The San Juan islander. [volume] (Friday Harbor, Wash.) 1898-1914, 1911-05-05
tuberculosis, The Worlds Greatest
SCOurge---Address By Dr.. CdprOn

|
the name tuberculosis is applied to
the disease.
The cause of this disease is a
specific bacillus and the presence of
a favorable state in the tissues of the
body for the growth of the germ.
And as the disease is constantly
present all over the world, the
specific germ is always at hand, and
as large number of causes produce
a conditi.n of the tissues favorable
to their development, the disease is
only too prevelant.
The bacillus tuberculosis enters
the body by several pathways. of
which the most common is undoubt-
edly the respiratory passages. 1t
also gains access by way Of the ali
mentary canal with the food. and
occasionally by accidental inocula-
ton.
When the infection takes place
by inhalation it usually occurs by
the bacilli being dissipated through
the air in the form of dust, or by
their expulsion in small masses of
sputum which, falling on pillows,
bedding, or clothing, are easily taken
into the respiratory passages when
the the sputum dries. Flugge has
shown that when patient coughs
with his mouth open the elected air
may contain droplets holding the
bacillus, thereby rendering the inn
mediate neighborhood of the sufferer
especially dangerous. There can be
no doubt of these facts for they
are proved by the very great
frequency of the disease in the lungs,
particularly when opportunity exists
for infection with dust. and the fact
that susceptible animals can be in-
|fected by this disease if forced to
breath dust which has been contain
mated by dried tuberculous sputum.
Kingsford found in an analysis of
339 cases that ZIG occurred by in
halation and IS by ingestion. That
tuberculous infection by way of the
alimentary tract occurs very COM
monty as result of drinking milk
from tuberculous cows, or milk that
has been contaminated by the spu-
tum from tuberculous human beings,
has long been held. The infection
of milk by coughing or sneezine by
persons suffering from this disease
occurs quite frequently. Infection
by the meat of a tuberculous animal
can only occur if the meat actually
contains the bacilli and is eaten un-
cooked. Medical publications have
teemed the past few years withrather
heated debates as to the communi-
cability of the disease from cows to
man. Some psychologists in Ger
many doubt it, but the majority of
those best qualified to judge now
agree that no doubt exists of its
transference. The bacillus of tu-
berc61osis appears as a straight or
slightly curved rod, devoid Of mobi-
lity, and reproducing itself by fissiun.
When they tell US that if the star
Sirius. the brightest of fixed stars.
should cease to send its light to the
earth it would be 20 years before
we were aware Of the loss; and when
we reflect that light has a velocity
of nearly 20O, 200 miles second and.
that it takes twenty years to travel
the distance, we are amazed-our
minds fail to grasp the immensity OF
space. And yet the wonders of the
infnitesimal world. it seems to me.
are equally marvellous.
In the year 1850, Davaine demon
strated the bacillus Of anthrax in
the bodies Of animals which had died
of splenic fever. It was first thought
however, that the disease might
arise by Spontaneous generation
And it was not until Pasteur, IN
1853, unveiled the mysteries OF
fermentation and later disproved the
theory of spontaneous generation
| that the relation of cro-organisms
| to disease began to be understood.
Davaine, stimulated by the re-
searches Of Pasteur, renewed his
studies Of the bacillus of anthrax
and fully identified the organism as
q cause of the disease. ! might say
| that the reason the bacillus Of