The Redwood gazette. [volume] (Redwood Falls, Minn.) 1873-1940, 1913-11-11
William Brady, M. D., Writes in New
York Sun of New Minnesota
Discovery

Normally the centre of medical
learning in America hovers uncertain
!, ly between New York and Philadel-
phia. But every little while of late,
we are reluctant to admit, the medical
centre of this continent undergoes a
marked DETECTION from its customary
narrow limits of auctuation and
sweeps boldly cross country in west
erly direction-no to Chicago, bless
you, no-to a little Minnesota village
called Rochester.
The Mayo brothers are the surgeons
who put the stir in Rochester. The
world, or at least that portion of it
afflicted with gallstones or goitre, and
its doctors are beating a path to the
doors of St. Mary's Hospital at Roch-
ester, where the brothers Mayo conduct
their wonderful machinelike clinic for
the benefit Of the medical profession at
large. From this famous clinic there
comes forth regularly bulletin of
progress in surgery, medicine and
allied topics, every bulletin veritable
prize package.
The latest bulletin describes a novel
method of dealing with that indiscrim-
mate evil the diphtheria carrier-the
unlicensed pedler of diphtheria germs.
We have been struggling continuously
and more or less in vain with the diph-
liberia carrier these several years. De-
tecting him now and then by means of
throat cultures we have isolated him
against the better judgment of his
friends, who can't see why perfectly
healthy person should require medical
attention; saturated him with antitoxin
to no evident purpose and finally
thrown up our hands in despair.
Health authorities within the past
few months have inaugurated a sort of
last resort warfare against the healthy
diphtheria carrier. Live cultures of
the staphylococcus, or germ of suppur-
alton, have been sprayed and swabbed
in nose and throat with the hope that
the pus producing germ might over
ride or choke off the diphtheria germ,
just as clover seed in lawn overrides
the festive dandelion. But alas, this
desperate measure has not proved
safe; several instances of severe ton
silities have been reported to have
developed promptly after the first
staphylococcus spraying. And not
even healthy diphtheria carrier cares
to play the martyr even though he is
menace to his unsuspecting associates.
So they undertook to develop less
dangerous remedy out in Rochester.
An epidemic of diphtheria had appeared
in the Rochester State Hospital for the
Insane and the local health officer was
appealed to for assistance.
On investigation the source of the
epidemic was traced to the kitchen of
the institution, where cultures from the
threats of fifteen cooks and helpers
disclosed one throat with diphtheria
germs present in businessiike numbers.
The culprit, like many another innocent
germ carrier, had never had diphtheria
and felt quite well, thank you. Never
theless the unsympathetic authorities
isolated her Immediately, and the
epidemic stopped right there.
OF course, the epidemic might have
stopped suddenly that way of its own
sweet will, but doctors are an un-
reasonable lot at best. They not only
locked up this innocent woman but
applied all sorts of antisepticS to her
throat for period extending over two
weeks, determined to clean out her
bacillus factory if such thing were
possible. No less than eight different
cultures were taken from her throat
during the two week period, but each
culture returned from the health de-
partment laboratory with the same
discouraging report: Diphtheria bac-
I'LL present.
Finally the doctors themselves got
mad. They couldn't blame the poor
woman for protesting against her in
generation. 1t was a shame, that's
what it was, and they'd see what they
could do about it, so they would. They
held a council.