The Montgomery advertiser., 1902-11-16
SERUM FOR SCARLET FEVER.
Dx. Charlton Of Montreal Describes
His New Treatment

Dr. George Charlton, Rockefeller fellow
OF pathology Of MoGiu University, the
discoverer OF q serum which has been sue
eessfuliy used. to combat scarlet fever.
has made public a statement in which he
rays that it does not cure scarlet fever.
but It's timely administration in severe
eases tends to allay unfavorable symp-
Toms. overcomes complications. and. given
1t an early stage of the disease, 1t pre-
vents q fatal termination. II have, for
now close upon two years-to be exact,
since Jan. 26, 1so1-been engaged upon q
berries OF studies Of cases of scarlet fever
ndmitfed to the Montreal Hospital for In
kectious Diseases, and upon the treat
ment of the same. During the time in
work III cases of scarlet fever have been
studied. bacterfologically. . Cultures have
bee ntaken from the tonsiis and pharynx
ln all these cases, and streptococci have
been found in gixty-1ve, or b5.5 per cent.
pf those examined. From twenty-five of
The severe cases cultures have been
taken from the blood during life, reia-
n yaly large quantities OF broth being en-
ereptococci invariably present when the
blood had been obtained during the first
ave days OF the disease"
6treptoccoccus. however, IN the Doctors
opinion, is not the essential agent OF the
disease. Streptococei were not found in
ina mild uncomplicated cases. These
cases gave no trouble, and after the first
xesk or 50 require, little more ss;d than de-
MY archaeological studies. carried
on at the time when / was also observing
the cases chnicaliy, bred in me the con-
viction that the streptococcus leads to
secondary infection and that this secon-
dairy streptococcal infection Is the cause
Of most, II not all, Of the unfavorable
complications of the disease. The Sc
verity.of the attack appears to be due
TO the concurrent, or, as Roger employs
the term, symbolic action of this micro
organism, and the causative agent OF
H. L. AWz.7t-
f. yiduaL much as Il have been noted that
streptococcus infection renders diphtheria
more severe, though the Ill effects of this
symbiosis in scarlet fever appear to be
still more marked.
''Thes administration of anti-streptococ-
Gus serum was, therefore, indicated to
counteract the effect of the toxines Of
the stfeptococcus and to bring about the
destruction of that organism. For 1t ap-
peared that If this could be accomplished
the cases would resolve into less Sc
we're type and the prognosis would become
more favorable.
so far since June "a last, have en-
ployed 1t in the treatment of fifteen cases.
These cases were all severe, and the ma
5ority of them, have no hesitation In
saying, under ordinary treatment would,
IL they had not terminated fatally, at
least have suffered from lingering ard
troublesome complications. AS 1t was
almost free from complication. Not one
of the thirteen has suffered from albu-
minuria nor from suppurative otitis
media In all. upon admission to the
hospital there was involvement of the
cervtcal glands, but in only. two instances
aid this go on to s1ppuration; the usual
termination was by resolution within
1orty-eight hours after the injection of
the serum.
Another interesting feature Of these
cases was the rapidity with which des-
paamation proceeded. 1t was usually
completed by the thirty-second day of the
disease, and thus it frequently happened
that a case was discharged before a
milder one which had been admitted at
the same time, but had not been treated
by the serum.
1.-TWO deaths have occurred in this
group of fifteen cases. One of these pa
hents was On a dying condition when
admitted to the hospital, and lived only
four hours. The other. upon admission,
was suffering from q severe pneumonia.
and. though improving somewhat, sue
cumbed Ave days later to an attack of
aaryngeal diphtheria."