Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1901-06-08
THE IocKJAw GERM.
Odd Why. In which Tetanus May
Enter the Human system-Any Mere.
Scratch May Admit It-Distxessing
Symptoms of the Disease.

The lockjaw hacillus is Formidable
beast. Its inseparable from dirt. Down
on Long Island, where the telanus bacilli
most do congresate, the microbe ought to
be used as Jusaboo for soaring dirty
youngsters into reformation. Dirty hands,
lurking bacillus, scratch or cut, and the
mischief is done.
The uneniightsned public persists in as.
,sociatiag all lockjaw with rusty nails and
quite refuses to accept the bacillus that
was formally introduced in 1850. As a
matter OF fact, the nails only function is
the making of wound through which the
poison can enter the system, and en-
oyster shell or a toy pistol caa serve the
purpose of the bacillus quite Is well as a
nail.
Why this bacillus should be especially
prevalent in certain localities scientists
do not explain. but the fact remains.
The Shrewsbury river is u happy hunt
ing ground for the beast. and a clam
she'll taken out of the mud down there
may intiict scratch that will mean
death. All Long Island mud is full of the
bacillus. and the fact that Long Island
children live to grow up would speak vol
uiiies for their cleanliness were it not
that exposure to sunlight kills the bacillns
immediately, and SO the sun fights for the
preservation of the Lon. Island species.
A wound upon the face or head if eff
fectcd by de bacillus. will be more dan
eerous than { wound upon the foot or
hand. The poisoning develops more rap
idly and is more violent in form. a large
majority of loc,sjaw cases originate in the
feet or hands of the sufferers because
those parts Of the body are most exposed.
In warm climates the disease is more
common than in colder localities. nor be-
cause the germ revels in heat. bnt he.
cause the feet are less heavily shod in
warm countries and so are more liable TO
injury.
For tho same reason. in the snr,h -,ora
negroes than Caucasians have lockia
The negro makes a practice of going
barefoot. and his feet ara freoucutly
scratched or eut. In one recent mid case
of tetanus poison. caused by stepping I'M.
On q nail. a New York doctor analvza,
leather serapinss taken frofa the shoe
around the point of incisiou and found
them full of tetanus bacilli which Ind
been rubbed from the nail in liz passage
through the thick leather. Had the pa
tents foot been bare the germs would
have entered the wound.
Another New York doctor tells of sew
eral cases OF lookjaw which he has treat.
cd while at his summer home and which
have been caused by the Introduction Of
the tetanus bacillus through wounds made
by the horns of cntfsh.
II have known of re,anus poisonin;
from cuts made by fish fms and from
lobster claws aud from oyster or clam
shells said the doctor to a reporter "and
I'd advise any one to suck a wound ike
that vigorously the Instant it is made
The poison isn't ordinarily on the fish or
the she'll but il is on the dirty hands. and
fisherman is pretty likely TO have dirty
hands and TO get occasional scratches in
handling fish.
The mosquito carries the tetanus bacil
ins along with other germs, aud in local.
ties where hp DacIlluS is ylnnfifpl caS cos