The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1901-08-11
Or. %och's Experiments

The chairman, in introducing Prof.
Koch, referred to him as the foremost
of living psychologists, the inventor of
the simplest means of isolating bacteria,
! and the discoverer of the tubercle bacil-
LUIS and the micro-organism Of cholera.
Prof Koch, who was received with. pro-
lcnged cheering, then delivered his adj
dress
he said that the task with which the
congress would have to busy itself was
one of the most difficult but also one In
which labor was most sure OF it's reward.
He need not point again to the innumer-
able victims tuberculosis annually
claimed in all countries, nor to the
boundless misery it brought on the.
families it attacked They all knew,
that there was no disease which inflicted
such deep wounds on mankind as this
All the greater, however, would be the
general joy and satisfaction if the efforts
that were being made to rid mankind of
this enemy, which consumed it's Utmost
marrow, were crowned with success 2
There were many, indeed, who doubted
the possibility of successfully combating
this disease which had existed for
thousands of years and had spread all
over the world This was by no means
his opinion This was a conflict into
which they might enter with a surely
founded prospect of success, and he
would tell them the reasons on which
! he based that conviction Only q few
decades ago the real nature Of tubercu--
losls was unknown to us; it was regard
ed as consequence, as the expression
SO TO speak, of social misery and, as
lhls supposed cause could not be got
ria or by simple means, people relied on
the probable gradual Improvement of
social conditions, and did nothing. All
that was altered now We knew that
social misery did indeed go far to foster
/ tuberculosis, but the real cause of the
disease was parasfte-a visible and pal
pable enemy, which we could pursue and
. ahn1hllate, just as we could pursue and
annln1late other parasitic enemies Of
mankind. Strictly speaking. the fact
that tuberculosis was a preventable dis
ease ought to have become clear as soon
as the tubercle bacillus was discovered
ana the properties Of this parasite and
the manner of it's transmission became
known. He might add that he for his
part was aware of the full Significance
Oh TINS discovery from the first and so
would everybody have been who had
convinced himself of the casual relation
between tuberculosis and the tubercle
paclllus. But the strength of a small
number of medical men was inadeouata
to the conflict with a disease so deeni1
rooted in our habits and customs Suef
conflict required the cooperation Of
many, II possible of all, medical men
shoulder to shoulder with the state and
the whole population; but now the mo-
meht when such cooperation was nos
sipIe seemed to have come. He suppos ID
tnere was hardly any medical man now
fhn
, tuberculosis, and among the non-noedt-
. cal public, too, the knowledge of the
nature OF the disease had been widely
propagated. Now the question was
whether what had hitherto been done
ana What was about to be done asafnst
tupercuIosis really struck at the root of
tuberculosis, SO that 1t must sooner ~.
later die. VI
MORE OF INFECTION.
In order to answer that question r.
was necessary first and foremost to in
q I now lnfeet1en took place in tubercu-
losls. or course, he presupposed that yya
understood by tuberculosis on1v tbose
mofold conditions which were caused bv
the tuoercle bacillus. In by far the mo.
JorIty OF cases of tuberculosis the disease
haa Its seat IN the lungs and had also he
gun there. From this fact it was inst1,,
concluded that the germs Of the DISEASE.
l. e. the tubercle baciIIi, must bava GOT
INTO the lungs by Inhalation. AS to tha
question :! Where the inhaled tubercle bacil-
II mad come from there was also NJ
doubt On the contrary. we kneD1 Wei 4sb
certainty that they got into the air u,f+i
the spUtum of consumptfve patients
1hls spUtum, especially in advanced sta o.
Go oI IHe disease, almost always contain
ed tubercle baclli, sometimes in innrs5-
lN4o Quantities. By coughing, and even
speaking, it was flung into the air II, lii.
tie drops, l. e., in a moist condition. and
coufd at once infect persons who han
pe"eu 70 De near the cougners. But then
ing Ut also be pulverized when
orleo, III the linen or on the floor fo,.
instance, and get into the air In the forn,
Oh aust. In this manner a connnle+a
circle, so-called circuIus vitios,,s bo5
oeen formed for the process Of infection
from the diseased lung, which nro6TTco,1
PhIegm and pus containing tubercla baciI~
H. TO the formation of moist and dr.,
particles (Which, in virtue of their small
ness, could Keep floating a good while
- ele arr, and hnally to new infection
IL particles penetrated with the air info
a healthy lung and originated the cssas
anew But the tubercle bacAli might get
10 other organs Of the body in the same
way and thus originate other forms Of
TUBERCULOSIS. That, however, was a con-
sidefaoly rarer case. The sputuna OF con-
sQmptrve people, then. was to be regard
ed as the main source of the fnfectior,
OF tuberculosis. On that point. he SIM
posed, all were agreed. The ouestior,
now arose whether there were not otIte.
sources TOO, copious enough to demand
consideration M the combating Of tu-
bereulosis. Great Importance l1sed 70 ~
attached to the hereditary transrniseioo,
OF tuberculosis. Now, however # baa
been demonstrated by thorough fnyesti-
satlon that though hereditary tubArcu-
fos1s was not absolutely nonresident n