The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1903-05-10
BACTERIA N
RIGID STATES
DR.. Macfaden Discovers Cure
for Typhoid Fever
OWN POISON KILLS GERM
Liquid Air Only Pressure That
Can be Used.


been found which can render germs of
this terrible disease absolutely harmless?
A great sensation has been created in
London by a paper communicated TO the
Royal Society through Lord Lister. This
striking paper was written by DR.. Allan
Macfayden, the director of the Jenner
Institute of Preventive Medicine
Dr.Macfayden stands very high in the
medical profession as one of the leading
psychologists of Europe He has already
made many discoveries which are utiliz-
I ed by the entire profession, and, in fact,
| his achievements in original research
have led to his appointment as the di-
rector of the institute so appropriately
named after that Jenner who made vac
cinnation possible. Dr. Macfayden has
been experimenting with the microscopic
cells OF the typhoid bacillus He thought
that here must lie the secret of the cure
/ of the disease for 1t is we'll known that
unless the bacillus finds fresh food and
! fresh environment the juices which it
| throws off act as a poison upon itself.
much as the air breathed by human
being or any of those elements already
used by the human system acts as
poison upon that system when reabsorbed
| by it.
| There is nothing more unhealthful we
all know, that to sit in a rom that is
tightly closed and continue TO breathe the
air over and over again. The bacillus Of
typhoid, minute as it is. is subject to
something the same conditions as the
human being and if it be compelled to
hae off he
death of the bacillus must follow.
This was the theory upon which DR..
Macfayden set to work. and he had TO
solve several very serious problems be-
fore he could consider his experiments
successful. 1t was easy enough to get
typhoid bacilli, for they could be bred
indefinitely. but how was he to get
those juices lying between the cells of the
bacilli to use as poison for the little ty-
phoid germs themselves.
He tried in various ways to attain this
object. but he did not wish to kill the
bacilla by any chemical, as that would
prevent the operation OF this plan alto
getfler. How, then was he to secure the
juices without interfering with the chem
ical action of these juices themselves?
Infinite experiment at last led him to
ues that powerful agent, liquid air. the
most powerful mechanical agent known,
for our trip hammers cannot exert the
power of liquid air when suddenly ex-
pIoded, and he wished to bring about
what might be called an infinite num-
Der of small explosions that would de
stroy the life in the bacilh without alter
ing the chemical condition OF the juices
between the cells.
The microscopic cells OF the typhoid ba-
cillus are so very small that no mechani-
cal agent known could be brought into
play to crush them, except the one of
liquid air He did not wish merely to
freeze the germs. for it was well known
that typhoid germs might be frozen and
yet retain their virulence.
After succeeding in crushing the ty-
phoid bacillus. IL was a comparatively
simple matter TO continue the expert
ment. but the first part OF crushing the
bacilli was the difficult one. No grind
ing machine however small. no system
Of files. nor the finest sandpaper. could
Re expected to tear these little beings
TO pieces. for they are elastic and might
b, RULED considerably without breaking
in their natural state. Dr.. Macfayden
obvisted this difficulty by bringing TO
bear the power of liquid air for over
coming this elasticity.
He made up his mind to freeze The has
ta:ia and liquid air was the agent thu
n employed. Then he 70 tid hat II 80
ground up the frozen bacilH they were
broken TO pieces. because :he process of
freezing had made them extremely brit
tie and he might put a few thousand
typhoid bacilli in a mortar freeze them
and then break them up by purely me-
chanical means. After this operation,
though allowed 10 become warm again.
the bacteria had lost all life. and he had
at last achieved his aim-the extraction
Of the juices between the cells OF the
typhoid bacilli without altering their
chemical quality.
When this was accomplished. DR.. Mac
fayden has progressed a long way to-
ward his great discovery. He now had
a substance which. while in itself dead
and incapable of causing typhoid fever.
was so chemically alive as 10 be deadly
poison to typhoid fever
The next step was to see whether this
substance was really poisonous 10 the
bacilli Of typhoid fever and he'tried mum
berless experiments upon animals TO
prove the correctness Of his theory. He
found that by injecting this substance in
small and frequent doses into a living
animal its blood serum was rendered
powerfully antitoxin and bactericidai.
That Is that guinea pig or a rabbit 50
treated would then be absolutely immune
against living typhoid bacteria. In 9TH
CT words. he had found the antitoxin for
the typhoid hacilli. or the poison which
would kill the poison IN the human syS-
tenn
The process BY which DR.. Mscfsyden |
viii manufacture his auti-typhoid serum
will he similar TO that followed in the |
manufacture OF the sntito1in for diph- !
liberia. utilizing the blood OF animals |
which have been made immune b. iu5ec- |
tons OF these juices OF the typhoid bacilH |
that are 50 poisonous to the living bac-
terra
In his paper read before the Royal |
Society Of London Dr.. Mscfsydeu sx-
planned al the technical details 81 the |
application Of the serum 70 animals. |
showing the success which proved that |
his serum win not only cure typhoid fever |
but viii protect those exposed 20 infec- |
ton from catching the disease
1t 70 conQsrabIs II this respect with>J