The herald and news. [volume] (Newberry S.C.) 1903-1937, 1922-09-26

There is q long line Of w

germ. There is long line Of won
derful men that have each contrib-'
.uted to the store Of knowledge, some,
of the more notable ones being
Koch of Germany, Davaine OF
France, John Mitchell Of America,
Oliver Wendell Holmes, the English
poet and Lord Lister of England.
SO having accurately described the
disease and having discovered the
germ that caused it, much had been
accomplished. However, this was not
the goal, for it is Of secondary int
portanee to the sick person as to
what organism inhabits his body. 1t
is medicine or treatment that will
c,,re or alleviate his conditions that
he desires and anything short OF Vnls
is worthless to him. So in the study
of the great world of microscopic
creatures, science studied the condi-
tions under which they thrived, and
how they could be killed. The ply
sician asked these questions: What
chemicals or medicine will Kill this
germ which is living in, my patient,
and while killing the germ, VIII work
no harm to ny patient? Under
what conditions must my patient live
to best promote his ability to take
care of his infection? Now 1t was
discovered that medicine as cura-
tive art was obliged to be very limit
ed. Most organisms are very resls-
tant and the human blood stream will
carry very little medicine TO the DIS
eased spot, if it be. remote. Yet we
know that malaria fever, amebic dys-
entery, syphilis, diphtheria, tetanus,
all have specie curative agents which
if given in time will cure. However
it is known that medicine is more
or less limited to merely assisting the
body to throw off the disease. This
seems disappointing at first glance,
. but the facts cleaned, as this investl-
cation progressed, began to crystal
lie into a specially that would be OF
+; even greater value to man than that
! Of the curative art. 1t was noted
persons who once had smallpox, even
in it's mildest form, were thereafter
| protected against future attacks.
! This was found true Of many other
! disease. This protection was known
as immunity. Also it was noted that
! certain diseases were more prevalent
in certain communities as malaria
! exists where the malaria carrying
MOSQUITO is indigenous. Further that
.typhoid fever was more prevalent IN
those communities where the fly was
breeding unhampered and surface
water or open wells constituted the
drinking water supply. Concerning
each disease germ then it has been
ascertained how he gets about, how
he manages to enter the human body
and what he will do after he enters
that body. We know under what
conditions it viii >duce disease and
under what conditions it may be
rendered inactive In short there is
now accurate knowledge of what
must be done to prevent the disease.
This knowledge has given rise to that
specially of medicine known as pre-
ventive medicine and now constitutes
the bllwark between man and the
terrible enemy, the germ.
In the last twenty years progress
in preventive medicine has been rap
id. The most terrible diseases of the
world can now be brought under con-
troll. Even in this present generation
we have seen smallpox swept from
our country until it now does not
constitute q disease Of Importance.
Never has the world witnessed a
more complete triumph than that OF
the army of, the United States in
France when there were only one
hundred and sixty-fve fatal cases OF
typhoid fever amongst FIVE million
soldiers. But these things have been
accomplished not through the intel
ligence and cooperation Of the peo-
pie concerned but rather through
compulsion. They have had their
lives saved for them without their
consent and in many cases against
their will. However the public, gen.
orally, is learning the lessons and
soon, no doubt, typhoid fever will be
banished from civilian life as effec-
lively as it was in the army. Your