Evening star., 1909-07-10

towns like Nancy and Verdun the cholera
cases are to be suppressed in the re-
ports. French cities must be put in
strictest sanitary order Should the cpl
demic burst out openly the territory will
be isolated by the troops.
The enemy is Inicrobe calico "the
comma, because of its comma form.
Its characteristic-even among mi
crobes-is to multiply with frightful
rapidity. In twenty-four hours a single
cholera bacillus can give birth to 25e.-
00oo0o.06o of others. A moments ne
Slect of the most scientifically nursed
sheets, bed clothing and utensils swarm
with uncountable billions. Any one of
these can start In on it's own account
and produce 100000, 100000 new ones
each of which. in the twenty-four hours
following, can produce 2o0.0O0.0 100000
more. And so on: try to multiply the
figures it is like a bad dream. Let A
single handkerchief or spoon be washed
in common water and the cholera IS
off for the river.
\ single house fly feeding IN the sick
room can fill town up with cholera
germs. The present cholera in Ger
many was brought in q canal boat load
ed with nothing but wood scantlings.
Choleras general route is known. 1t
is not meaningless that the demon of
the tower of Notre Dame looks to the
east Cholera comes from India. where
destroy the entire popula ion. but for
one fact which you shall learn shortly
from the Pasteur Institute--they have
less fear Of 1t, do not get in panic. 1t
Is the true moral of this story.
Cholera crosses Persia and the Cau-
casus. penetrates Russia and falls
straight on Austria and Germany. By
seaMeheap sea ooa I, modern transpor alton
go from India to Mecca. To and fro
they spread cholera in Syria, Egypt.
Tunis and Algiers. The Lisbon cholera
OF 1906 thus came from Algiers.
great powers are taking extra severe
measures with the Mecca pilgrims.
Every boat must have on board a doc
tor He examines every, passenger
tends the sick gratuitously and en-
FORCES strict sanitary regulations.
Arriving in the Red sea, they must
put in the great lazarette Of kamaran
Island for rigorous examination. If
to Djeddah quarantine. There. if a
new case breaks out. passengers go In
quarantine on shore while the boat and
all its contents receive powerful dis
infection.
Along the land routes from Asia to
Europe military posts stop every trav-
eler. One by one they pass before
doctor naked but for species of dis
I'M &c cd DulnTODe. white tllSlt tlolitto
are being purified. From Persia into
Russia lately there have been real bat
ties between the posts and armed bands
of oriental merchants. arrogantly re-
fusing disinfection. In this way. 1t is
supposed the present cholera in Ger
many first reached Russia.
Now comes the tale Of the Pasteur
Institute and the late justification Of
the chi1dren's pilgrimage to Notre
Dame tower.
In 1898 DR.. Haffkine of the Pasteur
Institute found not a serum, but a
kind of vaccine against cholera.
Dr. Haffkine took q culture of the
comma bacillus, and. after eliminat-
ing all their toxines, killed the live
microbes by strong heat. Injecting
them under the skin of animals he
found that animals so treated did not
catch cholera, even when enormous
quantities of living microbes We're put
into their intestines or their blood.
1t Is not vaccination on the usual prin-
ciple There has been dispute about 1t.
Some contend that its effects are purely
moral. but how important the moral
factor is in cholera will be found again
in the moral Of this story.
In any case the English tried the Haff-
kline vaccination. and they found 1t so