Evening star., 1925-10-06

suited in Brooklyn. one in New York
and two in Boston.
All these medical victories are attrib-
uted directly to bacteriology.
No less serious than cholera was
yellow fever. Prior to the Civil War
yellow fever was continuous in New
Orleans and other Southern cities.
so that it was assumed to be endemic
there. While the disease cannot he
traced back earEer than the seven
teenth century, in 1893 it killed one
tenth OF the population of Philadel-
phia. and one-twentieth of the people
of New Orleans. In 1905 n epidemic
of yellow fever in New Orleans killed
one-tenth of the patients. Then DR..
Carter began his Investigations. re
sulting in proving that a mosduit"
was the carrier of the germ, and the
wholesale killing of mosquitoes has
saved millions of human victims of
the scourge. Yellow fever Is wiped
out.
Now comes a recent discovery that
mankind has an ally in the fight
1t is called ''bacteriophage," which
means, literally, that it is something
which eats up bacteria parasite
of bacteria which destroys them. This
was not known prior to 1917, and is
scarcely yet recognized even by ad-
vanced scientists as an important fac
tor in future fighting OF disease.
| Entomologists have long recognized
that the best way to fight an insect
| pest is to make use of the natural
enemies of the insect. Sanitarians
will. by research, discover possibilities
of fighting microbes by the Smaller
fieas to bite EN-" Like Paul Jones,
they have just begun to fight"
** ~
The first publication regarding bac-
teriophages was in 1917. by Monsieur
F. d'Herelle Of the Pssteur Institute,
Paris. and the first English trlnsla.
ton Of the book. The Bacteriophaxel
| Its Role in Immunity" was publishsd
| in 1892 by George H. Smith, Phi. D.. Of
Yale University.
To illustrate briefly the action a
bacteriophage, the test was made With
two specimens Of water containina
"vibrio cholerae." The first specimen.
filtered through porcelain, contained
$500 organisms per cubic centimeter3
after three hours no organism rs.
| mained. The second specimen was AZ
tered and boiled The boiling killed the
enemy of the bacteria-the hact er1o-
phage-so- that. starting with 6,o0e,
after three hours it contained 1o.ooei
after 40 hours, 3F, ,o9e. The water Of
the Junina. River in India, during tho
last cholera epidemic. left tho town
Of Agra containing 100000 germs per
cubic centimeter. but 5 ldlometers
downstream it had so purified itself
| only 90 to- 100 per Cubic centimeter
Until 1915 such cleansing was
thought to be due to "a volatile some
thing in the water which disappeared
by boiling" Now it is recognized to
, be "ultramicrobes." called bacterio-
phase, so infinitely small that not
even when dyed can they be seen
Through any microscope, even though
microscopes can make visible the cleo
irons of an atom.
Just as bacteria are made more
virulent by scientific cultures. SO
new possibility may be found In de
veloping the enemies OF all microbes
by culture of bacteriophage until they
will be so powerful as to he a bic 10 an
initiate any germs. That opens q new
method Of attack of disease without
drugs.
" X X
All animals dncludins humans, are
loaded with bacteria. al all times. hui
each animal contains resistance pow
ers Eainst his own bacteria--Subiect
to being oVerpowered in cases of physi-
/ cal weakness But one mans mi
crobes. thus held harmless upon him.
fldN De Nliutenl IL transferred 10 an
other person who is unimmunized
against il. Hence the danger of
coughing in the presence OF other per
sons. which might carry germs t"
them. Russian Soviets are reported
recently to have forbidden all hand
shaking and kissing because Of the
danger Of the practice.
A surgeon connected with the
United States Public Health Service
is authority for the statement that it
Is more important to glove the hands
than 1t is to wear mask in surgical
operations. With the mask the sur
geon is obliged to touch it more or
less with his hands, each touch carry
ing germs to the mask. With gloves
on the hands, handshaking Is warned
off. He agrees with the Russians that
handshaking is dangerous
1t has long been argued that public
handshaking by the President. or by
other public men,, should be abolished
from sanitary standpoint The same
is, applicable to proniscuous hand
shaking and lassing. at least unless
accompa MED with sufficient resi-
ment of active. bacteripphag ges to at
tack the germs. for every little germ