The herald. [microfilm reel] (Los Angeles [Calif.]) 1893-1900, 1894-02-18
THE LATEST CURE FOR la GRIPPE,
A Scientific Study of Ills New
Tangled Disease.
A Doctor Who Claims That He Has
Found a Specific.
The Features of the Mediterranean
Troubie-The sickness More seri-
Gus Than Was at First Sup
possd-The kennedy.
[BY LESLIE Il. KEELEY. MD, LL.D.l


The influenza, or Is grippe, as the
French call it. is comparatively a new
disease in this country. For this reason,
and because people have not acquired
resistance to it, on the part OF any OF the
bodily organs, the disease may attack
any organ of the body. No organ OF the
body has any immunity from or pro-
lection against this disease. In other
diseases, as typhoid, scarlet fever, small
pox, cholera. diphtheria, consumption
and other similar microbe diseases, many
OF the organs of the body have protec-
ton. and hence these diseases are very
definite in character and definite in their
duration. Typhoid fever affects the
glands of the ileum-s portion OF the
intestines. Smallpox attacks the skin.
and the germ of consumption is usually
limited to the glands of the body. But
in Ia grippe the disease may affect the
digestive organs, the respiratory organs,
or the nervous system or other organs.
Hence, patients with the disease may be
made insane from disease of the brain.
or have pneumonia, or Inflammation OF
the kidneys, or degenerstive disease OF
any organ of the body.
There is no definite duration OF this
disease. 1t may last few days or a few
years or indefinitely. Ii person ia at
tackled by la grippe he has no surety re-
lating to what disease may follow the
the first onset, nor of the time of recovS-
cry or duration OF sickness. He may
have sore throat or bronchial irritation
lasting few days and then apparently
recover, but nothing in all nature is 30
deceitful, for the apparent recovery may
be followed by pneumonia or disease OF
any other organ. Apparent recoveries
are followed by insanity, by pneumonia,
by diseases OF the stomach, heart, kid
news, liver or spinal cord or other organ.
Another feature OF la grippe is its
yearly recurrence. 1t has prevailed
throughout the country every winter
since its importation; with the adj
vent of cold weather the disease
appears almost simultaneously in the
cities, and the country districts as well,
and RACES through the winter season.
The law OF epidemics ia that they recur
at their regular season. until the people
acquire, by having the disease, greater
or less tolerance to it, when the cpl
demic eubsides. Epidemics like cholera,
which are matters OF history. recur at
long intervals only; at least one factor
of the reason being that the people have
acquired tolerance to the microbes OF
the disease.
But during the season OF the prevail
lence OF Ia grippe, il is noticed that the
disease attacks the people who have
already had it, as well as those who
have not. l have noticed, however, the
characters tics: II person has had one
attack of the disease, the organs which
suffered at this attack are exempt when
the person is nsxt subjected to the
disease. If the respiratory organs suf-
fered at the first attack they will be
comparatively exempt at the next at
tack. At its first appearance the disease
made q notable onslaught upon the
upper air passages-the nose, throat
and bronchial tubes. The attack was
characterized by symptoms like hay
fever, and sneezing, from irritation of
the nasal mucous membrane, was the
prominent symptom. This led to many
humorous, popular opinions and ex-
pressions relating to the disease.
Newspaper reporters took the sub
iect up, and making sport
of the sneezing, led the public mind to
regard the disease from q humorous
standpoint, and thus diminished the
public fear OF the disease. The public
fears in this case do not correspond with
the actual dangers. Since its advent
the grippe has destroyed more lives
than cholera, smallpox, or typhoid, or
consumption, and yet it scarcely attracts
the attention Of the public or ssnitari-
ums. 1t is doubtful If any accurate sta
tistics of the disease or its results are
collected or known. No public sanitary
efforts are made to prevent it. No in
oculation, or cleanliness, or sewage dis
possl, or isolation, or quarantine, or
sanitary inspection, or other method of
prevention ia practiced, and yet it is
known that the victims OF this disease
are numbered by the thousands every
year in the United StateH.
La grippe is caused by a species of
microbe. The species may not be veri-
fed according to the methods OF isola-
ton, culture and incubation; but the
method of the propagation OF the dis
ease, and the nature or pathology OF the
disorder verify the general truth that a
microbe causes the disease. From OBJ
servation 81 the disease the general ma
b1Ie VI Ln6 mlCrOpe cdH Do inferred. Inc
germ is a winter parasite. 1t ia native
of cold climate, and thrives abundant
~ during the cold seasons of the tenn
perste ATTITUDES. For the past five
years each winter season has witnessed
q widely prevalent epidemic of grippe,
which has subsidized on the approach of
spring and summer, to again appear
with the advent of cold. Like most
other microbe diseates, grippe is de-
rived from the lower animals. Its anal
ogy is the "epizooty" which prevails
among horses. The relation ia similar
to that of smallpox and kinepox. There
10 no doubt that the smallpox microbe is
. development or product of the evo-
luton of the kinepox microbe-the only
difference being the quality and quanti-
ty OF the ptomaine, virus or poison that
is manufactured by each.
But no disease is more durable than
grippe. The disease, as have said, has
no definite duration in time. 1t NAV
continue 8 few days or month";. The
cure is q germitoxic or microbe poison
which is harmless to the patient and
fatal to the microbe. As is we'll known
the tenets of physiology and cures are
derived from experiment upon the lower
animals. The verification OF the mrcrobe
origin OF all mycotic diseases was made
by incubation Of the lower animals.
The aptidotes to poisons and germs are
learned by the same method. As rule.
the use OF all drugs now used in madi-