Omaha daily bee., 1919-12-21
New Weapon Against Tuborculosis

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New Weapon Against Tubcrculods
A new method Of warning against
tuberculosis 10 coming into favor
among English practitioners. How
far 1t has been adopted In not stated
but 1t 10 . modification of the
"gassing' methods used In treating
the. "flu." Writing of the new prac.
tics. the Medical Correspondent Of
the London Times says:
It 10 becoming clear that add.
tional steps to cope with tubercu'
losis are urgently needed. Reports
from all parts Of the country en-
phasizs the large number Of cases
which exist and Information received
would seem to suggest that the
plight Of these sufferers IL bad
sometimes bad in the extreme.
The whole problem Of the disease
falls naturally into four parts. There
IL first of all prevention. in the sec
ond place there Ii cure, in the third
place there 10 the after-care Of the
cured case, and finally there 10 the
industrial question. Prevention
means segregation and to d lesser
extent the control of the milk traf-
flo ESQ that surgical tuberculosis In
infants and children may be pre-
|vanted). A great deal has been done
In this direction and publicity CAM
paigns are accomplishing their work,
If slowly. Notification, moreover
though It's critics point to its fall
ures, has not been without value in
indicating the whereabouts Of the
disease.
But 1t would seem that proven
ton has been too little concerned
with what may be called the bacter-
biological aspect of the subject.
Tubercle II seldom found a. q pure
infection: 1t Is usually associated
with other infectious conditions. The
prevention of these latter, notable
respiratory infections, may 60 a long
way towards making the human soil
unsuitable for the tubercle bacillus.
1t is a work of immense difficulty,
as the influenza epidemic showed.
On the other hand, the ideal Of a
system Of stations in which, per-
haps by the use Of gaSes, members
of the public could be disinfected in
their noses and threats, IL by no
means an impossible one The
work recently described by the
Times on the use Of gas In influenza
epidemicss Is being carried on and
may develop so that when colds"
and other respiratory troubles are
prevalent people may be able to be
avoid trouble. The effect Of a sue
cessful war against these minor all
ments'' would assuredly be evident
sooner or later in the tuberculosis
returns.
Nor is the subject Of cure being
left unattended to- Some early re-
suits Of an encouraging nature have
suggested the possibility of obtain
ing a drug capable of preventing the
growth Of tubercle bacilli in the
same way in which salvarsan pre-
vents the growth Of the syphilis or
ganism. Several very eminent work.
ers are devoting themselves to this
task and tho medical research COM
mittee is supporting their efforts.
Sanitorium treatment, II 1t has
not achieved all that was hoped
and this is a truism now--has help
ed matters to a certain extent But
the available accommodation 10 far
below the requirement. Great add
tions to the number Of beds are
necessary and must be provided II
the present state Of matters Is to be
brought to an end. Moreover, an
extension Of the village settlements
is desirable. These settlements have
been tried carefully and have proved
Of great worth. The idea is to pro-
vide the consumptive with work
suitable to him and to ensure that
he does not, by returning to bad
surroundings, drift again into inca
pacity. The government have done
we'll to support the idea and may
be urged to increase their efforts IN
this direction.
A comprehensive scheme would
thus secure diagnosis Of the case at
the earliest possible moment and
its immediate removal to a special
institution in which the most recent
and reliable means of treatment
would be available. The tubercu--
losis dispensary Is not the ideal
aimed at here because with the best
intentions little can be achieved at
such places The patient should be
under the close observation Of ex-
pert physicians and should be able
to obtain at once all that ID ordered
for him-for example, cream and
cod. liver Oil. He should live in
good surroundings and be separated
for a time from uninfected persons.
The next stage would be his trans
fer for period to colony where
the medical aspect Of the case would
be less Immediately important than
the industrial. Here he would begin
work and would work up" as far
as his strength allowed. When cured
he could then return to ordinary
life; II he relapsed he would go back
to the special hospital.
We are far indeed from this ideal
in handling the mass OF cases. But
we must attain to 1t nevertheless. for
the cost of tubercle 10 at present
enormous and the money had better
be spent in a worthy and useful way
than FILTERED on III thought-out
schemes which only asgravate the
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