Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1904-12-31
CURE ,0F TYPHOID
An Iowa Physician Has Made a
New Oiscov.
cry.
ABLE TO KILL BACTERIA
Patient Must Swallow a Soft Rubber
Tube Which Acts AS
Canal.

DIR. William j. Latta, physician OF
the Hotel Monte, at Colfax, Iowa, was
asked as TO the details of the new
treatment which he has discovered for
affections of the small intestine. He
exploited his discovery and the prac-
tice, SO far as carried out at the time,
before the Jasper County, Iowa Medi-
cal association, and doctors every
where have been talking of it,
Il am not anxious for any notoriety
connected with the idea," said DR.. Lat
ia, 'but if description of the treat
ment will be of service to any person
in the world who is ill., the people are
welcome to it. Personally, feel con-
fident that very recent cases which
have fallen under by observation could
have been brought to different and
more happy results had this treatment
been known.
Tube is Art of Surgery.
THE use of the soft rubber tube has
come to play an important function in
thefart of medicine and surgery Re
cess in Berlin in direct treatment or
tubercular lungs by conveying to the
affected organ anti-tuberculin creosote.
etc. Why should not a similar mode
of treatment of affections of the intes-
tines be adopted successfully?
Especially would it seem reason
able to treat typhoid fever cases in
this way, the practical difficulty of
reaching the intestines with the tube
having been solved. My experiments
in the latter have been perfectly sat
iSfactory. l took a small, thin, pure
rubber tube about three feet in length.
one end trimmed to a feather edge By
cutting on the bias. and attached n
sponge being attached to the end of
the string.
Dipped In Melted Paramn.
Both string and sponge were dip
ped in melted parafine. | swallowed
the sponge and tube at 10 p. M, ate
freely of a lunch, slept fairly well.
and experienced slight nausea. In
the morning there were signs of bile,
alkaline in character, the inference
being that the tube was in the duode-
mum. Four quarts of water poured
into the tube passed in half an hour,
demonstrating the location of the end
of the tube. DIR. Turner examined a
specimen of the degecta for bacteria
and found myriads of them.
-Four or five hours later we poured
into the intestines through the tube
a solution of sulphate of copper( about
one pint in 100000, following the suS-
gestion of DR.. George T. Moore, of the
government, who has made extensive
investigations along this line. He says
that a one to 10000 vitriol solution
will destroy the bacilli of cholera and
typhoid in water. but that it takes a
much stronger solution when found in
milk
In insignificant Numbers.
He found that one to 300 solution
was necessary when they were sur
rounded by this medium. To deter
mine the effect of the vitriol solution
on normal bacteria, DR.. Turner kindly
examined the degecta and found an
insignificant number as compared
with the first specimen.
Accepting the above made state
ments as true, the following deduction
can be made:
Given an early diagnosed case OF
typhoid fever, where the bowels have
been properly emptied. and introduce
ing tube as above described, washing
the intestines with a solution of vitriol
one to 10000, every three hours, four
times will. it seems to me, destroy all
bacteria and restore the patient to
health"