The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1907-05-12

| anatrobos, II IL necessary hston az AZ
tempt iS made 70 cultivate z gwen D1S.
terium that its liking or dislike Tor ar oe
inasmuch as men study human diseases
solely for the purpose o. deviS'pee nnioS
and certain slaughter Of bacteria Is q netVeI
worthy elaborate investigation, Some
species are exceedingly tenacious Of me-
but all, may be killed. Ill
There Is, for instance, the tubercie pseh.
lus, which resists drying for two months
and Is able to live In the air, as a sort o.
hne powder, for weeks. When compieteiy
dried these tough little organisms can
resist a temperature OF 2l2 degrees rshId
heit-the boiling pointer an noHr no1 JnS
a temperature OF 10 degrees pelo" iroo|'nS
for the same length Of time. -N.A
The gastric Juice Of the stomach, whicn
kills most germs quickly, has no appreclapi
effect on them, and many common anu
septics fail 70 Eill them, But ihere u ons ~
them in short order. Drop a 8 per cent
solution OF the acid upon them and tney aLe
In less than a minute. Direct sunhgnt
also kills them rapidly, ..h,os
The knowledge. OF these iaots enaU ne
us to make intelligent Efforts 70 etop tne
spread Of tuberculosis. Because We nov
that be germs when dried live a Q
while we warn consumptives to aToid
expectorating in public places by tne
same token we know that II oonsumpllHes
discharge their sputum into reoeptaolgs
in which a small quantity OF oarpoho aolo
Is placed they will run no risk oil iniectine
! persons around them.
In general, direct sunlight Is one oil the
most effective germicides. But II Is olteh
difficult or impossible to employ 1t, ana
90 a great many chemical substances arc
used as substitutes. Carbolic aoid, as we
nave seen, Is one OF them. merouric ohlor-
ide-corrosive sublimate-is another a
solution OF one part OF mercurio ohlorlde
to a thousand parts OF water is fatal WITHIN
a few minutes to the great majority Oh
germs.
The bacterium OF anthrax. however,
demands a stronger dose, and to XIII II
II is necessary TO immense 1t II a solution
of one to 100, with a few drops OF strong
acid added. Corrosive sublhmate is SOLO
One Of these dissolved in q pint OF water
makes a solution Of one TO a thousand
and is a very convenient and effective
antiseptio. ~
Other efficient germicides are iodine
terchloride, a solution OF chlorine gas IL
water. formaldehyde, permanganate oil
potassium, iodoform and sulphurous (nol
sulphurio) acid. All Of these, 1t must bt
remembered. are poisonous to human
beings as we'll as to bacteria, ana 30 II II
we'll to handle them very carefully.
Germs are 30 low in the scale Of creation
that most OF them have no sex. They
perpetuate their species. as II rule, by thu
simple process Of dividing into two parts
each Of which afterward becomes a ful
fiedged germ.
A bacterium often reaches maturity
and begins to divide twenty minute aftel
it is born. As a result all germs multiply
with amazing rapidity and the d~esoendanus
Of one individual In twenty-four hour
may number 1900, 600. Some germs, o
course. increase much more slowly. ONT
Of these fortunately 10 the tubercle bacillus
Those bacteria which do not multiply
by division produce a thing called a spore
which may, be called, for the sake OF clear
ness, a rude sort OF egg. The spore mrs
appears as a minute granule in the body
OF the bacterium. Later it grows and y
cast off, and at some subsequent time ]
develops into a bacterium itself.
These spores are extraordinarily e n
cious Of life and even when all the grow
germs around them are killed they some
times live on. The result 10 that wher
they mature and become bacteria TN
disease which they cause reappears, despit'
the fact that it has seemed to be cured;
This happens in the case Of malaria. Tit
malaria parasite is an ANNA and not
plant, but IL produces spores much Tx
those OF the bacteria. Quinine is capabl'
Of killing the malaria parasites In q patient
veins, but it's power TO slay the spores SEEM
to be less, and 80 1t happens thai the diseae'
sometimes recurs long after the patient II
thought to be well.
At present comparatively little 10 know
about this process. but Investigations ar
under way all over the world, and befor,
long, no doubt, it will be possible to xii
malaria spores as effectively as we now xii
malaria germs.