The broad ax. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1895-19??, 1901-08-31

This II the age Of microbes. Tn.
disease that has no microbe 70 which
parteraity can be traced Is not worthy
Of the consideration Of the medical fra
tsrnlty, and people Of quality will re-
fuse 20 entertain It on any considera-
ton. Physicians o. high standing de-
dare that q good deal Of evidence that
rheumatic fever Is an infectious dis
eass has accumulated within the last
ten years, and while that theory Is not
yet to be regarded as fully established.
Il has apparently gained some ground
even this very spring. The Philadel-
phia Medical Journal refers to II as
"the more generally accepted view
20 which the Tactic acid and nervous
origin explanations have given place
to some extent. One OF the reasons
for suspeeting that this disorder might
be infectious Is that several cases will
often occur In the same house, and il
Is peculiarly prevalent In large COM
munities. Again, It has been asserted
that the mortality and frequency OF
rheumatic fever fuetuate in the same
way as those Of erysipelas and scarlet
fever. Now, infectious maladies are
all attributed to micrO-organisms, and
as soon a. suspicion was excited the
search began for bacteria which
should prove to be characteristic OF
the malady In question. One expert
hunted in the blood; another directed
bis attention to the tonsils; a third ex-
amined the synoVial fluid, or lubricant
Of the joints; q fourth tested other
Secretions, including exudations from
the heart The first definite declara-
ton Of q discovery was made in 1891
when Bonehard and Charm believed
that they had found in the Joint fluid
q certain wen known organism hither-
TO associated with suppuration. This
was the staphylOcOccus pyOgenes al
bus. The presence Of this micrObe in
the joint would not prove much, con-
sidered by itself, but In 1898 St. Ger
main succeeded in producing an IN
flammation Of the joints by inOeulat-
ing an animal with staphyIocOcei. OF
course, a single instance would not
settle the question, but the experiment
was highly suggestive. to say the least.
Since that time several other investi-
gators have found microbes in the
blood OF secretiOns. Sometimes these
organisms were identified as the
aureus" OF CITRUS" instead Of the
"albus," but they were staphylOcocci
Occasionally, however, another mi
crobe that Is Characteristic Of pus, a
streptococcus, was found. The latest
investigations which bear on this sub
Jet are those Of Poynton and Paine.
and are reported in the Lancet OF May
4, 1901. The Philadelphia Medical
Journal summarizes them without
comment These men assert that they
isolated diplococei In sixteen cases
Cultures were made Of organisms
found in rheumatic nOdules or swell
ings and were injected into the veins
Of rabbits. In consequence the little
creatures had pain In the joints and
Inflammation Of the valves and Gov
sring Of the heart. The fluid In their
joints and some OF the brain tissues
revealed the presence Of the dipIocOeci.
Poynton and Paine think that the
nodules Of rheumatism are a partieu-
larry characteristic feature OF that dis
ease. Il win be observed that the re-
suits Of this latest inquiry differ from
those previously obtained. StreptO-
eocci look like chains Of beads Of pFae-
tically uniform size. StaphyIoeoeci sug-
gest rosaries, one organism longer
than the other occurring every so
often IN the series. Diplococci are
usually half round objects and come
in pairs. They sometimes look Ike
the halves OF pea, slightly separated.
The pneumonia germ Is diploeoecus
and Il pointed on one side like a raisin
seed. But there are many other points
Of difference besides those Of form.
One takes q certain kind Of stain which
win not Affect another. One must be
cultivated in q manner unlike that re-
quired By another and so on. But the
most important distinction, Of course.
Is that between the effects produced
on the human system when the latter
is invaded. The other CHARACTERISTICS
ara important only as means Of Idsnti-
heatiOn. Il appears. then, that POyn-
ton and Paine do not attribute acute
innammatOry rheumatism TO the same
organism as do their predecessor
Further study Is essential, therefore,
10 ascertain which Of them Is right
More experiments are necessary to
clear up several phases Of the matter.
The natural history of the newly
found diplocoecus should Be fully
worked out, 50 as 70 diRerentiats It
from an other microbes, and
Z It's responsibility for rheumatic fever
finally Be established e yin then be
highly desirable % try 70 maks an
mtitoxin that WiH have . curative
power.