Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1919-03-01
THINKSINFLUENZA
GERM DISCOVERED
DIR. G.. Y. White Believes
British Officer Found
Bacillus
DIED FROM EXPERIMENT
Contracted Disease From Mi
crobes and Succumbed
to Pneumonia
DIED FROM EXPERIMENT

Dr Courtland V. White. city bsc-
teriologist, believes that the bacillus iso-
lated by Major II. @. Gibson. OF the Brit
ish army. just before his death in France
from pneumonia. probably is tho dstinc-
tive germ Of influenza.
News Of Doctor Gibsons death has
just been received from London. Ever
since the epidemic the British army Of
hcer, with Major Bowman. of the Ca
madam army medical corps. and Cap
tain Connor. Of the Australian army
medical corps, had been experimenting
in an effort to isolate the bacillus which
Is the cause of the disease.
Major Gibson had published a pre-
liminary report OF his work in the Brit
ish Medical Journal December Il. 1918.
Recently. when working with peculiar
ly virulent strain of the bacillus. he de-
veloped influenza himself and died OF
pneumonia which developed later
Germ Not Visible Under Glass
The British experimenters had con-
cluded that the disease was caused by
q germ SO small that II is not visible
under the microscope and passes read
lily through the porcelain filters used in
meteorological work
II knew that similar work had been
done in France by Doctor Nicalle." said
Doctor White today commenting upon
Major Gibson's death 81 knew that
group of British bacteriologists we're
working along the same lines also.
Imagine both Doctor Nicalle and Doctor
Gibson were working on, the same
theory. which | believe is the correct
one, namely. that the disease is caused
by bacillus too small to be visible, and
capable of passing through the porcelain
filters we use.
"Doctor Nicalle, like Major Gibson
was able TO set up the disease by in
oculating monkeys with cultures OF this
bacillus Whether this will finally be
denominated the influenza bacillds,'
do not know.
"It is clear that the Pfeimer ba-
cillus, Isolated in 1892. and heretofore
looked upon as the germ which caused
influenza, is not the true influenza ba-
cillus. We have isolated the Pfeiffer
kacillus In the recent epidemic. but IL
Aes not produce the meteorological
Lotion under test that would lead US
believe 1t caused the disease.
'During the last great epidemic OF
Influenza before this recent one, back in
$50, bacteriology had not advanced far
knough for much to be learned about
\e germ which causes the disease.
Pfeiner BaciiIys Found
Toward the end of the epidemic the
\iffer bacillus was discovered. II was
ause Of a laboratory accident when
Pfeiffer bacillus was being studied.
lting in the inoculation of one of
lhacteriologists with the germ and
rs development OF symptoms, OF infiu-
enza that led to the conclusion that
Pthe Pfeifrer bacillus was the causative
agent OF influenza"
Doctor White said that the small
bacillus found by Major Gibson had not
been Isolated here.
Right after the epidemic we began
work in a big way in the city bacteria.
2 logical laboratories. But the needs o.
the war took away so large a part oi
out staff that we had TO abandon this
research work and stick TO routine We
are just beginning a new series of ex
ptriments, but it is too early to talk oi
results"