The daily telegram. [volume] (Clarksburg, W. Va.) 1901-1926, 1914-04-15
GUILTY
Of SPREADING
The PLAGUE
British Experts at Last Solve
Problem That Long Baf-
fled Scientists.

e
emerged from che uplapds Of g pro-
vince in the tar interior of China Il
has spread to every continent. An ell
fective remedy for the disease IS still
to seek, although . prophylactic has
been devised which eonfers a moder-
ate degree of Immunity.
When English investigators began
the study OF plague in real eaTnestI
ltneY said they must find its cause be-
fore they sought q cure. No one them
knew how plague arose or how thel
infection was disseminated. In some
mysterious fashion it was comTnunt-
Gated to man from rats, but what the
4 intermediary between rat and rat and
! between rat and man?
Patient Research.
Patient, specialized research. which
has now extended over nearly ten
years, found that the Intermediary
i was the rat flea. The flea sucked the
blood of an infected rat, became itself
I infected. and when It fed on another
rat communicated the Infection. FieasI
4 desert a dead rat. and when no other
7 rats are near will bite human beings
The rat flea was discovered TO be the
4 source of the pandemIc Of plague
which has ravaged India.
Link byl ink the chain OF evidenceI
was ests blished, but although the proof
I has long been conclusive enough, there
Fl
! 1T was easy To understand how the heaI
! became infected. Fleas arc like Mr.
l Weiss Martians, and require warm
i blood for their sustenanoe. When they
suck Infected blood into the stomach
\ the plague germs multiply enormous
| IL within them; but upon disscctiopI
4 the germs were never found anywherel
I save in the stomach. When. therefore
/ the nes became thirsty again and in-I
I serted its 'pricker" and mandiblesI
4 once more into rat or man. how did i'll
/ infect its new host? That was the
1 puzzle, and ii bafied the Indian PlasueE
/ Research Commission and many othcrI
scientific workers all over the world
Tor nearly a decade.
/ Problem * solved.
The problem has been solved by A.
/ W. Bacot, entomoloEist TO the Lister
Institute. aud Dr. c. J. Martin, r. II. s..
director or the Institute, who. with AMI
ADVISORY committee, OF which he is a
member. has exercised general control
over the work Of the commission
Many men study insects, but Mr.. Ba-
cot breeds them. For a long time he
aud DR.. Martin studied at the Lister
nstitutc the mechanism OF the trans
mission OF plague by fieas. At length
they noticed. with sono surprise, that
although certain plague infected ncas
sucked vigorously al the shaver abdo-
-,
slomachs. That discovery led to the
solution Of tho mystery.
It was found that when plague
germs enter the stomach OF a flea they
soon form solid jellyllke masses on
bacterial culture. A flea like many
other insects, has at the opening Of
its stomach a wonderfully contrived
chamber called the proventriculus. al
sort or valve covered with toothlike
cells which closes during the process
Of digestion. What happens is that
/ the jellylike Jumps of germs drift for
ward from the stomach into this
chamber and I'LL It mp completely.
The valve IS chokcd. and no food can
pass into the stomach. The wretched
flea gets thirsty and tries in vain to
satisfy its cravings. II sucks and
sucks. but only succeeds in distending
with blood what for simplicity we may;
call its gullet.
The way to the stomach Is blocked.
The hea's frantic efforts drive some
OF the plague germs forward from
the valvc chamber into the Sullet.
When It reIaHes some Of the blood ii
has sucked surges back by recoil from
its Sullet into the puncture made in
the man or the rat: but the blood has
become Infected. and on its return
carries plague germs with ii. Such Is
the simple expla nation OF the process
which has pe-pteNed experts for so
long; but 1t has required a vast
amount OF minute Investigation to
prove it beyond doubt
Much Doubt CIeared Up.
The theory of reorganization, which
was first speculatively advanced long
ago, is, in fact. the true one. Its final
discovery clears up several other
doubtful points. Thus It was believed
that a plague infected flea underwent
a cleansing process afte= a certain
again bite an infected rat became
free of plague germs. 1t Is now found
that the belief is only partially correct
The fiea does after a time dispose OF
its Jumps OF bacterial culture by auto
digestion. and the way to its stomach
may possibly become cleared; but the
process or obstruction Is liable to re-
cur, and on the whole flea once In
fected has very little prospect of fu.
ture happiness.
In a cool. damp atmosphere it may
live lang time: but heat soon kills a
stravinG flea with its guIIet plugged
up. Deprived or fresh fluid. the insect
quickly shriveis in a hot dry climate
Thus, 1t is believed, we know exactly
why in Northern and Central India
plague epidemics abruptly cease when
the hot weather begins.
SuII Much to Learn.
How. then. does 1t reappear again
next cold weather? There Is much
stiu to learn on that point, but the
probability is that 1t fingers during
the hot months among rats and deaS
below ground. The neas are fewer;
the rat mortality is much smaller and