The Portland daily press., 1894-09-21

cause typhus fever seemed to have
gained foothold in the city. That
much-heralded disease caused deaths
diphtheria, unheralded, caused 1896.
Thanks to sanitary science, typhus may
be held at bay. Thanks to Jenner, the
terrors of smallpox are only traditional.
But the terrors of diphtheria are still
real and ever-present.
For some years, however, medical
science has looked forward hopefully to
the conquest of diphtheria. Ten years
ago the bacillus that causes the disease
was discovered. The bacilii-lodged in
the throat, as rule--produce ptomaines
or other toxines, that enter the circula-
tlon and poison the system. These
toxines may be developed in media other
than the human body, and attenuated"
by cultivation. Experiments of some
years standing prove that attenuated
virus, injected into the circulation of
animals in varifying strength, produces
dlphtheria OF varying degrees of viru-
lence, and that such virus may even cure
diphtheria previously established 1t
remained to make the application to the
human subject. Apparently this has
now been done, and if the reports are
to be credi ted, diphtheria will soon take
it's place beside smallpox and hydro
phobia behind the victorious chariot of
preventive medicine.
Meantime word of caution may not
be amiss. In their laudabe anxiety to
benefit the race workers in this as in
other fields, sometime let their imagina-
tion outstep their actual achievements.
1t was SO a few years ago when the pub
lie was led to believe that sure cure
for tuberculosis had been discovered,
whereas in reality only an important,
not final step toward such discovery
had been made. The originator of the
new dlphtheria remedy is the same DR..
Koch who developed stuberculin. Dr..
Koch is a scientist of scisntlsts. sTu-.
berculin was disappointment not because
its discoverer claimed too much for it,
but because his followers claimed more
than the master thought of claiming. 1t
ID to be hoped that the same mistake
remedy. Let enthusiastic followers
make sure that they are keeping step
with the originator of the remedy. and
that they are not making us expect too
much of it at first. There can be no
question that the work of Dr.koch and
others with the toxines of germ diseases
is along right lines. In the end it's re-
with tentative efforts. Should the diph-
liberia remedy do but half.
what is hoped for it, it's
value will still be inestimab,e. Even
falling short of tfis, if it has any POI
tency whatever, it will be, like tuber-
culiD, an inspiring token of the time to
come when preventive medicine will
cope successfully with every contagious
disease, vanquishing each one in turn by
means of preventive NEGOTIATIONS. as it
has already vanquished smallpox. But.
the public cannot be expected to realize
this, and the remedy which accom-
plishes less than promised will be ac-
counted failure. II is Tar better that
little should be promised if there is the
slightest question as TO what can be
performed. In view of the lesson in self
restraint that was taught the enthusiasts
by tuberculin, however, we are justified
in hoping that nothing has been claimed
for the diphthera remedy that trial of
the remedy itself will not Immediately
justify. In that event the origination
of this remedy will easily take rank
among the most important discoveries
of this generation.