Perth Amboy evening news., 1922-06-21
BENEFICENT BACTERIA Is
DESCRIBED BY HASKIN
Daily Letter by Frederic j. Haskih

counting the plague bacteria in the
stomach of a flea found 1000. But
no one knows how many other bac-
terra in that pin point space, invis-
IDLE to the highest power microscope.
| The bacteria of the commonest OF
children's diseases, chicken pox.
mumps and measles, have never
been seen. They defy the best en-
larging apparatus, nd,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
large bacteria, those that can be seen
when magnified several hundred
times.
Serves the Whole Country
In n room of the laboratory
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 diagnosed. Others
are samples of diseased tissues TAX
en- from living persons in operations.
They are sent to the government for
Identification of disease.
A piece of tissue about the size
of the end OF a thumb is first frozen
on a complicated little instrument.
To do this carbon dioxide gas is
put under high pressure in a tube
and by turning the key the gas Is
expanded on to the specimen as II
lies on the instrument plate. The
gas takes the heat from the air and
water and gradually ice forms
around the bit of tissue. Then a
1xzsfa J1,;oa o,,te of 1axare -uhinh
will be mounted on glass slides for
examination under a microscope.
Paper is often used a a compare
tive term of thinness, but so thin are
these slices of tissue that are Gu,
off that it would take about 100 of
them to build up the thickness oil
onion skin paper. Even in these fine
layers OF tissue the scientist MAJ
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 or If
teen years, using endless genera.
tons of a bacteria family, in an at
tempt to develop an antitoxin OIL
merely in the hope of adding come
bit of knowledge to treatment of q
disease. Occasionally the disease II
a rare one that the government has
been asked to study. II research
would be of benefit to the public
the laboratory, sometimes gives III
time to such diseases even though
they are not prevalent. If the gov.
eminent had experimental will
Spanish influenza before it becam'
epidemic a few years g the re
suits of the work might have bee
of great value.
Tuleremia, a rather new malady
was recently called to the attention
of the government because of it
occurrence in Utah. The govern
ment scientists know that the dis
ease is something like bubonit
plague that it attacks rodents and
is carried by a certain kind of fly
A cure. however, is not yet found.
Scienticts Contract Diseases
At one time six employees work
ing in the laboratory caught thil
strange disease from their expert
ments with laboratory animals. TIL
Public Health Service took care o
them. but there was very little tina
could be done except make the pa
tents comfortable, and let the dis
ease run its course.
Devotion to science is marked a
the Public Health Laboratory. Dur
ing the war one scientist went abou
with a wrist watch like device Of
his ARM, and under the glass a choic'
collection of coolies. While tn
blood thirsty captives fed on hi
arm. the doctor impersonally stud
led their habits.
The laboratory is working wit
tuberculosis, ~dysentery. syphilis
smallpox and rabies, and many othe
diseases. 1t has spent some tim
experimenting with anthrax and ais
with botulinus poisoning, two dii
eases that r not so troublesom
now as they were during the wal
The frequent occurrence of both wa
traced to a relaxed vigilance due I
the high pressure of war condition
Infected bristies in shaving brushe
gave men the cattle diseases of ar
thrax. insufficient heating left tn
dangerous botulinus germs active /
bottled olives.
Cases of botulism still occur, az
cording 70 a laboratory bacteriolt
gist who has conducted numerol
experiments with this disease. The
are a warning against c~arelessnes
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