Walker Lake bulletin. (Hawthorne, Nev.) 1883-1926, 1894-04-18
ABOUT CONSUMPTION.
It Is Declared to Be Il Contagious
Disease.
Aa Ancient Theory Revived Through
scientific Investigation-So Proyl-
sions Against ContaEion
Can De- Made.

health of that city to put consumption
Of the lungs on the list of contagious
diseases, says the Baltimore Sun. The
request has awakened interest in the
| old question of the centagiousness of
consumption and incidentally ON the
general subject of infection and con-
tagion. Some of the diseases which
flesh is heir to are contagious in every
'cnse of the word. A contact so
light that it does not even reach sloin
contact, but merely with the air which
mallpox patients breathe, is sufficient
10 cause smallpox in man. So, too,
rlediato contact--that is to say, the
handling by the we'll of material
touched by the siclS-has been proved
to be the cause of many diseases. of
which erysipelas and scarlet fever may
he cited as examples. The products of
certain other diseases-typhoid fever,
for example-require to be taken into
the economy to become maleiieent.
Still others, such as CHAMBERS, must
be introduced into the blood current
itself before they are dangerous. These
facts have been proved by long OBJ
servation and are not to be disputed.
| n horseman treats cese OF CHAMBERS
with perfect security, provided his
skin is whole or is protected. A nurse
or doctor stays for hours III the room
Of the typhoid patient and suffers no
hurt. The older doctors, fore,
set these diseases to one side as in
fictitious, but not contagious, for it was
equally evident that they were carried
from patient to patient, not through
the air, but through other, and to
them unknown, means.
The discoveries in baeteriology have
settled many questions, but have UNI
settled many others which were sup
posed to have been fixed forever.
| Among other things it has broken
down the barriers between contagious
and infectious diseases. All the dis
eases which have been mentioned nre
HOW believed to be caused by germs of
yegetal origin, some of which are
known, others of which arc only sus-
lected. The explanation of the bac-
teriologist as to the difference in their
effect on the human organism is sim
ply that of the Bible. Some germs fall
ON good ground and multiply, others on
stony ground and fail to grow, or
withcr at once. When typhoid germ
is brcatbed into the lungs it pcrishes
lust as do the myriad of other germs
which we daily breathe. 1T is far other
wise If it is swallowed with the food
or drink, and finds after running the
gauntlet OF the juices of the stomach
suitable place for growth in the intes-
tines, The germ grows and multiplies,
md the ordinary phenomena of the
disease result. This will give gen.
cral idea of the simple and apparently
complete answer to manv of the vexed
questions which puzzled the older doc
tors. =-,--+.-,..,
Unfortunately the practical diff
e,ilties are not entirely removed by
the theoretical explanation. and espe-
cially is this true of consumption.
Even II it is granted that the disease al
ways originates from germ, and that
| this germ came from some previous
case of the disease, the fact that SO
many escape where almost all are ex-
posed shows that there must be other
factors than the germ alone which
cause the disease, or at least aid in it's
propagation. So far these other fac
tors are almost unknown.
That consumption was contagious
was an old theory, and the Spaniards
| centuries ago were in tho habit of de-
stroying the bedding and belongings
| of consumptives. and in some cases
even the houses in which they lived,
for fear of the spreading of the plague,
That it is not very actively contagious
| is proved sufficiently by the fact that
the jewellers in cities are alive at all,
for statistics prove that from one-t?nth
to one-fifth of all the deaths in large
! cities are due directly or indirectly to
| the disease, and that consequently a
number of sufferers from the disease
must be present in every large gather
! ing of Dc ople. Except in the later
| stages the patient is not confined to
1 his bed. He mingles in all the social
| and industrial avocations of life. Not
infrequently he is ''the life of the
! party or the hardest worker of the
office" In the present state of society,
! ut least, such men cannot be con-
demned to a leper camp nor sent
against their wills to a sanitarium,
/ however excellent.
/ The general fact that consumption is
disease which, under certain circum-
stances, may become contagious or in
fictitious, should be admitted. A suf-
fcient number Of cases are known
where the carrying OF the disease from
the i'll to the we. is clearly proved to
demonstrate the general truth that
consumption is sometimes contagious.
This should lead to the most scrup-
ulous care on the part not only of the
physician but of the intelligent pa.
tient to prevent the spread of the dis
ease. But any attempt to prevent such
infection by quarantine regulation
must almost necessarily prove abor
/ tive.
Japanese Professions.
A singular illustration of the per
sistence with which the japanese adj
here to their family vocations is seer
in an announcement in japanese