The Logan Republican. [volume] (Logan, Utah) 1902-1924, 1921-12-03

Oltramierobe ls Parasite on Bacteria
and Effects Cure Of Such Diseases
az Dyssntsry, Typhoid Fever, Hem
orrhagle septloemla and 6ubonle
Plssue-Added to Drinking Water
Il Would Play an important Part
In the Control Of Epldemles.
The discovery of an ultramicrobe,
which is a parasite on bacteria, and
which effects a cure Of such diseases
as dysentery, typhoid fever, hemor-
rhaglc septlcemla and bubOnic plague
has been announced by DIR. f. die
relle of the Pasteur institute Of Paris.
This powerful, minute organism will
be able to play an important part In
control Of epldemics, according to
Doctor d'Herelle. He has been able
to make men, buffaloes and birds re-
sistant to various diseases by simply
introducing into them the ultramicrobe
which had become accustomed to
preying upon the payticular bacterlum
that causes the disease.
All that would be necessary to stop
an epidemic Of some disease, typhoid
for instance, would be to pour Into the
drinking water supply a very small
amount of the proper strain Of the
ultramicrobe, Doctor d'Herelle de-
clares. This would infect all of the
people with the harmless bacteria-dls-
solving ultramlcrobe which will pro-
tect them and prevent an epidemic.
The ultramlcrobe Is tasteless and for
all animals and man II is absolutely
harmless, Doctor d'Herelle has found
by experience.
This wonderful parasitic ultrami-
crobe has been named the 'bacterio-
phage" or bncteria-eater by Doctor
d'Herelle.
Brought to mind by this new dis
covery is Dean Swift's often-repeated
quotation:
So naturalsts observe a flea
Has smaller fieas that on him prey,
And these have smaller still 70 bite 'em,
And so proceed ad infinitum.
Exhaustive Researches.
Before announcing his work on the
made exhaustive researches into the
nature Of this ultramicrobe which
seems to hold the possibilities Of revo-
lutionizlng ideas In medicine and
biology.
Doctor d'Herelle explains the &C
ton Of the bacteriophage rs follows:
Take the case Of bacillus dysentery.
II a sample Of the feces of the patient
is taken, mixed with boulllon, and
then passed through a Chamberlain
filter, all Of the microbes visible I'M
der the miscroscope will be retained
In the fine pores Of the porcelain filter
and the filtrate or the liquid that
passes through will be clear, will re-
main so indefinitely and is In appear
ance sterile. Suppose that q case Of
dysentery is followed during its
course and that such a filtrate is pre-
pared for each of the 30 days of the
illness. II 80 tubes of bouillon Gull
lures cloudy with dysentery bacilli
were prepared, and II drop, out Of
each of the 80 flltrates prepared each
day were added to the corresponding
ly numbered cultures, the following
would be the result after IL hours in
cubation: Tubes l to 9, no change,
cloudy with dysentery culture; tubes
to 1S, perfectly clear; tubes 10 to
&c. cloudy like the first six. A strange
phenomenon has occurred In tubes 7
to IS caused by the adding Of the drop
Of filtrate. The bacilli have been dis
solved. And at the same time that
this dissolving began to take place the
patient began to get well, and on the
eighteenth day the cure was complete.
The presence of the dissolvlng princi-
pie and the cure coincide. This has
been found to be the case In other
diseases, even those that are not in
testlnal In character.
And this principle that appears in
the f1ltrate Is thousands Of times more
powerful than the most energetic anti
septic known. A billlonth part of q
cubic centimeter Of filtrate will dis
solve a tubeful OF dysentery bacilIi.
And unlike a chemical, the bacteri-
ophages will multiply themselves over
and over again. A mere trace OF the
liquid in the tube Of dissolved bacilli
will clear up another tube Of culture
and If the process is continued a trace
from the 999th tube will effectively
cause the solution OF the 1,0OOth cul,
ture.
But In the dissolved culture OF
bacllli there can be seen no microbes
even II the most powerful optical
means are employed. In fact, the
bacterlophages are 80 extremely small
that DR.. d'Herelle declares that with
cut doubt no human eye will ever
be able to see them and determine
their form even with the aid Of any
instrument that may be devised In the
future. The volume Of bacterlophage
70 practically equal to that Of a mole
Guile OF albumen. II Is only by dilut
ing n culture of bacteriophages many
many times, then adding a very small
| amount TO culture of bacilli and