The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1897-09-17


This symptom called black vomit is
caused by the action of gastric acidity on
the blood, which escapes into the stomach
through the LESSONS in the mucous men,
brane. The act OF vomiting is caused d.
rectly by the specific emetic action of the
icteroid bacillus circulating In the blood.
The haemorrhagic character presented
by the disease is due, primarily, to the
haemorrhagic property which the icteroid
bacillus possesses in common with other
microbes, and In the second place to the
profound rapid alterations and degenera-
tons which it produces in the walls of the
blood vessels.
mo literature exists in yellow fever
countries sufficiently demonstratiYe In
character to prove transmission by wa
ter. There is, however. an inexhaustible
supply of facts demonstrating its atmos-
pheric transmission.
THE one example cited relative to the
decrease of yellow fever in Vera Cruz af-
ter the installation of a good water supply
system has only a relative value The
tendency is to attribute improvement in
public health to one hygenic measure when
1t should rather be ascribed to a conjunc-
ton of sanitary improvements. The re-
markable resistance of the icteroid bacillus
to desiccation and in water authorizes the
admission of the diffusion of the yellow
fever virus by air and water.
"Contagion by the respiratory system
has been proved by animal experiment.
With regard to the mechanism of con-
tagion by water, it is an ipdutiable fact
that the epthela of the digestive system,
when intact, do not in general permit the
passage of any specie of pahogenic germ.
But it must be remembered In our yellow
fever countries the slightest disturbance
of the digestive functions, such as the
abuse of alcoholic drinks, ices fruits, etc.,
especially on the part of recent arrivals,
depress the system and prepare for the
entrance upon the scene of yellow fever.
1t cannot be denied that persons recent
ly arrived in yellow fever countries are
subject to catarrh of the hillary eystem,
which, united with the oevr exertion of
the liver which accompanies It, may facili-
tate the entrance of the bacillus into the
intestines. Nothing is easier than such an
entrance of the bacillus at the season
when 1t forms part of the microblc flora
of the yellow fever locality.
THE icteroid bacillus, whether through
effect of it's specific virus or through the
grave hepatic LESSONS which are it's most
immediate consequence, favors at a given
moment the entrance into the organism of
septic microbes, which not only terminate
the disease much sooner than the specific
microbe would do, but attack this specific
agent, invading its domain, suppressing
its vegetauve faculty and even affecting
its vitality. Consequently, this microbic
antagonism between the yellow fever ba-
cilius and septic infection, instead of be-
Ing useful to the patient who represents
the theater of action, hastehs his end.
Tho maritime propagation Of yellow fe-
yer is now fact so firmly established
that we should direct our attention to dts
covering Its cause, baslng our researches
on our knowledge of the specific micCobe.
"The behavior of the yellow fever mi
Al
that of the cholera vibrio under the same
circumstances. When cholera is intro
duced on board q vessel 1t breaks out with
a violence varying with the quantity and
energy of the choleraio vibrio and with
individual predisposition; after the out
break the cholera vibrio does not seem TO
find in the ordinary conditions of maritime
transportation a medium favorable TO its
existence. 1t rapidly yields to measures
Of disnfection and is extinguished. Vol
low fever, on the contrary, once installed
on board a vessel, maintains itself long
and tenaciously, especially in summer,
and is transferred to warehouses and
stores. Old and much-used vessels are
extremely unfit to be used in countries
where yellow fever is epidemic.
Those who are especially concerned
with naval hygiene consider close, unven-
tilated ships, in which the air is vitiated
and the wafer in the hold fetid, to be YER
Humidity heat and the want of light
appear, therefore, to be the agents best
adapted to the preservation of the lcteriod
bacillus. But In the present State of our
knowledge 1t is not possible to attribute
to these agents alone a specific value,
when other conditions exist which initiate
in its favor. We must, therefore, look for
some other cause favoring in some way
the nautical habitat of the cteroid bacil-
lus
"a singular phenomenon, which fire.
quently attracted my attention during
these studies, suggested to me that the
probable cause of this mysterious resist
ance of the icteroid bacillus is that the
fungus of common mould, in the atmos-
phere, protects the bacillus.
1T is to defective ventilation and high
hygrometric conditions of the atmoSDhere
that the unhealthiness of Rio de Janeiro
is attributed.
During the great epidemic of yellow
fever of 1872 at Montevideo the disease
showed an inexplicable prediction for at
lacking houses fronting to the north. Now
the houses on the north side of the streets
in Montevideo are conspicuous for their
dampness. 1t is therefore probable that
the factor of humidity, whether on board
ships, along the coast. or in the interior,
is the principal coefficient in this biologic
phenomenon, and not some commonplace
meteorological influence. On the other
hand. the natural resistance of the letter
old BACILLUS to desiccation, natures meth
cd Of disinfection end Its longevity in sea
water, are sufficient TO explain the accli-
matization of icteroid typhus on ships and
in maritime localities"
A MUSICAL AUTHOR.