Daily camera., 1901-03-18
SOME TYPHOID TESTS
Scientific Investigation of Posi-
bility of Transmission.
Experiments with Dom estic An lima L.
Result in the DixprOval of Certain
Recently Formulated TheO-
rles ON This Point.

Prof. William Royal Stokes, city bac-
teriologist and professor of pathology
University of Maryland, lately com
pleted mary experiments at the sug-
gestion cf DR.. John S. Fulton, secre
tary of the state board of health, which
prove that neither the dog nor cat,
horses nor COWS, pigs nor mice. nor any
domestic animals can transmit typhoid
fever to man, says the Baltimore Sun.
The occurrence of many typhoid
cases in an isolated farming community
is not entirely explainable by the wells
which supply it. For the typhoid bacilli
could not very easily penetrate many
depths of soil to enter the we'll because
the soil acts as filter and no bacteria
are found below six or eight feet. The
possibility of infection in the wells
from the bodies of animals seemed to
many dical and lay minds ready
explanation of the direct contamina-
tion of the water.
DR.. Fulton and DR.. Stokes. however,
were not satisf with this explana-
tion. and their .--portant experiments,
undertaken with the result of setting
aside theories which had held the
minds of medical men for years.
1t was found that when typhoid
baci,li were fed to dogs, eats. pigs,
calves and others in quantities so large
that they ought to kill an elephant or
regiment of men. the animals were
not in the least disturbed, nor did they
suffer illness of any kind.
Anthrax. rabies, glanderS. 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 transm missible.
The manners in which these era a-break
ing experiments were carried on is as
follows: The typhoid bacillio Of the most
virulent form were obtained by DR..
Stokes from patients suffering with the
most malignant form of typhoid fever.
ard the bacilli were placed on gelatine
:; IA put in an incubator and allowed TO
grew in such a manner that they would
not infect anything or anybody. Eight
C such colonies" as they are called,
were grown.
Two chickens, two white rats and a
six-week-old calf were then taken. A
flask with two quarts of bouillon was
inoculated with typhoid bacilli, and
after the typhoid germs had grown in
it for two days one-half Of the bouillon
sai la -, -
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-infected
material every day for two weeks. Cul-
lures were also taken from the animals
every day. but no colonies of typhoid
bacilli were ever reobtained from them
They seemed to digest them as easily as
child digests candy.
The next set of experiments were
performed in similar manner with
larger quantities of typhoid bacilli for
a month upon a 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 bacil-
lus, so malignant TO 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 intestines of any of he do
mestic animals experimental upon