The Dawson news. (Dawson, Ga.) 1889-current, 1923-10-30
Medical Men See Victory in War on Tuberculosis.

Has science at last discovered a
cure for tuberculosis, Is the age-o1d
scourge about to yield to the attack
of laboratory experimentation carried
on indomitably in the face of difficult
ties regarded as insurmountable?
Great Britain is proclaiming the
conquest of the white plague with a
curious sort of restrained eagerness,
an eagerness that obviously exults in
priority of discovery and at the same
time counsels caution until sufficient
time has elapsed to permit of veril-
cation by series of cures. The new
vaccine is being administered in at
least three hospitals in London, and
the conservative report from one of
them states that in sixty cases treated
the results have been favorable al
most without exception says Van
B. Thorne, NJ. D., in the New York
Times.
The treatment is administered by
hypodermic injection and consists of a
substance prepared from the inner
part of the tubercle bacili themselves.
theoretically it should protect those
who are well against infection from
tuberculosis by provoking the forma-
ton of protective agent in the blood
In those suffering from tuberculosis
it is said to produce the agent in sui
fcient quantities to be curative. The
new treatment is supposed to act
much in the same way as the anti
toxin treatment for diphtheria.
Numerous attempts have been made
in the last forty years to combat tu--
rtt,n or
from tuberculosis germs. The ques
ton naturally arises: Where does the
method differ from those previously
tried? The secret of the discovery I'M
der consideration lies in the answer
to that question.
Stripping the Germ of It's Armor.
The germ of tuberculosis consists
Of two parts: A tough fatty or waxy
capsule and an inner core which con-
tains the true poison OF the disease.
The outer covering is so tough that
it protects the inner poison sufficient
iy to prevent it from activating in the
blood the formation of enough of the
antitoxic agent Cor antibody, as it is
called by bacteriologists) to conquer
the disease process. A way has been
found to rid the germ of its fatty
coat Cor most of it), and the new
remedy is prepared from the inner
toxic product which remains.
In these days the source of any
new discovery, especially in the medi-
cal field, is carefully considered be-
fore it finds authoritative backing and
the general acceptance of those com
petent to judge its merits. This isl
particularly true of remedies for tu-
berculosis heralded as Consumption
cures" In this case, however, the
source of the discovery was sufficient
in itself to attract worldwide atten-
ton.
Prof. Georges Dreyer, F. R. S,
head of the department of pathology
of Oxford University, is the scientist
whose labors have been rewarded by
what is regarded in England as al
most encouraging result. On June IA
Prof. Dreyer delivered lecture at the
Institute of Pathology and Research
of St. Mary's Hospital, London, on
"A Specific Treatment of Tubercu- !
loss"
More precisely his lecture dealt
with what he described as some new
their application in refractory infec-
lIOhSf lllIIuuIiS luDCl CulOolo'
In speaking of specific treatments
originating from the specific germs
of the different diseases Prof Drey-
er said:
Failure is generally the rule in dis
eases caused by acid fast and Gram
positive micro-organisms, such as the
bacillus tuberculosis. This generahza |
ton applies only to bacterial bodies |
themselves, not to their soluble prod |
ucts such as toxins. Although the
rule does not hold absolutely, it is in
the main correct"
What is an acid-fast and Gram |
positive germ? Acid-fast is a term
denoting bacteria which are not de-
colorized by mineral acids after hav-
ing been stained with anime dyes.
Examples of acid-fast bacilli are those
of leprosy and tuberculosis. Gram {
positive bacilli are those which take
on a deep violet color when stained
by the method of Gram, Danish
bacteriologist Conversely, nonacid-
fast and Gram-negative germs are
those that are decolorized by mineral
acids and which are not stained a
deep violet by Grams method.
The lecturer elaborated his thesis
by saying that it had been clearly
proved that acid-fast and Gram-posi-