The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1919-06-01

be that along with the bacteria used in
preparing the remedies the bodies or poi
sons Of the animal parasites which are the
real cause Of the disease are included. It
will readily be understood how this hap
pens in the case of typhoid. where the
f1agellated parasites are so closely associ-
ated with the rod-shaped bacteria. Ger
tainly all these lines of investigation point
strongly to the conclusion that all germ
diseases are caused by animal parasites
and not by bacteria, which are harmless
and probably beneficial
Pointing to- this conclusion Dr. Charles
B. Lipman, in the latest bulletin Of the
University Of California, proposes the new
term bacterial fora" to take the place Of
"bacteriology," since bacteria have been
largely removed from the disease-produc-
ing field.
The investigators have discovered why
the animal parasites are able to Withstand
the juices Of the human. stomach. W. e.
and E. L. Burge, in the Journal Of Para
sitology, say:
The oxidative processes Of the living
parasites enable them to withstand the
action Of the digestive juices Of the animal
stomach by themselves oxidizing our
engine solution Immediately in contact
with them"
Still another interesting discovery is
that the animal parasites of disease are
very common in stagnant water This may
prove to have a closer relation than has
been supposed 20 the fact that mosquitoes,
which carry malaria and yellow fever
germs, breed in stagnant water.
DR.. H. B. YocOm one o. the numerous
University of California men investigating
this matter, has been studying a little
worm called "euplotes patella," which
lives in stagnant water and is apparently
a disease producer. He says it lives or
bacteria, which it watts into its mouth by
means of its feelers.
c. w. Hahn is one of the many investf
gators who assemble at Woods Hole,
Mass, in Summer to study little para
site worms which enter into fish and other
water inhabitants to produce diseases
therein, and later get into human beings
and lower animals that eat fish, to con-
tinue their deadly disease causatiOn. He
also finds that former investigators were
mistaken concerning the functions of BAG
terra and mistOok little worms for them.
Henry r. Ward, editor of the Journal
Of ParasitOlogy, and Thomas B. Mogatb
discuss another type Of the little worms,
the nematodes. They say:
The parasitic nematodes are of con-
spicuous Importance in the field Of human
disease, in diseases of domestic animals
and the diseases of fish. They outrank all
other types as disease producers. North
American fresh-water fish have yielded a
number Of forms of these little worms in
trout, whitefish herring, German carp,
crappie, yellow perch, wall-eyed pike, dog
fish, ETC."
In view Of these discoveries it NAV be
seriously questioned whether it is wise to
eat the scavenger fish, such as dogfsh.
which have lately been recommended on
account OF their cheapness.
DR.. Robert Hegner, a distinguished
pathologist of the University of Michigan.
in newly published work gives this list
OF diseases as due to animal parasites:
Human diseases that are definitely
known to be caused by protozoan parasites
or are connected in some way with them
are malarial fever, yellow fever. social dis
ease, yaws, recUrrent fever, African tick
fever, sleeping sickness, dysentery. kaIa
azar, hydrophObia, smallpox and intestinal
catarrh.'
Another disease newly recognized as
being caused by an animal parasite is the
horrible liver huke disease. recently intro
duced into California from Asia
II has, indeed, been long known that
some diseases, including malaria and
sleeping sickness, we're caused by animal
parasites, but this does not lessen the i'm
portance of the discovery that most germ
diseases are caused by them.