New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1904-04-03
,.on rntLnmLNG DIR. TRUDEAU.

At n meeting Of prominent physicians III 1 M
adelnhia last week. held TO organize u HaN1O1l-
society TO fight tuberculosis, d paper IiOiA, ."
Italian expert was presented. Inc autioi' ~
fessor Edward Maragliano, is at the heau .. an
t...f+,,+5or in Genoa devoted to researches into
this disease, and he recounteu DIS o"n NoHe
sIope on tbe subject. He Is satisfied that IL Is
l;,Io b,, i,ocuIatiou both to cure persons who
- 90 en- the incipient stages and to protect
healthy neoDle from attack, just as they can DC
savad from smallpox 10y vaccination. Inc woriu
has heard a good deal of such talk III the laS'
ten or fifteen years, and remembers only 700
well the false hopes excited by hoch Iahous
oxneriments. 1t accepts any fresh story OF that
Kind with great reserve, therefore, though not
without eager interest.
In tbe hundreds of attempts by psychologists
70 nrenare prophylactics and remedies from Da-
cilIi several different methods have been en-
nIovad One NAV give fairly satisfactory re-
Suits with one malady but prove Disappointing
with another In some instances 1t has been
feasible 10 produce immunity by series or In
fections of dead bacteria or of solutions or inc
poisonous substances secreted by such organ
isms When the plan was first tried with the
toxins of tuberculosis 1t did not work well.
This was Koch's programme. Dr. Irudeau says
of it: while it produces in the animal expert
"mented upon q certain degree of acquired re-
proved fatal il does not protect against subse-
"ouent incubation with living tubercle bacilh."
The Saranac Lake specialist himself made ex-
perimeuts with dead bacllli IN 1890 with the
same object in view, and became convinced that
he was pursuing the wrong policy. A second
system is based on the Introduction into the
tissues of the animal OF living germs which by
some treatment have been deprived of part
of their virulence. AS long ago as 1892, for in
hty
infections of bacill taken from birds, the avian
variety being notably less potent than those in
human subjects. Later he substituted human
bacilu. whose character modified by arti-
fcial culture for long period of time. Several
other experts have followed in the same path.
Behring now protects calves from tuberculosis
by inoculating them with living but attenuated,
human bacilli
Although Professor Maragliano did not reach
a conviction regarding the possibility of impart-
ing immunity 10 animals until several years
after DR. Trudeau had done so, he has not
proited as he might have done by the latter's
work. He seems to have followed the leader
shin of Koch. He has used dead bacli and
toxins to produce the desired effect on animals
Having gone that far, he takes the serum from
the blood Of the latter anil tries 1t on human
subjects, with the addition of an "infltrate" of
a recent culture. In other words, he filters
fluid containing bacill, rejects the solid portion
and reinforces his blood serum with the toxins
left In solution. While trifing and temporary
influence might be thus produced, one may well
fear that no permanent good would result The
Italian briefly and vaguely announces that the
stuff thus obtained has been tried both on
healthy and sick persons. Subsequent examina-
TONS he declares, showed an increased proper
lion OF defensive substances In the blood, and
there was dmnution Of toxic gymptoms in one
or more patients. great deal more expert
ment is necessary before any Importance can be
attached to this story. It looks very much Us