means so long con-
realcd by which a large part of the
human race prema turely pcrishcs Let
but this discharged material be rem
,lrrnd harmless or destroyed before it
dries in all cases. and the ravagcs of
this scourge would largely cease. This
is not a thcoretic matter only. for
again and again have the living and
vrulent germs been found clingn" to
the walls and furniture and bedding
and handkerchiefs of conSumptive
persons and in the dust of the rooms
N which they dwell A malauy whose
victims far outnumber those of all
other infectious diseases put together,
| >paring neither rich nor poor. SeiZnS
upon life while it is as yet only Il
promise. but most ineXorablc in the
iulncSS of its tidc-this malady can be
largely prevented by the universal and
persistent practice of Intelligent clean
| itnpSS."
DR.. Pruddcn says that investigation
has proven that consumption is not
hereditary. This knowledge must bring
comfort to many and is important. for
IT contladicts Il long-prevalent tradition
Hnd belief which has been Il source oi
sorrow and apprehension to thou
sands.
one would almost imagine that every
living person would sooner or later ac-
qu're tuberculosis, but nature pro-
v.deS many means OF escape, and what
may be called natural cures. Investi-
cation of this matter is comparatively
in its infancy, and great progress may
be expected, for trained elligence
the world over is directed to the en-
tire range of this subject. Already it
is known that certain proportion Of
human beings seem 10 be endowed at
| birth with some, as yet unasceI tainCd
quality in the cells or fluids of the
body which gives this fortunate class
immunity from the disease.