The San Juan islander. [volume] (Friday Harbor, Wash.) 1898-1914, 1911-05-05
tuberculosis, Tie WofId's
Worst Scourge. By Dr.. Caproa


derived from a knowledge of the
enemy, for while medical science is
still unable to cure it, it is able to
point out the way to avoid contract
ing it.
This was the beginning of the
study of bacteriology. We now
know that everything about US is
practically alive with heterogeneous
the floor, the walls, our hair and
clothing. the water, the air and
especially our expired breath.
Their shapes and varieties are NUM-
berless. Over 200 different species
have been described in milk alone.
AS soon as milk is exposed to the
air the germ that causes it to sour
begins to grow; and many other
kinds as we'll. five open a can of
meat, or fish or fruit for the fraction
of a second and close it again,
enough bacteria will have gained
entrance to destroy it. Any one Of
the myriads of microbes around us
would, if given enough to eat, de-
velop with frightful rapidity.
According to Cohn a bacterium
divides into two in the space Of an
hour, then into four at the end of
second hour. and into eight at the
end of three hous. In "a hours the
number will amount to more than
16 millions. At the end of two days
this bacterium will have multiplied
to the incredible number Of $50 bill
lions and in less than week they
would form a mass larger than this
earth. Fortunately the special con-
ditions under which they can grow
do not permit of any such rapid
development. To quote Cohn again:
without the activity of the bacteria
all created things would retain
their form and structure after death
as well as the Egyptian mummies,
or the wrecks sunk in the Dismal
Swamp, or the bodies of the man.
moth and rhinoceros frozen for I'M
told thousands of years in Siberian
ice with uninjured hair and hide.
Whenever number of tubercul-
Gus bacilli gain entrance to our
bodies a wonderful process ensues.
The phagocytes, the soldiers of the
blood, hasten to attack the invaders
and microscopic war takes place.
If the phagocytes are supported with
pure blood and fresh air the dam
gerous enemy is surrounded and de-
voured. On the other hand, it the
individual whose lungs are the seat
of this battle continues to breath
stale air, laden with. germs which
constantly reinforce the invading
enemy, the bacillus tuberculosis
gains foothold and marks the
beginning Of the end of another
victim.
could repeat to you from the
text books a long, technical descrip-
ton of the symptoms and in doing
SO could give you string of Latin
and Greek names. but | do not think
this would be either profitable or in
teresting. The main points to re-
member are: first the high death
rate-one death in every seven is
caused by it: second, the fact that
it is communicable disease.
| will try, however, to give you
some idea of the more noticeable
signs of consumption. Any cough
which lasts asinonth or more should
be suspicious, and especially so if
combined with loss of appetite, de-
crease in weight, some sweating at
night. and some little fever during
the afternoon or evening. Suppose
that some one near and dear to you
(and usually it. is some one in the
forenoon Of life, for death loves a
shining mark) perhaps your sister
or your daughter, contracts a cold
and continues to cough, and you
notice that she dose not care to eat
much, that she gets short of breath
upon the least exertion, and that day
by day she is becoming thinner and
does not join in games requiring
much exertion, and she tells you
that during the night she sweats
some. And now you notice that in
the late afternoons there is an UNI
naturally bright red flush on her
cheeks; this is not the rosy, joyous.
healthy color of young womanhood,
no! this is the danger sign; this is.
the flag that denotes the success of
the silent relentless invisible foe
that denotes that another victim has
been sacrificed on the altar of our
carelessness. say sacrificed. be-
cause this death could have been
prevented. If every person were
careful, in ten years time tuber-5
culosis would nearly be stamped out.
In New York city the mortality has
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