The Roanoke times. (Roanoke, Va.) 1897-1977, 1898-02-05
DANGER In A SHAKE.
A LEARNED DISCUSSION ON DIS
EASE TRANSFER.


suits From Hand Clnspinr
Is it possible for one man to commu-
nicate disease to another by tho shaking
of hands?
# this question be true, should tho
custom bo abandoned or should it DO
modified under medical instruction so
as to minimize the danger?
Tho existence of micro organisms
inimical to life and health has been es.
tablisbed beyond dispute. DR.. Breiter
Pounds his thesis, recently printed in
The Medical Record, on this hypothe-
sis. But his leading point, insisted up
on with much force. is tho danger which
is hidden i'll the apparently harmless
and sometimes pleasing custom of shak-
ing hands. He says:
"That the surface of the human BODY
is very hotbed for the propagation of
great variety of micro organisms
Fuerbinger, Mittman, Bizzozero. Ma
giora and WEIGH have calculated most
conclusively. 1t is certainly beyond the
shadow of doubt that in the presence
of predisposing factor and sometimes
even without that tho microbio diseases
are ushered into existence by their indi-
vidual prototypes, this being essentially
brought about by contact in some way
of the two contingent forces. Modern
surgery is founded on this principle.
Tho carefulness with which we prepare
our hands and surgical instruments be-
fore and after surgical operation we'll
eXempllfies tho Importance of famil-
larity with its dangers in every sense.
1--WE recognize that many of our mi.
crobic diseases, especially of the exam
thematic type, eliminate their toxic ele-
ment very largely through the medium
of tho skin, which undergoes extensive
exfoliation, disseminating the poison far
and wide Isolation is resorted to and
enforced most vigorously, thereby check
ing the spread of tho disease, and then
disinfectants lavishly used cause the de-
struction of the offending armies. In
tho era of scientific prophylaxis conse-
quent upon tho introduction of the mi
croscope, bacteriology and antiseptics
we find a steady decline of epidemics
either developing in the outer world or
i'll our hospital wards. Yet accidental
NEGOTIATIONS of tuberculosis, smallpox
and vaccinia, as we'll as more horrible
diseases. still exist and arc but demon
STATIONS of either an unavoidable cause
or faulty observance of established
data
DR.. Breiter gives a thorough discus
sion as to what may be the result of con-
tact of the hands He declares that with
men who are Of clearly habits, but who
have acquired disease and such as they
would wish to hide from their fellow
men, the specific bacillus of this disease
has been found i'll filth collected frorl
the hand. He has found tuberclc bacilli
i'll the dirt taken from the hand of the
man suffering from tuberculosis, the
Klebs-Loetfler microbe among cases of
suspected diphtheria and had 40 doubt
that the specific germs of every nicrobic
disease may and would be found in mil
lions OH the surfaces of the hands if
proper experimentation were made He
proceeds as follows:
MANY victims of scarlet fever, both
in the early and desquamativc stages,
especially tho latter, are walking the
streets of every large city ready to III.
graft upon the moist hand of any chance
acquaintance the prolific virus of the
disease. The same may be said of per-
sons with pulmonary tuberculosis,
whose hands and handllerchicfs, through
constant wiping of the mouth, are foul
and saturated with the bacteria laden
eNpcctoration Of the disease Tubercu-
losiS OF the hand, the lesion largo or
small in area, often painless and I'M
recognized as such for Il long while and
perhaps untrcated, is by no means an
infrcQuent occurrence. Scabics, we
know, has marked prediction for the
hand. Need l mention others? Now
whether these conditions are the result
of hand to hand con act or not does not
matter. The condit ms themselves are
dangerous element: and it is the con-
sideration of such ctors i'll the causa-
ton of disease that c are studying.
-S"Of course the mucous membrane
serves as Il better pabulum for the inva-
sion and development of micro organ
isms, but the skin is not absolutely neg
ativc i'll that respect, and if it wero it
would make little difference, rs the
two, skin and mucous membrane, are
very often i'll close opposition with each
other. We know that the hand has car
ricd bacteria to the mouth, disseminat
ing contaGion i'll that way. Typhoid fc-
yer, Asiatic cholera, diphthcria and 9th
or diseases are known to have been pro
duccd that way. Why search through
medical libraries for similar and per
haps moro conclusive evidence? The
subject has passed tho stage Of novelty
So while we professional people are by
reason of our profession forced to invite
and then to battlc-for we have antiscp.
tics-with these enemies, there is no
reason why we should unnecessarily and
uudcr tho cloak of custom invite them