Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1907-06-15

maps nauseaied and your arm swells
and grows sore
IN week or two you recover--and
thereafter you are immune, not only TO
enWpoN but also to smallpox In some
persons this immunity lasts ror life
IN others II lasts but n few years
Hence the medical rule that for safety's
sake everyone should be vacclnated
every two or three years.
10 understand exactly how vacclnes
ana antitoxine produce artificial immu-
NIFTY II Ia necessary 10 recall the fact
mat the germs OF disease In their efforts
TO destroy the lives OF human beings
Work IN TWO ways In some diseases
the germs themselves do the evil work
by clogglng and breaking down the it's
sues one such disease Is tuberculo-
sis and another Ia eprosy.
In other maladles the germs sccrete
violent poisons, which on being distrlb-
uted through the body In the blood Grip
pie and disable vital organs, much as
strychnine, carbolic acid or snake poi
son cripple and disable them, Such a
disease Is diphtheria and anDther OF
the same class is lockjaw. Again there
are diseases which work In both ways.
Dtphlher!a Is one such and pneumonia
is another.
Now the problem before the bacterio-
loglst Is to produce something 10 Kill
the germs In tho first class OF ma la dies
and something to neutralize the poisons
In the second. In the third class either
method of procedure is allowable.
though In practise the ,eFsns them
greatest effort IS put into the fight
against their polsons.
In all Of tho processes so far devised
the capacity OF the blood and tissues
for producing natural immunizing sub
stances within themselves is called into
.l.,o,
blood Is stimulated by the introduction
OF cowpox germs into producing sub.
stances capable OF Staying the germs,
not only OF covpaX bui also of small
poS, ana these substances. by the fact
that they remain in the blood a long
while after the last cowpox germ has
been killed. produce immunity 10 SMALL
po1.
IN word, the presence OF germ
always stimulates the blood to produce
something TO kill that germ. That
something has been given different
names by different investigators. but all
now agree that II appears in the yell
low serum In which the red and white
corpuscles OF the blood float about
When II is present the white corpuscles
gobblo the germs and kill them. When
II is not present the germs put the
White corpuscles 10 fight.
Now 1t happens that when the blood,
ny any cause or device, Is Stlmplate1 m
10 producing anti-germ substance
enough 10 kill small number of active
germs or a large number OF weak and
disabled germs, 1t does not stop when
its work is done, but keeps on manu-
featuring large extra stock OF anti
germ substance This extra stock,
remaining I'm the blood. causes the i'm
munity which follows an attack OF yell
low fever. The problem before the bsc-
teriologSt Is TO make the blood produce
lot OF this substance whenever no
so wills it.
Ordinarily he does II by introducing
into the blood quantity OF attenu-
ated germs In his laboratory ne has
a large stock OF germs OF all sorts at
all times. and there are half dozen
ways whereby he may attenuate aud
stun them One way Is 10 expose them
to the air.
Another way Is to pass them
through the tissues of some animal
which has a natural antipathy to
them, and in consequence is capable
of weakening and paralyzing yhem.
Still another way Is by heating them
until they are Just short of dead. Vet
another WAY Is by paralyzing and
half killing them with chemical anti
septics
When the ba ,tcrologist has stun
ned a mass Of germs by one OF these
processes he injects a number of thom
into the veins OF the man he desires to
immunIze. At once the blood of this
man begins 20 secrete substance
capable of killing them. This sub
stance is soon present In sufficien,
quantity to kill all OF the weak germs