The daily morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven, Conn.) 1894-1907, 1899-05-04
A BATTLE OF TINY FOES.
ONE MALARIA GERM Against
THREE PH4GOCYTES.

Inc Fight Observed Under Micro-
scope by DR.. Ronald Ross-Cnuses of
Malaria and Life of its Microbe-H ow
Mosquitoes Transmit the Disease to
Persons.
If there were no mosquitoes in the
world probably there would be no ma
laria. This is because malaria is caused
by a mcrobe which is carried about
from person to person by the mosquito
In other words, malaria is blood dis
ease, in that mosquitoes suck up the mi
crobes from the blood of one person and
then fly off and inoculate other persons
with those germs. Meantime the mo-
squitoes have malaria. Flies transmit
the germs of typhoid fever, fieas disssm
mate anthrax, and mosquitoes are the
purveyors of the fllaria which cause ele-
phantiasis and Of the plasmodium which
causes malaria
This transmission of the mcrobe of
ments of DR. Ronald Ross of the Indian
medical staff. He worked in the labora-
tory of Colonel D. D. Cunningham in
| Calcutta. He fed some mosquitoes on
patients afflicted with malaria and then
allowed these same insects to puncture
the bodies of captive birds The inocu-
lation was quite complete, During his
| investigation DR.. Ross saw remarkable
battle. This was a fight between ma
laria microbe and three phagocytes.
| The phagocytes are really white blood
corpuscles. They have been called the
| policemen of the blood and their bust
ness in life is to devour all the impuri-
ties, foreign substances and disease
germs of the blood. In this instance the
microbe succeeded in worsting the three
| phagocytes.
! Until DIR. Ross Investigations there
was no certain knowledge of the cycle of
the malaria germ. Chlls and fever, or
fever and ague We're terms expressive of
peculiar climatic affliction. Laveran,
after years of continued argument, sue
ceeded in showing that it was a germ
disease, but the complete history of that
germ, of which there are several varie-
ties, has not been known until lately.
The malaria germ propagates its spe-
cies by augmentation. Periodically eve
ry day, or every three days, or every
four days, according to the type of the
disease, the full-grown germ sub-divides
and each division becomes a ull-hedged
microbe with power to reproduce itself.
All the germs-plasmodia as they are
l. ~
man body within some minutes Of one
another 1t is this that causes the peri
Odical chill in malaria patients. In fact
when you see malaria patient undergo
ing his daily chill you may know that
millions of young malaria germs are just
breaking away from the parent stem.
The young germ is in danger of being
devoured by phagGcytes in the blood. In
fact. a great many are thus devoured.
When malaria is well advanced the
number of germs is so much greater
than the number of phagocytes that
quite enough are spared to do damage.
The germ at this period is only q shape
less mass of matter carried along in the .
blood and containing within it's minute
mass a still more minute quantity of .
pigment-like specks which dance about
violently in the little animal. 1t has in
stinct enough to protect itself from fur
Their depredations of phagocytes. 1t
feeds on the contents of red blood cor
puscles, and as 1t devours the haemoglo
bin contained in the corpuscle it crawls
inside the skin of the latter, the better to
keep clear of the phagocytes. These lit
tie scavengers of the blood actually have
been seen under the microscope to be de-
ceived by this trick Of the malaria germ.
The germ does not eat the skin of the
red corpuscle. Therefore, when the
phagocyte comes up to a malaria germ
inside the red blood corpuscle 1t may feel
it all over, but it generally passes by,
misled as to it's genuineness. So the
secure in its retreat, goes
on eating the inside of it's little house
and growing against the time of its re-
After a time it becomes
crescent shaped, and then, it it is exam
ined under a glass, the remains of the
red blood cell skin can be seen stretch
ing across the hollow side of the cres-
cent. AS the germ grows older the cres-
cent shape gradually changes to circu-
lar. Before the day is half gone the cir
cular germ divides into two segments.
That is, the line of demarkation can be
seen under the microscope; the germ ac-
tually does not divide until later After
another period of time these two seq
lnents sub-divide or change to four and
these again to eight, and so on.
When the augmentation at last is conn
plete, some wonderful process of tele
graphy, or perhaps the recognition of
the germ itself of the end of the then
stage of its existence, gives what might
be called an ntra-human signal and the
breaking away of the young
germs, takes place The process is re-
oeated again and again, until the suffer
AZ dies or the growth of the germs is
checked by medical or other means.
But in describing the life Of the germ it
las been assumed that it existed within
he human body. ow did 1t get there?
air and water transport the
Malaria germ, under certain conditions, |
Dut there is far more potent dissamina- i
ing agent-the mosquito.
When a section of fresh human blood !
malaria germs is placed on a t
slide and the germs are OBJ l
erved carefully for some time, it will be t
cen that a remarkable change takes {
lace in the germs. Instead of remain c