The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1896-09-07
NOT EASILY ExTERMINATED.
Dtphtheria Germs Survive Many
Years to Contaminate the Human


Pittsburg Dispatch.
Two east end children are just re-
covering from an almost fatal attack
OF diphtheria, contracted by sleeping
on a bed lounge upon which a diph-
theria patient had died three years ago.
This statement sounds somewhat re-
markable, but 1t Is nevertheless true.
The children are Glen and Samuel
Sipe, aged five and four years re-
spectlvely. They are the sons of Sam
uel Sipe, Of 5514 Howe street. the dia-
mond merchant
Tnree weeks ago, in company with
Mrs. Slpe, they went to Kokomo, Ind,
10 visit their grandmother, Mrs. Moore
or that place Mrs Sipe wanted the
children to sleep in the same room with
ner. Ihere were no young children in
the Moore mansion. Consequently
there was no children's crib. Mrs
Moore then remembered that stored
away IN the attic was an old bed lounge
that had not done service for some
years. 1t had been placed there after
the death of a child in the house. For
nearly week little Glen and Samuel
were nightly put to bed to complain of
sore threats and a physician was
called. He made careful diagnosis
ana pronounced them to be suffering
with diphtheria. There was no diph-
SAA~0N
at the time
When he finally made known to the
household the result Of his diagnosis
and also his inability to account for
the attach, Mrs. Moore recollected the
death of the child on the lounge three
years previous. She said that the
couch had been closed up and placed
away IN the attic without being dis
injected. 1t was not thought that 1T
would ever be used again. Consequent
~ when they did use it the death of
the other child was entirely forgotten.
II 1T had not been 1t Is not likely that
the lounge would have been disinfected
as verys few people know that the
germs of diphtheria will lie dormant
for many years, but when given the
proper opportunity will display as
much activity as a culture taken fresh
from the throat of a patient
When it was positively known that
the disease was diphtheria Mrs. Sipe
at once took her children and started
for home. On their arrival here, ten
days ago, both were in a dangerous
condition. DR.. III. r. Hardtmayer. Of
lS2 Liberty street, Allegheny, the fam
lily physician, was called to treat them.
1t was hard struggle for the little
ones, but yesterday he pronounced
Glen out of danger, and thinks the
brother will be in a like condition in
few days.
In speaking of the peculiar way in
which these children had fallen vic
Tins of this dread disease DR.. Hardt-
mayer said: These children, so far
as can be learned, were not exposed
to the disease at any time or place,
and In the absence of any other good
cause they must have contracted it
from sleeping on the infected bed
lounge. This Is very probable. The
scales containing the bacilli of diph-
iberia may be expelled from the
throat of a person suffering from the
disease and lie dormant for almost
an fnterminable length of time. The
same can be said of the germs of
tuberculosis, scarlet fever, smallpox
and many of the other contagious and
infectious diseases. For these reasons
too much vigilance cannot be exercised
in the care of disinfecting a house and
everything in it after 1t has been in
fected with any Of these diseases. The
best way to do this is to wash the
halls of the rooms with a strong solu-
ton of corrosive sublimate after the
paper has been removed and then to
close them tightly and burn sulu@ur
for several hours, being careful that
the fumes thoroughly penetrate every
nook and Granny"
Dr. A. V. Chessrown, physician at
the county jail, also tells of a remark
able manner in which a family of four
became stricken with smallpox. They
contracted 1T from germs that had be-
come concealed beneath the wall paper
OF room twenty-eight years after a
patient infected with it had departed.
This patient was riverman He was
inoculated with smallpox in New
Orleans during the rage of a frightful
epidemic there. He lived at point on
the Kiskiminetas river and got to his
home before 1t was discovered he had
smallpox. After he had gotten over
the attack the room was disinfected
by washing the walls and floors with
corrosive sublimate and all the articles
In 1T. Twentyeight years after it was
decided to repaper the room The old
paper was torn off and inside Of four
days the family had smallpox