El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1912-07-13
D. C.. July 10.

~ 4
M Do YOU suffer from rheuma-
tism? And if so. have you been
vaccinated for it yet?
If is the newest discovery in medi-'
cine. and one OF the most important
ever made. The cure it promises cat all
events. in very many cases) should be-
stow an immense boon upon mankind
Incidentally it solves a mystery
which has long seemed past finding out
namely, the secret Of the cause OF
rheumatism, one of the most common
and most distressing OF human mala-
dies.
..Vaccines" for the cure Of affliction
are appearing on the market, bearing
the labels of one or two large drug
making concerns. They are prepara-
lions Of germs-the very microbes, that
is TO say, which cause rheumatism Put
I'D in tiny bottles, each containing one
desc. they are administered to the pa
tient by hypodermic injection
rheumatism Is germ disease
specific bacterial injection. It may even
be conta EiOus. This is the discovery IN
question. such q notion until recently,
Of course, was hardly dreamed o. bul
the fact has been 80 far proved tnal
there are a number-have been ldentl-
fled.
rheumatism has been attributed to a
great variety OF causes, but WITHIN re
cent years physicians have generally
agreed that it was due to an excess OF
uric acid in the blood For this re2-
son it is that sufferers nave uSuaiIy
been forbidden TO eat meat, Wnlcn mas
a tendency to promote the secretion OF
uric acid
It is now found that there was not
IL
the slightest basis Tor sucn IhSoIy.
Indeed, deprivation OF meat IS llkely 70
be injurious to rheumatic patients, DeE
cause il upsets the proper balance o.
their diet
it is an infection OF a secondary kind;
that Is to say, consequent upon some
other trouble For instance, a person
Is attacked by tOnsi1tiS- The malay
passes. but some of the tonsiIitis mi
crObes have meanwhile found their y ay
into one more Of the joints OF the Doqy.
they multiply there, feeding upon the
tissues, and make trouble Inc resuAt
is rheumatism.
Useless Organs Troublesome.
Those useless organs, the tOEslIs, are,
l. appears very common source o.
rheumatic infections. 1t often happens
that children are attacked by cheu-
matte fever, and the disease drags
along for months In such a case the
physician should lose no time IN max
ing an examination of the tonslls, and
if they are not in a perfectly healthy
condition, cut them out 1t IS not
sufficient to amputate them IN the or
binary way; they must be eXtlrpated-
Decayed teeth may be cause OF
rheumatism. A badly decayed mouth
is a germ factory, and the microbes 1t
produces are largely organisms OF IN
fective kinds, which may find their
way TO other parts of the body Very
many people suffer from trouble OF
the gums which, when sufficiently ad-
Nanced, causes the teeth to 1all out
L is attributable to certain bacteria
which may, under suitable conditions
be productive of rheumatic disorders.
An attack of grip may in the same
way, through secondary infection, give
rise to rheumatism. It is at least sus-
pected that bronchitis, scarlet fever
typhoid fever, or eryslpelas may DO
the same thing. Likewise pneumonia
Thus it appears that the mischief may
originate in great variety OF ways;
and in the light of this new knowledge
there is no reason for surprise that
j. should have been for so long
time a puzzle to physicians
The disease is the Oldest known in
the history of the human race Its rec
ords are found not in books, but in
bones. The bones Of Egyptian mum
mics dating back as far as 1900, B. c.
show determinations Enthusiastically due
to rheumatism Likewise II is with
skeletons dug W from ancient Roman
graves in Britain, and from the ashes
of POmpeii. Now for the first time We
really know something about II, and
the cause being understood there Is
an excellent prospect Of cure
In a great majority Of instances the
infection seems TO be due to "Strepto-
,cocci'-a tribe Of bacteria which, com
prising a number OF species, cause
blood poisoning and suppuratinS all
ments. They are always found in de-
cayed teeth. and, when they attack the
tonsils,r give rise TO the serious and
highly contagious malady called ton
siIitis. They get their name from the
fact that they are spherical in shape
and hang together in chains, much like
strings Of beads.
Breed Microbes in Beef Soup.
The new Taccines for rheumatism are
preparations of these chain-miErobes
made by breeding them in beef soup.
and then killing them by raising the
fluid to the boiling point The soup,
containing their dead bodies by billions,
is the vaccine
This is exactly the same principle as
that on which the well known anti
typhoid vaccine is made and the meth
Cd of its use is the same-that is to
say. by hypOdermic injection. The bac-
terra in the soup can do no harm, be-
tain a specific poison. which causes the
cells of the body to manufacture at
shortest possible notice large quanti-
ties Of an anu-pOisOn, for defensive
purposes This anti-poisOn IS deadly to
any microbes of the same species that
may be living in the joints or other
parts Of the anatomy.
Here, then, in q nutshell, is the whole
theory involved in the new treatment
for rheumatism. But, obviously, in