The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1897-12-19

typhoid fever and various other con-
tagious diseases. OF this there is no
longer any question whatever, though
| it is only recently that the matter has
| been subjected to rigid scientific inyes-
tigation and set finally at rest. It is
a question of such vast general inn
pcrtance that the British association
for the advancement of science ap-
pointed q. committee to investigate it,
of this committee DR.. w. a. Herdman
is chairman, and has conducted the
main Investigations, ably assisted, now
ever. by Prof. Boyce as bacterlologlst,
| and Dr. Cohen as chemist. The report
of the findings of the committee, as yet
unpublished is full of interest, ana Is
of great Importance as setting at rest
some disputed points regarding the
oysters possibilities as a disease agent.
| 1t appears that there are three sep
arate and distinct ways in Wmch the
| oyster may be q menace to the person
| whose stomach he enters. He may con-
| yey there a mineral poison, sucn as
copper; he may be laden with the
| deadly organic poisons known as pto-
maines. or he may be the involuntary
host OF some malign bacteria, such as
the bacillus of typhoid fever.
METALLIC ABSORPTION.
Now, needless to say, the oyster in MS
normal condition does not contain any
! one of these, or any other oeleteIAo
! agencies: therefore, the first important
| problem set for DR.. Herdman was 10
| determine under what circumstances
| one or another of them may be acqulr-
! ed by the bivalve. AS regards the pto-
maires, and a certain number OF me
tallic poisons, this was not dlfncult.
! Ptomaines develop IN oysters as IN any
other kind of animal matter When II
! is partially decayed; therefore, 1t Is
only in canned oysters, or in those that
are manifestly not fresh, that this form
of poison is to be feared. Similarly, the
oyster is not free, when canned, from
the possibility always present with
badly canned goods of metallic apsofp-
ton. But with modem methods OF can
ming, these two contingencies are SO
rare that they may practically be dis
regarded.
There is. however, another and very
different way in which the oyster may
become contaminated with a metalllc
noison. It has been shown that in some
exceptional cases oyster beds are 10
Gated in water into which the oVerlioW
Of an old copper mine drains, ana III
such a case, as may readily be mag
ined. the copper salts are absorbed by
the mollusc and may render MIN poIs-
onous. But such instances are very eA7
ceptional: yet it is an established fact
that copper poisoning from the lnJec-
ton of oysters is relatively frequent.
To explain this anomaly required most
elaborate Investigations, the result OIL
which was the discovery that the nor
NAL oysters blood contains certain
very minute quantity of copper, just
as the blood of higher animals contains
a little iron. In a healthy oyster tne
amount of this copper is so small that
it can have nc harmful erect, but II
seems that the oyster is not always
blessed with good health, and there are
certain conditions of disease unoer
which his system takes up more cop
Der than is normally of use to 1t, just
as the diseased human blood sometimes
contains an undue quantity of iron.
When the oyster is in this condition ne
has a greenish appearance, and II
eaten he may poison his host.
GREEN OYSTERS
This fact being known, it might seem
that the avoidance of copper poisoning
from oyster eating would be very easy,
/ it being merely necessary to foregC
oysters having a greenish color. But II
chances that there is another cause OF
green coloration of the oyster, which IS
not due to a harmful condition; indeed
in some countries, particularly IN
France, the green oyster is especially
favored by epicures, and pains are
taken by the oyster cultivators to pro
duce this color. In this case, OF course
the cause of the greenness is not cop
3, per- 1t is due to the food supplied II
= the oyster containing quantities of
minute plant called the diatom, which
|, is of a blush color; this blue, shining
: through the translucent yellow flesh o.
y the oyster, giving the effect of green
= The Partisan epicure considers th'
= oyster thus colored q very great dell
cacy: but in view of the possibility O
G confounding the diatom-fed oyster VIII
= the copper diseased oyster, it Woul(
+ seem that this particular whlm OF IN
eDicure is not one to be encouraged
Just what the causes are that lead T.
the copper disease, DR.. Herdman ha
not yet been able to discover, but tn
: matter IS to be made the subject o
e further inquiry.
It AS regards the oysters capacity TO
e conveying bacterial disease germs, tn
4 studies of the committee have bee
. very elaborate and successful. 1t ha
been shown that the oyster can liv
in very filthy water, provided it
supplied with plenty of air, withou
becoming diseased. But if the impur
water contains bacteria germs, a
those of typhoid, the body of the oys
ter acts as kind of filter throug
which the water passes, leaving u,
germs behind In some of the speci
mems examined the blood Of the oyste
contained as many as 1900 diseas
germs to the cubic centimeter. Need
less to say, if the oyster is eaten Will
in this condition, it may prove yer
unWholesome morsel.
OYSTER ribs ITSELF OF GERMS
But though the oyster thus readil
49,, IznA ln
it's way, there is no proof that it re
tains them for any great length {
time after the supply is shut off. o
the contrary, it seems to rid itself {
it's guests in the most expeditions mar
ner possible. The germs do not ii
crease in number within the system {
the oyster; they simply lie in wa
there, and in due time, if pure waite
is supplied the mollusc, the germs al
all cast out, though some of them ma
remain for two or even three week
The great bulk of them, however, al
extruded much more rapidly; indee
it is found that within few houl
after the supply of pure water is give
the larger number Of the bacteria hay
disappeared.
This fact DR.. Herdman regards {
perhaps the most important and d
cidedly the most hopeful of any of
discoveries. He urges that when Il
oyster is placed in brackish water
''fatten" before being sent to marke
as is usual everywhere, especial ca
should he aXerciSed tn secure wat