The San Francisco call., 1895-12-22
BACrERIoLoGY.
THE PAsTEUR INSTITUTE AND THE ANuMAFC-
TURE OF ANTITOXINE.

TURE OF ANTITOxINE.
The recent death of Louis Pasteur,
founder of the institute at Paris which
bears his name, renders especially timely
a letter regarding the French institute
contributed to the Polytechnic of October
26 by Professor William P. Mason of the
Rensselaer, Polytechnic Institute. Profes-
sor Mason first described the Pasteur In
stitute and then its work in the study
OF bacteriology, and notably the
bacteriology OF disease. Aside from the
extensive chemical and bacterial lab
oratorles housed III an H-shaped
building, there is veritable zoologi-
cal garden, where rabbits, monkeys, rats,
mice, guinea pigs, chickens and dogs
are kept i'll abundance for experimental
purposes. This is all in the city. The
horses from which antitoxine is produced
are outside the city, as described below.
hydrophobia clinic is held at IL A. NJ.
each day, at which from fifty to sixty pa
tients appear for treatment. During May,
June and part of July regular course in
bacteriology is given. This is free to all,
including foreigners, when there is room,
on presentation of a letter from their
proper En- AMBASSADORS.
The antitoxiEe is manufactured at Garch,
about eighteen miles from Paris, where
some eighty fine horses are kept in Gov
ernment park. The process is described by
Professor Mason as follows:
A horse is inoculated with small dose of
the poison of diphtheria, insufficient in guam
tity to kill, and in bulk about half-thimble-
fui This dose is gradually increased every
other day during the three months. When
the dose has reached 200 Gu. en-, which may
be repeated tor three or fOur days in sue
cesslon without hurting the horse, the animal
is IN condition for the manufacture of the
anutoxlne. During this process the horse has
had at times slight fever a result of the in
EQUATIONS, but SO carefully is the dose OF
poison increased that there have been only
the ou at booa 0fhsF IS taken
from the jugular vein of the immunized
horse and received into sterile glass jars,
IN nonrs which, after after, standing twenty-four
serum. This serum is drawn off into sterile
packing bottles, and is ready for use as anti
toxlne. Bleeding takes place on Mondays and
Mednesdays, In the morning, the same horses
being bled on the two days. Six quarts of
blood are taken from each horse Monday morn
Ing and tour quarts OF the following Wednes-
Gay. Inc animals are then given twenty days
rest, when the bleeding is repeated, as above,
indefinitely. One horse at the time of my
visit, had already furnished 400 quarts of
blood. In order to maintain the immunity of
the horse 200 cubic centimeters of the dipthe-
ria poison ere introduced into each horse on
the Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday
following the Wednesday bleeding, in all 500
CUBIC centlmeterS, which is more than one and
half pints per animal.
To prepare the toxine, or diphtheria poison,
with which the horses are inoculated, bouillon
or clear beef Is made slightly alkaline, and
per cent OF beef peptone Is added. This liquid
Is sown with diphtheria germs taken from the
throat OF diphtheria patient gentle cur
rent OF air passing over the liquid, which is
kept in conical flask, causes a luxuriant crop
OF diphtheria germs to grow on the surface.
During the process of growth the germs pro-
duce the highly poisonous diphtheria toxine.
which goes into solution in the liquid. This
bouillon is then filtered through Pas
teur filter, which permits the passage OF the
liquid toxine, but filters out the germs. This
solution OF toxine may be kept for any length
OF time. In order 10 determine its strength
experiment is made upon rabbits. the wei G. hts
OF which are known, by which means 1t is de-
take to kill one pound of animal. Knowing
the weight of the horse and the poisoning
power OF the toxine, it is easy to calculate,
and consequently to avoid the fatal dose for
the horse in question, the horse being given
dose less than that which will produce
death.
The presence of this toxine in the horses
blood stimulates nature to produce an anti
toXine to counteract AS the doses of toxine
gradually increase the quantities OF antitoxine
in the blood are increased likewise, until the
time comes when the blood contains so
much antitoxine that the animal is immune
from further doses OF the toxine. The intro
duction of the serum of the blood of an i'm
muniZed animal into a human being supplies
Immediately natures remedy for counteract-
ing diphtheria poison.