Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1895-10-05

smallpox germ, many attempts have been
made to find 1t, though in vain hitherto.
Various n1icro-organisms have been sep
arated from the matter contained in the
pustules of the disease, but none Of them
would reproduce the latter in animals by
incubation. Experiments will be made with
this m;crobe by injecting beasts with it and
drawing off the serum from their blood for
use diphther.a serum is employed"
DR.. Graz Is the official disease breeder of
the govern ment. His laboratory is a weird
place indeed, flied with objects strange to
most morlal eyes. OF these not the least
odd are the pictures on the walls. which are
photographs representing on gigantic
scale portions of the human body affect ted
by various horrible diseases. Many of the
diseases in question-that is to say, the
microbes which cause them-the doctor
keeps constantly on hand in glass tubes for
purposes Of experimentation. They
tightly corked up with shoppers of sterlized
cotton in order that they may not get
away.
Bacteria of Lockjaw.
Progress in the knowledge of diseases
that attack mankind is being accomplished
at great rate nowadays" said DR.. Gray
picking up one of the glass tubes. You
see, there is a small quantity of transpar-
ent yellow gelatine in this bottle. On The
surface Of the gelatine you will observe a
d.scolored patch. That is a colony of the
species of bacteria which causes loclsjaw or
tetanGs 1t was discovered by Japanese,
formerly student under Prof. Koch at
Berlin, and now employed by his own gov
eminent at Toxic. Acquaintance with this
germ has made 1t possible for the medical
practitioner to cure loekjaw every time,
though the complaint until recently was
deemed hopeless. Goats are inoculated with
the bacteria-at first in small doses. and
later in quantities large enough to haze
killed the animal at the beginning. When
the beasts treated have reached the stage
of immunity blood is drawn from their
bodies, and the serum separated from it is
injected into the patient
Fortunately, lockjaw is a rare disease.
Yet the germs of it are exceedingly plenti-
full In fact, little ordinary earth intro
duced beneath the skin is pretty sure to
give the complaint. Common garden soil
usually contains the microbes in large
numbers. Those which You see growing on
this gelatine came from beneath the turf
In front Of the museum. To procure dis
e; reproducing bacteria of various kinds
Is easy enough. the sputum of consump-
tive Will furnish the baciili of tuberculosis
While cholera germs are found in the dis
charges of the patient Pneumonia germs
occur also in the parts affected by eerebro-
spinal meningitis and suppurattve diseases
OF membranes OF the brain. though whether
they cause those complaints nobody can
say. Diphtheria microbes are scraped from
the throat Of the sufferer. That is the way
In which diphtheria is diagnosed nowadays
lie pHySicluf takes a little SCraplng from
the throat of the patient and applies a
particle of 1t t, gelatine in a glass tube
If the characteristic bacteria do not de-
Veop the trouble is certainly not diph-
therio, no matter what the symptoms may
be. Thus certainty is substituted for guess
work.
Colonizing Disease Germs.
You ask how particular species of
bacterirm can be separated from other
kinds and propagateo by itself. 1t is very
simple. Perhaps the scraping from the
throat will contain a dozen species CT
germs besides the one sought. All of them
develop on the geatine. which is melted
in the glass tube and then poured upon
plate of glass that is covered hermsticaIly
After the various microbes have had time
to form colonies, 1t is easy to distinguish
one from another. A platinum needle steril-
lied by heating is touched to a colony of
the species wanted and transferred to the
gelatine in another glass tube. There null
tiplication proceeds rapidly, and, the tube
being corked, pretty soon you have what
Is called pure culture
Carbuncle, one OF the most dangerous of
diseases, is only accidental in man 1t is
derived from sheep usually, and people
working in wool are liable to contract it.
In France this complaint is very common
among sheep, though rare in this coun-
try. Sheep in Europe used to die of 1t by
thousands, but this is prevented nowadays
by lnoculating them with an attenuated
germ was discovered by Pasteur Another
disease accidental with man, though com
mon in horses is CHAMBERS. In human be-
iEgs 1t is almost invariably fatal. Horses
are rendered immune to it by inoculatjng
them with a culture of the specific hac-
terium that causes the disease. This cul-
ture, called 'malleine,' is distributed by the
bureau of animal industry free Of charge.
horse that is to be used TO furnish anti
toxine serum is tested first with an iniec-
ton Of malleine. If the animal has CLAN
ders. 1t will exhibit feverishness.
The Preparation of Anti-Toxine.
"Anti-toxine, if administered in time,
never fails to cure diphtheria. The use of
it has reduced the mortality from this
deadly disease at the Children's Hospital, in
Boston from 60 per cent to per cent. The
in 100 who die are patients brought for
treatment too late. The virulent diph iberia
germs are propagated in bouillon until the
latter Is saturated with the poisonous pro-
ducts given off by the microbes. Then the
bouHlen Is filtered and employed for inocu-
lating horse. When the horse has become
immune blood is drawn from its body. The
blood Is permitted to stand for while ard
settle, a little camphor being added to pre-
vent the development of fungi The cor
pusces settling to the bottom, the serum
which is the watery part of the blood-is
readily separated. This serum is anti
toXine
.Diseas reproducing bacteria in the pro-
cess of their growth and multiplication
produce poisons which eventually are fatal
to themselves. That Is the reason why peo-
pie recover from complaints caused by such
germs. The microbes feed on the tissues of
the body. making the latter sick; but If the
patient can hold out long enough he will
get We'll for the reason mentioned The idea
OF serum-therapy is to introduce into the
system the specific poison produced by the
microbe, which is, nevertheless. destructive
to it. Investigators are now working on
typhoid fever and pneumonia along the
same lines, and before long undoubtedly
we shall have cures for those troubles as
efficient as anti-toXine is for diphtheria
cure may be found in that way for any dis
ease of man that can be communicated to
lower animals.
Cancer Probably Not "a Germ Disease.
How about cancer, you ask? Well, that
is different. 1t is asserted in some quar-
ters that cancer is a germ disease, but the