Los Angeles herald., 1910-08-07
GERM THEORY OF DISEASE

1t is evident to every thinker that pre-
vention is much more important than
cure. Sociologists are devoting an IN
creasing amount of time in attempting
to discover the cause of poverty, be-
leving that when it's cause shall be
known it may be largely prevented.
Public hygienists and broad-minded
physicians are doing the same in re-
gard to disease. The time is certain
ly coming when a large part of the
illness which now afflicts humanity
will be obliterated. This, as | have
before limited, will be done by thor
oughly understanding the cause and
nature of disease.
We need not go very far back in
the history OF the race to come to the
time when disease was looked upon
as a punishment for sin. At an earlier
time it was actually believed to be due
to the entrance into the body of evil
spirits. Quite recently in the history
of the race it came to be believed that
disease results from the violations of
conditions necessary for life ana
health. 1t seems certain that many
diseases are due to causes of this kind.
For instance, one becomes wet and
chilled, or he sits on a damp seat or
one which readily conducts heat away
from the body, and in this way he dis
turbs the normal circulation of the
blood Some disease due to disordered
is I0e result VI lHlS.
Other diseases seem to be due to the
development in the body of micro
organisms. By this term l mean liv-
ing beings too small to be seen by the
unaided eye. Many of them can only
be seen by using the highest power of
the microscope. These organisms
which live in the body are both animal
and vegetable. The vegetable organ
isms are known under the general
name of bacteria, and the animal or
ganisms belong to the sub-kingdom
known to biologists as protozoa. In
this article it is my intention to speak
only of the bacteria.
These organisms are everywhere
present, and many of the changes
which occur in organic matter are due
to their activity. Among these changes
may be mentioned the souring of milk,
putrefaction of meat, the fermentation
of beer and cider and decay of wood.
and in the animal body serious changes
in it's normal function. These changes
in common language are called dis
ease. For convenience of discussion
bacteria are spoken of as pathogenic
and -pathogenic, pathogenic bac-
terra being those which produce disease
and -pathogenic being those which
either do not live within the animal
body at all, or If they do live in the
animal body they produce little or no
that all that was necessary to produce
q given disease was to become infect
ed with the bacteria capable of pro-
ducing that disease. Careful study of
bacteriology has convinced us that this
is not the case.
We have learned that bacteria cap
able of producing a wide range of DIS
eases are widely scattered and that
wherever we may go we are likely to
come in contact with them, and even
inhale them in our lungs or swallow
them; but the bodies of both people
and animals are capable of offering
great resistance to the entrance of
these invaders of their tissues. 1t is
now known that normal human blood
has the power of dissolving and de-
stroying micro organisms to a marked
degree. 1t is also known that the white
blood corpuscles are capable of absorb
ing them and causing their complete
destruction 1t is only when the gen
eral health of the individual is seriously
lowered or when the number of in
Vaders is enormously large that the in
dividual is in serious danger of the
bacteria establishing themselves in the
tissues of his body. To guard ones
self from bacterial disease several
things are necessary. First, one should
never expose himself needless to path
ogenic bacteria. To avoid this eX-
posure one should keep away from all
unnecessary dust and places where
there is decaying organic matter. He
should protect himself against flies
and other insects which may be the