The Chickasha daily express. (Chickasha, Indian Territory [Okla.]) 1899-current, 1908-11-11
IMPORTANT DISCOVERY MADE BY
GOVERNMENT SURGEON.
Tests Made by Or. Wherry SHOW That
Ordinary House Insects VIII Trans
NIT Leprous eaeIllI--ExperI-
nnents with Rats.

Washington. The highly important
discovery has been made by William
b. Wherry. surgeon OF the marine hos
pital service. that rats have leprosy.
and that the ordinary house fly. after
feasting upon a dead leprous rat. will
carry and deposit bacilli Of the dis
ease. The conclusions reached are
not definite that the fly transmits the
bacilli Of rat leprosy to human beings.
but the surgeon Is of the opinion that
It is quite possible for the fly to trans
NIT human leprosy from diseased to
a non-diseased person.
Dr. Wherry, in an important report.
quotes noted authorities in expressions
of well-founded belief that leprosy is
frequently acquired through flies. The
insects gather upon the ulcers of
lepers and later bite we'll persons. In
one instance a man who had been bit
ten by ny in leper settlement no.
ticed the first outbreak Of the disease
at the place where the fiy had bitten
him. The inoculations Of the fly are
small. but when made under favorable
circumstances carry leprous bacilfi
with them, It is believed.
The very careful examinations
made by Dr. Wherry at various places
In California seems to confirm the
theory that the fly. after coming in
contact with leprosy, will deposit the
bacilli Of that disease for several days
afterward. In the last few months
Dr. Wherry examined 1851 rats at
Oakland, Cal. for ieprosy. and found
20 infested with the disease. some Of
them in the advanced stages. One
leper rat was found staggering In the
streets of Oakland, blind and defense
less from the disease. The disease
among rats is believed to be transmit
ted from one to the other by the ba-
cilli lying Just beneath the skin. Blood.
sucking insects upon the rats carry
the disease from the sick to the well,
just as It is now admitted flies do In
cases Of typhoid fever.
DR.. Wherry used the carcasses OF
leper rats to inoculate flies. The car.
casses were exposed to flies In glass
jars. After many flies had been col
lected the Jar was screened. After
feeding upon the carcasses the flies
soon began to deposit speeks upon the
sides OF the Jars. Examination in
almost every instance SHOWED the
presence of the bacilH of rat leprosy
The surgeon found that the flies took
up immense numbers Of the bacilli
from the carcasses. When fed upon
livers and other organs OF well rats
no bacilli were found.
DR.. Wherry continued his important
Investigations with human lepers. Al
tho Alameda county infirmary he cap
tured two flies from the liberated por
don Of the face OF an advanced Ieper
Within an hour after the flies had
been placed In vials the specks depos
tied by them showed bacilli of the dis
ease the same as in the case of the
rats. For many hours afterward the
specks contained lepra-like bacilli
The surgeon was even able to count
the number of bacilIi in one speck. us
ing the approved methods for that pur
pose. In ono speck there were 1,l5l
bacilli. Experiments upon guinea
pigs with the bacilli failed to trans
init the disease to these animals.
The conclusions of DR.. Wherry are
that there is no certain evidence that
rat leprosy and the human disease are
the same, although It is now well es1
tablished that the plague is transmit
ted almost wholly to human beings
from rats coming In contact with food
or clothing. The taking up Of the Far