New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1896-09-24
J\Orj,L iTTON AGAINST CHOLERA.

Renewed attention H. called to Dr. llaffkllle =
system of anti-cholera inoculntcn by de-
tailed rcport Oh IN, subject made by DR.. SiiIlp'
SON Health Officer of Calcutta To the Munich
pal commissioners II that city In the spring
of 1894 DR. Simpson was authorized 10 ihahe
experiments with the alleged remedy, at cost
not exceeding 1000 rupecs-say. $1,000. lie
did So and the experiments and OBSERVATIONS
extended through Il space of two years. 1hc
results are set forth in the report which has
just come to hand.
The treatmcnt. IL will br remembered, con
sists in inoculatiny with .cuItures' Of cholera
germs first with mild culture, and hve days
LATER with "A stronger. one. Projection against
The djSeasc is not supposed 10 be afforded until
five DAYS after the second noculation. In this
fashion Dr simpson treated in two years no
less than $50 pcrsons mostly IIindOos. The
utmost care was taken in recording the names
Of the PATIENTS and in keeping track of them
after incubation Some mistakes were proba-
blv made but not enough materially to affect
the results of the whole experiment. Or. Simp-
son REPORTS that cholera has occurred in sev-
entv-five families some but not all of whose
members had been inOculaei 1t attacked
some within five days after the second in0cn-
lation or before immunity WAS supposed TO be
established But even in such cases the inOcll-
lated persons were less subject to the cOntagon
than the others. II is manifest. however, that
judgmen: must properly be based upon those
eases in which the second incubation had been
performed five days or moro before exposure to
the plague.
Contning consideration 10 these we have
total of ~ persons in families attacked by
cholera OF 500 of them, who had not been in
oculatcd at all. forty contracted the dis
ease and forty-two died OF tho remaining 263.
who had been fully inoculatcd. few-thc re-
port most clrollsly and rcgrcttably. fails TO
say lust how many-caught the disease, but only
one died II shOulu be- remembered that the
JO2 and the 260 were of the same classes of pco-
pie members of the same families. living In the
same houses on the same food and drink, and
subject tn exactly the same sanitary conditions.
the same exposure to contagon, and the same
medical treatment and nursing. In fact there
was absolutely no difference between them, eX
ceptng that the latter had been inOC ulatcd and
the former had not. Yet the number of deaths
from cholera was. as DR.. Simpson expresses IL,
''22.62 times smaller among the latter than
among the former. There is no conceivable
cause TO which this difference can be attributed
but the NEGOTIATIONS
These results correspond pretty closely with
the results of DR.. IIaffkine's own experiments
in various parts of India among various classes
Of people. They must undc'btcdly be accepted
rs real ami as fruthfuliy stated. They may
not be universally regarded as convincing. In
deed. N least one prominent British physician
at Calcutta. in the face of them. persists in de-
nouncng the NEGOTIATIONS as not only futile.
but injurious At least, they are significant,
with significance that cannot be ignored, and
they offer ground for hope that. with more
perfect knowledge and application. DR. Iaff
kines discovery may become as effectual
against cholera a> Jcnners has been for 100
years against smallpox and as DR.. Behring's
Is now held to be against diphtheTia