HEALTH COLUMN.

Otago Witness, Issue 1650, 7 July 1883, Page 28

HEALTH COLUMN.

Bt F. A. J. De Condb.

XXXI.

Before describing a round of eruptive fevers and similar infectious diseases, it would be as well to say a little about that class of diseases in general. I must again briefly refer you to No. I. of this series of articles, where you will find a tolerably complete description of the yeast germ — the lowest vegetable organism known to science. You remember that a single cell getting into your bottle of prepared material is sufficient to make the yeast " work." The dried yeast germs— or " torula," as they are called— float about in the air, 'maintaining their vitality for an unlimited time under favourable circumstances, and only awaiting the contact of a, suitable fluid to multiply in. I have stated how one of these microscopic vegetable cells first sends out a little sprout, which finally separates from tho parent eell — the one thus becoming two. Sometimes, however, the cells do not entirely separate, but cling together till minute, rod-like bodies are formed. This is essentially the way in which disease germs act, for all infectious diseases spring from a germ of some kind. Measles, scarlet fever, typhus fever, typhoid fever, and smallpox, all spring from their respective germs, and the dried germs maintain their vitality in some instances for a very long time, cases occurring in which the infection has been caught thousands of miles at sea and months after the disease-infected district had been left behind, by unpacking an article of clothing that had in its folds some of the dry but yet active germs.

The brilliant discoveries of that now distinguished French chemist, M. Pasteur, have thrown new light upon the whole subject of disease germs, and the marked success attending his attempts to render animals infectionproof against the specific disease threatening to kill off the race bids fair to place in our hands the means of preventing infection, and of giving us perfect immunity from all diseases of that class.

It has long been known that the person who has had smallpox once is seldom liable to a second attack, and from this we conclude that only those are safe from the infection of that disease who have had it. In the case of measles most fond mothers are glad when all the children have had their turn, but in the case of smallpox they would flee from it with terror. I have known of parents putting healthy children into bed with those sick of measles, that they might get their turn and be done with it, but no one would be likely to try the same thing with the, smallpox; yet immunity from either disease is procured only by having an attack at least once. Thanks to the discovery of the immortal Dr Jenner, we know how to render ourselves almost, if not quite, proof against smallpox. Pasteur has shown that cowpox and smallpox are identical, so that after all we fortify ourselves against the latter, terrible disease by introducing the infection into our blood. Reasoning from his numerous experiments among domestic animals, in such diseases as splentive fever, he came to the conclusion that cowpox must be a modified form of smallpox. Acting accordingly, he inoculated a calf with the virus of smallpox, and, as he expected, found that the disease developed was cowpox. With lymph from this calf he vaccinated a number of individuals, and the result was just the same as when vaccinated in the usual way. Cowpox, then, is just a modified form of smallpox, weakened in its effects and in some manner robbed of its virulence in the system of the cow. Vaccination is then the act of bo wing the disease germ in the blood — in fact, giving the person smallpox, but in a comparatively harmless" form. The researches of Pasteur open up quite a new field, and should' go a long way to silence for all time the babblings of those who so vigorously oppose vaccination without either rhyme or reason. The human race owes a deep debt of gratitude po the man who, in spite of the relentless opposition of the ignorant and scathing sneers qf the learned, with self-sacrificing energy established the efficacy of vaccination as a preventative of smallpox. Working from Jenner's brilliant discovery, Pasteur found how to make sheep and other animals proof against certain Rpecific diseases. He examined microscopically the blood of sheep affected with a disease which thieatened to kill off the flocks of France, and found a number of rod-like bodies,- resembling the rods of yeast cells. These rods were composed of a number of cells, apparently of vegetable origin, to which have been given the name of " bacilli." These bacilli vary iq different farms of disease, so that the name of " anthrax " is given as a general term to' indicate this form of disease due to the accumula tion and development of bacilli in the blood. Pasteur has found that, by allowing the germs to develop in a prepared fluid, after some time they lose so much of their virulence as to render the attack of anthrax disease in the animal inoculated comparatively harmless. He further finds that he can then in6culate the animals with virulent germs taken from one of their fellows that has succumbed to the disease, and that the animal previously inoculated will suffer but slightly from a disease which would be inevitably fatal in another not so prepared. Pasteur has thus paved the way for rendering valuable animals disease-proof at least to one foran of fatal disease, just in the same way — or nearly the same — as Jenner has rendered us proof against the virus of smallpox. The clever French chemis| bids fair to stamp out the yarioqs forms of disease threatening to deprive us of our most valuable domestic animals, and let us hope has opened up a path to, in like manner, render harmless most of the infeotious diseases affecting ourselves. It haa already been found out how to render the virus of smallpox harmless, and if we only knew how to do the same with the germs of other infectious diseases, it would then be quite an easy matter during the years of childhood to have our measles, scarlet fever and similar diseases in a dilute form, and be done with them for the rest of our days. ' This is no mere joke, but what we might quite well expect to see accomplished soon. Then let us no longer jeer at the enthusiast over his pots and crucibles : he is not in search of the philosopher's stone, but he has discovered the nearest approach to the elixir of life hitherto found, The devotee of science may seem a cipher to aooiety, but he is, after all, the; true benefaotor of the race. Let him pore over his musty books, and mix his horrid compounds with their diabolical odours : he may yet show us how to combat disease in all its varied forms.

Pasteur has discovered that anthrax disease prevalent iv one animal may be communicated to auother. The blood of a sheep suffering from the disease being mixed with eartlu and fowls fed with the earthworms burrowing through it, even after the worms were carefully washed in water, died of the disease. We have every reason to expect that anthrax disewe might be communicated' to main/if the

greatest care be not taken to utterly exclude diseased meat from the market, Careful cooking will always destroy these germs, but meat underdone is not at all times safe.

You will now understand that even one microscopic germ getting into the blood may be enough to give you any of the infectious diseases. If people would only bear this in mind, they would be more careful about isolating patients suffering from those diseases, besides taking care to use disinfectants freely. Most people are by far too careless in this matter, and all because they do not know the true nature of these diseases. Remember that the disease germ is like a vegetable seed, and when sown in a friendly soil will bring forth not only a hundredfold, but ten thousand times that.