Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1899-08-05
THE YELLow-FEvER GERM.
Much of DIR. Sternberg's work WI"
Done I'm baltimore.
Ralfimnra SInl

the best-known yellow-feyer experts In
this country was done In Baltimore. lie
| was appointed fellow by courtesy of the
| Johns Hopkins University in lSs0-'Si. ana
for several years at different periods
| made use OF the facilities for research or
fered by the university.
Or. Sternberg's most famous discovery,
that OF the pneumonia bacillus, was maue
| here while he was investigating the germ
cultures from material secured In New
Orleans in 1850 while investigating ma
larial-fever. The pneumonia bacillus was
isolated during the preliminary work IN
New Orleans. The cultures were brought
10 Baltimore along with the fever cul-
lures and both were investigated at the
same time in the biological laboratory of
the Johns Hopkins University. The iden-
| tity Of the pneumonia organism was es-
| tablished without a doubt.
| At the time these investigations were
made Dr. Sternberg was surgeon in the
army, and was carrying on his lnvesu-
cations under orders from the govern
| ment During President 'Clevelands hrsl
| administration a special appropriation
was granted by Congress TO enable MIN
to push his Investigations on the subject
of yellow-feyer In 1887 he went TO hlo
de Janeiro and TO Vera Cruz. In lSSS ne
went 10 Habana again. and in the fall OF
the same year to Decatur, Ala, during
the prevalence of the yeliow-fever cpl
demic there In 1889 he went back TO Ha-
bana.
At all these places he made personal
Investigations of the causes and treat
ment of yellow-fever and collected
| large amount OF material, which ne
Brought back TO this county. He con-
| 4 M
in the biological and pathological labora-
tories of the Johns Hopkins University,
and at the Hoagland Laboratory, IN
BROOKLYN, Of which he was made director
in 1858.
During his Investigations he Isolated the
organism known as bacillus y. He does
not claim that this is the specific germ
of yellow-fever but he does claim that IL
is worthy of close study
Under DR.. Sternbergs direction the
Army Medical Museum in Washington
took up the subject. and Drs-' Reed ana
Carroll recently issued a preliminary note
on the museums investigation, in when
they set forth the statement that, so far
as determined, the bacillus isolated by
the South American scientist Sahdreii,
and believed by him to be the germ Oh
vellow-fever and the bacillus OF stern
berg were identical i'm their geheral Ioi III
and their effects on the lower animals.
and that both seemed to be identical Oh
very closely allied with the bachius Oh
hog cholera
While DR.. Sternberg was in Baltimore
and later on while he was carrying on his
investigations at the Hoagland Labord-
tory. his associate was DR.. George I.
Kemp. formerly of the Johns Hopkins
University and now Professor OF Physi-
ologv at the University of Illinois.
while General Sternberg was director
of the Hoagland Laboratory, DR.. Kemp
was associate director. and during Or.
Sternberg's absence in the infected DIS
tricts continued the investigations on
the fever from the material sent 10 MN
by DR.. Sternberg. At that time 1t was
supposed that the presence or the germ
Of the disease was the cause or the color
of the black vomit. DIR. kemps inVesti-
cations proved that this is not the case,
but that il is due to the excessive acidity
of the secretions poured into the stomach
and TO the chemical changes caused by
them. investigations of a similar charac-
Ter were being made by a Frenchman IN
Habaua at the same time and with the
same results.
In regard to the dissemination Of yell
low-fever. DR.. Sternberg says in his re-
cently-publshed textbook on bacteri-
ology:
"There is no evidence that yellow
fever is prOpagated by contamination or
the supply of drinking water as frequent
" and probably occurs in the case or
typhoid-fever or cholera.
Moreover. epidemics extend on a more
deliberate manner and are restricted
within a more definite area than in the
usually ten days or two weeks after the
arrival of a vessel with the disease on
board before cases of local origin occur
and these cases occur in the immediate
vicinity Of the imported case or vessel
carrying the contagion. When the disease
has affected a Judgment the area OF n
lection extends slowly and usually has
well-defned boundaries
'In towns and cities having common
water supply one portion remains healthy,
while another. usually the most filthy
may be decimated by the scourge.'
In view of these facts, DIR. Sternberg
recommends that the dejecta of yellow
fever patients should be regarded as IN
fictitious material, and should never De
thrown upon the soil until disintected.
The belief that the air is the usual me-
dunn through which infection Is received
into the system is shared by all recent
investigators. DR.. Rudolph Matas, OF New
Orleans, in a recently published arucle'
gives a specifc instance OF a well-authen-
ticated case which occurred In Missis-
sippi i'm 1883. In this instance the disease
was communicated by germs from lock
of hair cut from the head of yellow
fever patient. The hair was placed IN
sealed envelope, which was not opened
for several weeks. The two ladies by
whom the envelope was opened within
ten DAYS were stricken with fever.