Albuquerque morning journal. [volume] (Albuquerque, N.M.) 1903-1926, 1922-06-21
citation recently met at the New
York association building to con-
slider plans for curbing the pres
GERMS KEPT IN
LUXURY IN THE
HYGIENE LAB.
BY FREDERIC J. HASKIN.

10y
Washington, D. c.. June 20
There is probably no place where
germ can receive a more cordial
welcome or live a more eventful
life than at the hygienic labora-
tory of the public health service.
Germs Of any distinction at all
the treated with great considera-
ton here. Special food is cooked
in a shiny white kitchen for the
| enormous number of the labora-
tory boarders. The bacteria are
fed at government expense. Their
tastes are closely studied and ca
tered to.
Most disease germs like beef,
and in q white, glass front CABINET
you can see rows of squat glass
| bottles containing various kinds OF
carefully prepared bouillon. About
300 pounds Of fine grade lean beef
went into the bottles on these
shelves, q laboratory pathologisF
explains. This IS uDout weeks
ration. The food must be pre-
pared fresh every few days for
the discriminating bacteria. Some
of the soup on these shelves is put
up with sugar to suit certain kinds
of bacteria. Others prefer salt. a
| few demand dash of alcohol
and get it.
The meals of the bacteria are.
strange to say, protected against
germs, that is against other germs.
Big white sterilizing machines kill
all possible intruding bacteria be-
| fore the government employed bac-
| terra are introduced to it.
These petted bacteria are not a
parasitic. leisure class, however.
| They have important work to do
! in laboratory experiments and I'M
der the microscope. They go from
the kitchen in test tubes that are
, partly filled with their favorite
food so that they may grow and
multiply. Like human beings they
can work best under favorable con-
ditions. so they are kept at a con-
/! genial temperature. Most disease
germs prefer body heat, though a
/ lew ildlhN W PCS NIlI SipN tiL "a
most freezing temperature.
No one could estimate how many
| bacteria the hygienic laboratory
has on its hands at any one time,
Laboratory scientists, who aim al
eXactness whenever it is humanity
/ possible, explain that it is human
| ly impossible to keep track of num-
bers. They simply say that there
can be myriads of bacteria on an
inch of presumably clean skin or
| in n tiny cross section of tissues
One scientist who spent some
time counting the plague bacteria
in the stomach of flea found
1000. But no one knows how
many other bacteria were in that
pin point space, invisible to the
highest power microscope. The
bacteria of the commonest Of chill
dren's diseases, chicken pox
mumps and measles, have never
been seen. They defy the best en-
larging apparatus and they slip
through the finest filters.
How enthusiastically small these
elusive bacteria must be is under.
stood when you consider what min
ute work is required to deal with
the larger bacteria, those that car
be seen when magnified several
hundred times.
Serves the Whole Country.
In one room of the laboratory
building bits of tissue are prepar-
ed for study. These samples are
sent in by government doctors
from all over the country. Some
are taken from persons who died
of diseases that were never dag.
nosed. Others are samples of di-
seased tissues taken from living
persons in operations. They arc
sent to the government for iden.
tification OF disease.
| A piece of tissue about the size
or the end of a thumb is first
frozen on complicated little in.
strument. To do this carbon diox.
ide gas is put under high pressure
In tube and by turning the key
the gas is expanded on to the speci.
men as 1t lies on the instrumen!
plate. The gas takes the heal
from the air and water and gradu.
ally ice forms around the bit OF
tissue. Then a knife device cut:
off layers which will be mounted
on glass slides for examination un.
der a microscope.
Paper Is often used as a com
parative term of thinness, but SC
thin are these slices of tissues that
are cut off that it would take about
100 of them to b1.ld up the thick.
ness of onion skin paper. Even
in these fine layers of tissue the
scientist may find thousands OF
disease germs when the microscope
is turned on them. And these are
the larger kinds of bacteria.
Sometimes the hygienic labora.
tory works off and on for ten OF
fifteen years, using endless genera.
tons of bacteria family, in an at.
tempt to develop an antitoxin or
merely in the hope of adding soma
bit of knowledge to treatment of q
disease. Occasionally the disease
is a rare one that the government
has been asked to study. II re-
search would be of benefit to the
public the laboratory sometimes
lgives its time to such diseases even
Though they are not prevalent. II
1.-THE government had experimental
with Spanish influenza before II