The Brunswick times. [volume] (Brunswick, Ga.) 188?-1900, 1898-02-27
YELLOW FEVER TEST.
A DISCOVERY THAT MAY BE OF
GREAT USE.
The Application of the Agglutinative Test
to the Germ and Its ResuIts-HOw the
Experiment. Was Conducted some Tssne-
fits of This Discovery.

fits of This Discovery.
New Orleans medical circles are ex-
cited over the discovery of successful
manner Of ascertaining whether or not
patient has yellow fever. The discov-
cry was made here in New Orleans by
local physicians and sufficient num-
Der of successful experiments have been
made to invest the tests in the minds Of
physicians with an Importance second
only to the discovery of a yellow fever
preventive.
The whole matter came out at the
last meeting of the Orleans Parish Med
ical society of Jan. 20, which was prob
ably the most important and largely at
tended Of any in the history Of that or
ganization. Several valuable papers
We're read and discussed, chief among
which was the paper of Drs, p L. Ar
ohinard the eminent bacteriologist r.
s. Woodson of the United States army,
and John j. Archinard demonstrator
of baeteriology of Tulane university.
These gentlemen have for the past three
or four months been engaged at work in
the laboratory of the state board of
health upon the pathology of yellow
Eer. The most important part of their
work has been the application Of the
agglutinative test to the germ Of yellow
fever.
The "agglutinative reaction y az the
phenomenon is called was discovered
by a distinguished French scientist. In
plain words, it consists of the applioa-
ton of the blood of a suspected case to
the germ Of typhoid fever. If the blood
proves to be from "a genuine case, it will
kill all the germs and cause them to
crowd together in olumps.
The recent outbreak of yellow fever
offered to these gentlemen the opportu-
nifty to apply this test to numerous cases
of yellow fever, and the paper read re-
Gently was report of their valuable
work, in which they prove the value of
serum diagnosis in yellow fever and
cite a great number Of cases in which
the test vas successful. DIR. T. S. Dab
ney, member Of one Of the most impor..
tant committees of the Parish Medical
society and who took an important part
in the discussion of DR.. Arohinard's
paper, said the other night that ilr- the
tests reported by the doctor 75 per cent
Of the cases showed what is known as
agglutinal reaction. In other words, out
of every 100 cases examined Of sup
posed yellow fever blood rs produced
agglutination when tested by the yell
low fever gRm.
DIR. Dabney said that the test expert
ment was by the method Of DIR. Y.
johnson Of Montreal aud was conduct
ed in this way: A drop of blood is taken
from the lobe Of the ear Of the patient
and dissolved in 20 times its volume Of
sterilized water. The doctor then takes
his culture tube bouillon oe fever germs
and puts the dissolved blood in it. In
| the culture tube are colonies of yellow
fever germs which have been active and
increasing for ID hours. In from five to
30 minutes after the drop of suspected
blood dissolved in 20 times its volume
is put into the culture tube the germs
in the blood become agglutinated, mo.
tionless, and motility ceases entirely,
which shows that the blood is that of a
yellow fever patient If, however, when
the dissolved blood is placed in the cul
ture tube Of yellow fever germs they
are not affected by the mixture and ag-
CULTIVATION does not take place, then it
is not yellow fever.
If both typhoid and yellow fever re-
actions occur, then clinical history Of
| the case will be necessary to determine
whether it is yellow or typhoid fever,
unless further experiments reveal it, III
the case Of plasInanipm malaria there is
no difficulty in determining, as the
malaria microbe is well known, having
been described and photographed hun
dreds OF times.
DIR. Dabney was asked what practical
good would result to the public from
this discovery, especially if it was as
successful as it bids fair now to be.
Ito answered that in the first place it
would enable physicians 20 give a posi-
tive diagnosis Of seven cases ont Of ov-
cry ten. In the second place it would
not consume three days or more, as is
often necessary in the clinical diagnosis
Of a case of yellow fever
''For instance, said he, "suppose
that the fever should occur at Ocean
Springs, as it did last fall Under this
system Of experiment there could 30 no
possible doubt of the character Of the
disease, and it would not require at the
very most over "a hours. The reason Of
this is that the culture tube bouillon for
a new test is replenisbed with new
bouillon, and the yellow fever germs,
being allowed to increase for "a hours,
are more active, healthful and energetic
and Consequently better suited for the
test. !"
Tests have been made by this method
for malarial reaction, typhoid reaction
and yellow fever reaction. No test has
been made yet as regards dengue fever,
for the simple reason that there has
been no dengue to test. The serum used
has been in part sent from DR.. Saranelli
in South America and in part from Sc
rum taken from tho isolation hospital
of the cases there during the late fever.