The Hawaiian gazette. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1865-1918, 1908-03-17
'DANYSz BACILLUS
AND RAT k|L[|NG

anu purpose IN tue WSE TUT tue cNtSA-
mination Of ratsi" said DR.. Currie. of
the United States Marine Hospital
service. who is meteorological suthor-
ity on the rat. ''Bat it alone will
not exterminate the rat. Ii can be
made to serve a purpose which nothing
else will. snd it can be used where
other things can not be. But any hope
that by il a disease can be introduced
among rats which they will spread
among themselves to their own exter-
mination. is not at ali warranted by ex-
perienee.
"Dr. Danysz bacillus was used in
San Francisco for two years. from 1908
to 1905. For long time l was the
only one in the service who had any
faith in il. But our experience there
demonstrated that it was an efficient
agency in the fight against rats, and
in some degree our experience demon
strsted its limitations.
Zone OF the difficulties in its use
| is its uncertainty One tube Of the
bacillus may prove very effective and
the next two or three be entirely in
nocuous. There seems 10 way Of
remedving this. DR.. Danysz himself
saws it is uncertain. 1t is probably
because of this uncertainty that such
contradictory ideas regarding it have
been entertained. Some experimenters
receiving an effective tube have con-
eeived an extravagant opinion of its
effectiveness, and Others receiving IN
effective ones, have adopted the Opin-
| ion that it is OF no value.
"The bacillus as an aid in the ex-
/ termination of rats is the result Of a
very ingenious adaptation or inversion
Of the principle Of the survival Of the
httest. The bacillus itself is the bacil-
! lus of disease Of mice which very
slightly affects rats-most rats not at
all But DR.. Danysz by q very in
genious process has increased its virus
power. His process is something like
this: He secures 3 large number of
healthy rats and having made a eul-
ture of the bacillus from the diseased
mouse he innoeulates q certain number
of his healthy rats. The first OF these
that siekens is Immediately taken out
Of that cage and put into another
cage of healthy rats. The first of these
TO sieken is taken out and put into
a second cage of healthy rats The
process is continued for six times. In
each case, OF course, it is the weakest
rat. the one most susceptible TO the
disease. through which the bacillus is
propagated. By the time the sixth is
reached the bacillus has acquired a
virulenee sufficient to make it deadly
disease TO rats in general. A culture
! Of the bacillus from the last rat is
made and sealed in tubes. and this Is
the commercial form in which il Is
made and distributed. The contents
of these tubes must be used within
three weeks or they become innoeuous.
That is why it would be difficult to
get it here for use. 1t is made by
the Pasteur Institute in Paris, and
now BY the Pasteur Institute in Chi
eago. It was from Chicago that we
got it for use in San Francisco. But
it would be difficult TO get it from
there within a short enough time to
be available.
"H. Haekfeld Co. received guam
tity OF what is called 'Ratin' from
Denmark few days ago. This is the
commercial name Of That 1 think is
the article being used in Denmark, Of
which mention is made in the World s
Work, quoted in the Advertiser We'd
nesday. But it has been too long on
the way, and though 1 have used it
on some rats 1 have here, it has not so
far affected them in the least.
"The method OF using the Danysz
udclllus Is lLl5. lHLU uceA DLOtA
culture the contents OF one Of the tubes
is placed. The next morning the
baeilli have multiplied TO the capacity
of the culture AS much corn meal
is mixed with this culture as it will
absorb and then this is placed where
the rats viii get IT. If it is eaten
BY the rats within a few hours, it is
effective against them. II it is not
eaten within a few hours, It loses its
virulence. 4 second culture from the
first. loses its virulenee That is one
Of the peeuliarities Of It. 1t has to
be renewed constantly from the virus
that has passed through the success
sion Of rats.
"In San Francisco this Danysz ba-
eillus was used exclusively in the four
teen blocks comprising the Chinatown
Of before the earthquake. We went
over those fourteen blocks once a week
for two years. We could 90 into a
Chinese house and ask 10 be allowed to
place it; they would object saying they
had children and they were afraid In
such cases 1 would eat some Of it right
IN their presence 70 show that il was