The Scranton chronicle. (Scranton, Miss.) 1897-19??, 1901-03-02
TRANSMISSION OF TYPHOID.
DETERMINATION That Animals DO
Not Communicate Disease.

Prof. William Royal Stokes. ciiy bac-
toriologist and professor Of pathology.
University Of Maryland lately COM
pleted many experiments at the sug.
eestion of DR.. John 5. Fulton. scere.
tary OF the state board OF health, which
prove that neither the cog nor cat.
horses nor COWS. pigs nor mice, nor any
domestic animals can transmit typhoid
fever 10 man, says The Baltimore sun.
The occurrence of many typhoid
casesin an isolated farming community
Is not entirely explainable by the wells
which supply Il. For the typhoid bacilli
could not very easily penetrate many
depths OF soil to enter the we'll. because
the soil acts as a filter and no bacteria
are found below six or eight feet. The
possibility OF infection in the wells
from the bodies OF animals seemed 70
many medical and lay minds o ready
explanation Of the direct eoutamina.
ton Of the water
nr. Fulton and DR.. Stokes. however
We're not satisfied with this explana.
ton. and their important experiments
undertaken with the result OF setting
aside theories which had held The
minds of medical men fer years.
II was found .that Nhen typhoid
baeilli were fed 10 deg. cats, pigs
calves and others in quantities so large
thai they ought To kill an elephant OF
n regimen, Of men. The animals were
not IN the least disturbed. nor did they
suffer Illness OF any kind.
Anthrax. rabies. planders. smallpox
plague. malaria, consumption and
many diseases have been proved TO be
easily transmitted from animals to
man. but typhoid DR. Stokes proved not
thus transmissible.
The manneri in which these rra-break.
Ing experiments we're carried on . as
follows; The typhoid baellliof the most
yirulent form were obtained by DR.
Stokes from patients suffering with the
most malignant form Of typhoid fever
and the bacilli were placed on gelatine
and put In an Incubator and allowed "a
grow In such manner that they would
not infect anything or anybody. Eight
Of such colonies" as they are called
were grown.
Two chickens. two white rats and
six.week.old calf were then taken. A
flask with two quarts Of bouilon was
inoculated with typhoid bacili. and
after the typhoid germs had grown in
II for two days one.half Of the bouillon
was fed to the calf in its milk and the
other half was mixed with grain and
given TO the chickens and rats. The
animals were fed in different cages
They were fed on this much-infccted
material every day for two weeks Gull
| tnres were also taken from the animals
every day, but no colonies OF typhoid
baeilli were ever reobtaned from them
They seemed TO digestthem rs easily as
a child digests candy.
The next set Of experiments were
| performed in n similar manner with
larger quantities Of typhoid bacilli for
a month upon male pig. At the end
OF the month not one typhoid bacillus
was found, and all the animals were
well and hearty.
Two rabbits. two guinea pigs and
young female pig were subjected to
even more severe tests with this baei.
ms, so malignant 10 human beings, but
harmless TO animals; these. too, re.
mained perfectly healthy and digested
| all Of the typhoid bacteria.
DR.. Stokes concludes from these ex.
periments that these typhoid bacillus
cannot maintain its struggle for exist.
ence in the intestlBes Of any Of the do
mestic animals experimental upon.