The Savannah morning news., 1903-04-12

large doses into animals, until they
had acquired a tolerance to use a
medical term, for these poisons. In
other words, large doses could be in
jected without fatal effects. These
animals were called immune Then he
reasoned that if the blood of immune
animals could neutralize these specific
poisons, probably the serum from the
blood OF animals would contain heal
ing Substances. Thus he learned that
in he instances small quantities or
blooH or serum, when injected into
another animal, would prevent it from
dying after receiving an otherwise
fatal dose of poiosn. This same prin-
ciple has been applied in producing
immunity from toxin generated by
disease germs.
1.-THE tuberculine, serum or Koch's
lymph, as 1t was called, created more
of a sensation in the medical world
and in all parts of it, than anything
since Harvey's discovery of the cir
culation of the blood. 1t was the
first of the serum discoveries as ap-
piled to human beings. But it was
not a sound product; and, after
brief experience in the clinics. it was
a keen disappointment. But DR.. Koch
is still working on it, and he may yet
make it as distinct a success as the
diphtheria serum has proved and, as
firmly believe, the scarlet fever Sc
rum is destined to prove. One never
knows.
DIR. ArOnsOn's Remarkable Expert
ments.
DIR. Hans Aronson, a distinguished
bacteriologist of Berlin, is the man
who has brought the scarlet fever Sc
rum to it's present perfection. One
of the reasons that we have been so
late in getting it in this country is that
1t was not perfected until recently,
and that it is very slow in develop
ment. Even now, scientists do not all
agree that the real germ has been
found, but the majority are Of the
opinion that the streptococcus is the
bona-fide scarlet fever germ.
"Coccus means a micro organism
that is round, and streptococcus
means germs in spiral form, like
mans watch chain. There are num-
erous varieties of streptococci. Some
grow in pairs and are called diplococ-
ci. Others grow in punches, like grapes.
and are called staphlococci. Then there
is the pneumococcus, or the germ from
pneumonia, and the menningococcus,
the germ from meningitis.
'Dr. Aronson took some strepto-
SOCGl 4LOlll Tic lOilStI VI a SCNCIC NdSC
of scarlet fever and produced q pnre
culture of the same. He then gener-
ate6 the toxin therefrom, and by lab
oratCry experiment demonstrated to
his satisfaction that he could neutral
ize the deadly toxin by adding to
It some of the serum which he pro-
duced. DR.. Aronson injected several
horses with fatal doses of the strep-
tococcus derived from scarlet fever
cases. When they were made immune
he withdrew some of the serum ana
successfully utilized it for healing pur-
poses. Then what was possible in
the laboratory was transplanted to
the hospital ward.
But the credit of first disseminat-
ing the value of this serum belongs, to
Prof. Adolph Baginsky, the director of
the Kaiser and kaiserin Frederick
Children's Hospital of Berlin. 1t should
be understood that serum, when inject
ed into child or grown person, does
not kill the germ of disease. The Sc
rum simply neutraliZes the toxInes gem
Grated in the body. The toxincs are
the cause of death in the human sys-
tenl by producing paralysis, or degen-
GRAFTON of the heart muscles; OF, w
preventing the proper action of the kid
neys, they cause death by a process
which we call toxaemia, which simply
means blood poisoning. Thus. the OBJ
ject in injecting scarlet fever serum is
not so much to inhibit the growth of
disease germs as to prevent blood pois-
oning and the usual complications