The age-herald., 1900-04-11

the medical man cannot tell whether he is dealing with a catarrhal or hay fever, or with a serious infection, like angina, smallpox or typhoid. But, nevertheless, the grip has an appearance peculiar to itself, which, at a given moment, outside of all meteorological examination, at best, vague in the beginning, facilitates its diagnosis. e.
 "But the attempt to describe the various and caprieious symptoms of the grip out side of medical literature, properly speak ing, would be to attempt the impossible. Sometimes it starts with a furious at- tack, and some times it begins with lit- tie indispositions that last three or four days. But there are three forms which are noteworthy: First. the nervous form, with it's terrible headaches, neuraliga, lumbago and alternatives of physical and mental depression, followed by excitement that later reaches delirium; secondly, the respiratory form which localizes itself in one or several of the organs, the nose, the pharynx the larynx, the trachea, tke bron- chial tubes and the lungs Qndeed, it may spread itself through them alp thirdly, the digestive form. sometimes accessory, but more frequent and more tenacious than peo- pie commonly believe it to be, and reach ing from simple gastric trouble to the most intense gastro-intestin manifestations.
 Now. although the delmination of these three forms is somewhat Theoretical, the forms themselves belong to three partcu- lar states: The cardiac symptoms which may follow pulmonary troubles. or exist Dy themselves in an organ already predts- posed; urinal, sensoriaI and cutaneous troubles accompanied by fever that may manifest all sorts of caprices. Therefore, it is easy to see that the grip having all the recesses of the orga nism at its dis posal, may be mild in one case and dan ereus in another. It attacks every organ and presents itself in all sorts of forms. NAf f1nla, L. its own seal which enables the medical man to recognize it in spite of all its fan tas'tfo disguises. Like all infections, it goes straight for the predisposed organ. Moreover the grip Is essentially epidemic and contagious, but In most cases 1t Is not very serious disease, if the patient s prudent and the doctor vigilant."
 Dr. l.. Gaze introduces us to the microbe of the grip. ''The grip, or inflenza," he says, '1s due to wandering microbe, which, like that of the cholera, travels on land and sea. In November last this a;e- doubtable insect was in Turkey, where its presence was noted scientifically. It travel along the great lines of com meree and arrived at several points of the old and new world. It was Professor Robert Pfeiffer of Berlin, who discovered the bacillus in laboratory cultures, like its rel atives of tuberculosis, typhus, malaria, hydrophoba and yellow fever. The mil crobe enters the human system through the nose and mouth. The germ in form looks a little like egg, and it is cov- cred by shell. The interior is composed of cellular white mass, like the white of an egg, and in the center of this is the protopasm, which can be compared to the yolk of an egg.
 "Onee in the human body the bacillus set ties down to business and spreads abroad the liquid poison which causes influenza. It is not the germ which produces the mafady. but the toxic matter which emanates from it.
 "The bacillus of the influenza has neither legs nor wings, and, although it can't move along of its own accord, it is constantly traveling. How does it travel? It attaches itself to moving bodies of all kinds. Ger tainly the germ may sometimes be carried along in the wind, but in most cases it reaches the human body by contagion Once installed there it increases and null tiplies enormously and in a very short time"