Every evening, Wilmington daily commercial., 1922-06-21

tiesue the scieutist may nnd thou
sands Of dbease germs whou the mi
crOscope is turned on them. And these
are the larger kinds OF bacteria.
Sometimes the Hygienic Laboratory
works off and on for 10 or ~ years.
ueing endless generations OF q bacteria
family, In an attempt % develop an
antixotin or merely in tho hope OF add
ing some bit OF knowledge 10 treatment
Of n disease. Occasionaliy tho diecase
is a rare one that the government has
been aeked to study. II research would
be OF benefit To tho public tho
laboratory sometimes gives It's time
to euch diseoaeS even though they are
not prevalent II tho government had
experimental with Spanish influenza
before It became epidemic a few years
ago the results Of tho work might have
been OF great value.
Tuleremia, a rather new unalady.
was recently called 70 the attention os
! the government because OF its occur
renee in Utah. The government
scientists know that tho disease ls
something Ike bubonic plague. that 4
attacks rodents and is carried by
| certain Kind Of fly. a cure, however.
Is not yet found.
Scientists Contract Diseases.
At one time six employees working
in the laboratory caught this strange
disease from their experiments With
laboratory animals. The Public Health
Service took care Ot them. but there
WAC very little that could be done e7-
cept mako the patients comfortable
and let the disease run it's course,
Devotion TO sciencs Is marked AZ
tho Public Health Laboratory. Dur
ling the war one scientist went about
with wrist watch Ike device on his
larrn. and under the glass choice
lcolleetiOn Of cootlcs While the blood
thirsty captives fed on his arm. tho
doctor inpersonalIy studied their
habits.
The laboratory is working With
Tuberculosis. dysentery. syphilis.
smallpox and rabies. and many other
diseases. Il has spent some time ez-
lperirnenting with anthrax and also
botulInus poisoning. two diseases that
are not 80 troublesome now az they
were during the war The frequent
occurrence Of both was traced 70 =
relaxed vigilance due 20 the high
pressure Of war conditions. Infected
d bristles IN shaving brushes gave men
the cattle disease Of anthrax. In
sufficient heating LEFT the dangerous
botunnus germs active in bottled
D olives.
Cases Of bntulisrn stfIl occur. accord
' ing 10 a laboratory bacterioIOgist who
no cd
with this disease. They are a warn
ing against carelessuess, not only "a
packers but 70 the public "a we'll
u Several cases have been attributed q
canned spinach. IN one. a larg.
i quantity of spinach vas go hastilJ
!" cooked that the heat did not Kill n,
bacteria IN the center Of the pot. Thes,
bacteria could have been destroye,
by heating OF the can. and prope
cooking before serving would hav
been q safeguard.
l. There IS now an antftoxtn <or botu
1r ism. The Hygien1c Laboratory ha
y established q standard OF potency. 7
le knows what strength OK the toxin
is sufficient 10 Kill. and the strength c
III anttoxin that Is necessary to neutral
d lze that amount OF toxin Laboratorie
Z from different sections OF the countr
- send IN samples OF this and othe
VI antitoxtns for comparison with n
government standards.
" All the biological products Of n
- country are controlled by the Hygieui
-. Laboratory. Diphtheria antitoxil
=, tetanus antitoxsn. treatment for rabie
nm vaccines and serums are tested fc
n sterility and potency at III
he laboratory. This Is one OF the mo,
d important functions OF this branc
IS I the government.
RS Many Of the governments careful
es raised bacteria so into antitoxin
Pc Laboratory work is one OF the fe
We useful careers that are open
.se pathological bacteria. Il is encoura.
lat lng u reflect that several billion. or Z
70 the scientists say. myriads. Of DANCE
in Gus gerIns are working quietly for Il
OF public in the Hyglenic Laboratory.