The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1900-01-28
WHAT OF THE DREADED BUBONIC PLAGUE 7

lower and sometimes OF the upper ex-
trsmities. These manifestations may per-
sist or the affected muscles may gradu-
ally acquire tone and strength. These
Manifestations may be accounted for az
to the suppurations by the fact that the
plague bacillus is usually accompanied by
the organisms of suppuration; as to the
paralyses. by tho aforementioned ten
dency to hemorrhages into the neninges
and spinal cord.
Serum Therapy, serum Prophyla ks.
1t Is necessary to draw q sharply defined
line between the serum therapy and
serum prophylaxis of any disease. and
more particularly the plague. There 10
q wide difference between q preventive or
prophylactic serum and an antitoxic or
curative one Nor In the case Of plague
does this seem to be one of degree, but
one of kind. Any serum which is cura-
tive against plague Is preventive. but un-
fortunately the reverse does not hold good
A serum perfectly prophylactic may be
powerless to cure when once the disease
has declared itself, and this should be
borne In mind to avoid disappointment
and to prevent possible discrediting of
sero-therapeutic measures In general
For the cure of plague there Is at pres
emit but one accredited remedy. viz, the
curative or antitoxic "antipest serum of
Yersin and Roux.
.Ino preparation OF tHc 1cISlu 5cIuh -
In brief as follows: Horses are treated
with progressively increasing doses Of the
toxins OF plague. prepared by subjecting
virulent bouillon cultures of the b. pestis
TO a degree OF heat which insures their
destruction. These injections at first have
very profound effect upon the horse, and
in time q certain immunity is conferred,
and his blood serum Is found to have q
very decided effect In preventing the in
ne anti 10 xyh mr. h.
jected to NEGOTIATIONS Of culture of the
organisms after the usual laboratory
methods. Usually the process does not
stop there, but Is carried on to the pro-
duction of true anti-pest serum. preventive
and curative. whose further preparation
Is as follows: When reaction to the in
creasing doses Of toxin has practically
ceased toxins of the same nature are adj
ministercd intraperitoneally and intraven-
ously. and these are supplemented by the
intravenous injection of toxins prepared
with q special view to rendering soluble
the toxin which is enveloped in the dead
bacterial body. II necessary, this is sup
plemented by the intravenous injection OF
live bouillon cultures. and bleedings are
practiced and experiments made with the
serum both against living, virulent Gull
lures and against the precipitated toxins
Of the organism. When the serum has
reached point of strength when dose
OF 40 c. c. will protect q mouse Of twenty
five grams weight against living cultures
and three times mortal dose Of toxin,
the serum is considered to have acquired
full antitoxic power. and 10 not only pro-
tectiye or prophyloctic, but also antitoxic
or curative. The results from the treat
ment by the Yersin serum are gratifying.
His first experiments were at Annoy, in
1896 where he treated twenty-three cases
with serum, with a mortality Of two, and
these were desperate when first brought
under observation, and should really not
have been included for statistical purposes.
Subsequent experiments seemed to Jus
tify the high hopes which had been built
up as q result Of this bold therapeutic de-
parture, and the treatment OF plague both
therapeutfcally and as a prophylactic
measure by means of the serum, has TAX
en- a Arm hold in the minds Of sanitariaus
and those whose duty 1t is to guard
against invasions and extensions OF the
dreaded malady.
A French commission which has recent
ly been investigating the disease in opcr-
to, Portugal, has determined that from
Investigations made upon mice, monkeys
and human beings, the value of the 'se-
rum antipesteux" (Yersin's serum) Is in
contestible. In cases treated with the
serum the mortality was only IA per cent,
while in those not SO treated it was at
GASES were
the pneumonia form, but IL Is believed that
1t will be found equally efficacious in those
cases where the infection has taken place
through the ordinary channels of infec-
ton of the skin and mucous membranes.
The Hafrkine Prophylactic.
Haffkine's prophylactic is prepared at
the Pasteur institute at Paris by simply
planting the B. pestis on ordinary agar
agar. spread on dishes or other suitable
vessels which expose large surface These
cultures are allowed to mature for four
days and the growth upon eac, dish is
then taken up in 100 C. c. of bouillon, free
from peptone; then heated to 70 de-
grees c. for one hour and the product de-
canted or pipetted into sterile tubes, which
are subsequently sealed in the flame. A
dose of s C. C. of the Yersin serum will con-
fer an immunity for about fifteen days,
when 1t must be repeated. A dose of c. c.
of the Haffkine material will confer an i'm
munity which is slower in being establish
ed, but which is of longer but undeternin-
ed duration Statistics collected in British
India show that the percentage of protec-
ton in those vaccinated once is about IS
per cent. in those twice or more yacci-
Mated it is IS to 100 per cent.
But the Haffkine material should not he
used II the person has been definitely ex-
the fncubative period; for If by chance he
Is already infected the Haffkine injection
may produce fatal results. Therefore, the
Haffkine material should be used as a prc-
ventive on persons before their exposure.
while the Yersin treatment may be used
either before or after exposure or while
a person is suffering with the disease. The
Haffkine material should not be used on
suspects held in quarantine or on persons
49,, hAos. INRxx 49,.
plague, but is applicable to persons who
are liable to be brought into contact with
plague and before such possible contact, as
officers and attendants, health
officers and employees and persons in a
community where there is danger of the
and spread of the disease.
The limit of the protection afforded by
these preventive NEGOTIATIONS as to time is
a matter which is involved In some doubt.
In the Hafflkine experiments which are
quoted in this article the percentage of
protection is very favorable, but the time