The Birmingham age-herald., 1914-05-03
Homely Illustrations in Health Bulletin No. 2"
 of City Health Officer
ETERNAL CONFLICT
 GOING ON IN BODY
Germs and White Blood Corpuscles Always Fighting-lf Corpuscles Win Means Freedom From
 Disease

garden, a fence, dog and a pig
 are four of the objects peculiarly fitted
 for an illustration which City Health
 Officer pr. R. M. Cunningham uses in
 today's Health Bulletin. No. 2.'' Dr.
 Cunninghams first letter on health
 was published in last Sundays Age
 Herald and was the cause of consid-
 ersble comment last week.
 His object is to inform the average
 1ayman of scientific health problems
 which concern every individual and ev-
 cry community in language free from
 technicalities so that all can under
 stand.
 His talk this week is on "Bacteria. Microbes and Germs" and letter on every phase of different disease and health problems will be printed from
 him from time to time, The Age-Her- aid having offered the space to pr. Cunningham and he willingly accepted
 "In our last talk we discussed the outside. visible conditions. In this let ter is discussed the invisible (to the unaided eye) living organisms germs that produce disease. Take a sharp pen ell and piece of white paper and make the smallest possible dot; then make small line in length about two or three times the diameter of the dot; then a spiral line about the same length or little longer than the lat ter, and you will see the shape of the the three primary varieties of germs to-wit: Cocci. bacilli and spirilla when magnfied from 500 to 100 times, that is from fn the pencil marks. The introduction of these microscopic germs into the body Is known as infection. They may be Introduced with the breath, with food with water or other drink, through abrasions on the skin mucous mem- brane and by inoculation Each of the infectious diseases has it's own par ticular germ and special manner of in- troduction.
 "A contagious disease is one that requires contact or near contact When Introduced they may act locally or throughout the body. When introduced there Is at once struggle between the germs and the body cells partic- ulaTly the white blood cells. If the germs whip. the disease follows; if the body cells whip the germs are Filled and there will follow no disease TO illustrate; Let us take a garden a dog, fence and q pig. The garden represents the body, the dog the white blood cells. the fence the skin and the pig the germ. Now imagine a hole in The fence or the gate is left open. The pig enters, the dog jumps on the pig and there is a fight If the dog wins the garden is safe if the pig wins The garden is lost. A little thought will work out the various problems here presented. For example. if the pig could not live or multiply on the outside or was killed there would be none to enter. Illustrating the import ance or me environment. If there were no hole In the fence or the gate kept closed. he could not get in, illustrating the importance of strong body pro,,- erly guarded. If the dog is strong and vigorous he could always whip the pig. the power of tn. body to resist. Finally the pig. WI .ch has had more or less of hard time on the outside of the garden, finds everything within the garden recessary to his growth and the r.ultiplication of his linq and he proceeds to grow fat and to the harm of the garden hndN the prosperity of the pig. The virulence of the germ is represented by the strength of the pig and the re- sistance of the body by the strength of the dog. When the germs are in troduced and win the battle they grow and multiply in the body by the mill lions During this time they produce the lesions teffects) in the body and the symptoms characteristic of the particular disease they produce. During the time they produce a poison which more or less poisons the body: later an is produced. which arrests the disease. Hence infectious diseases spcakfng generally, are self-limited. If the patient survive until the limit is reached he get swell: if not, he dies Immunity protects from some of the Infectious diseases. This is natural to some species of animals to certain germs in others if Is acquired
 The way and manner these germs escape from the body. what becomes of them when discharged from the body, whether they live or multiply or die and under what circumstances. and the details Of their introduction into the body are all practical questions and will be discussed under each disease. Next week we will talk on typhoid fe- yer R. M. CUNNINGHAM. NJ D.
 f City Health Officer.