TOPICS OF THE DAY.

Press, Volume XLVII, Issue 7700, 4 November 1890, Page 4

TOPICS OF THE DAY.

Tsanews that Dr. Khch; has at , length found a. care for consumption seems almost too good tq be true. "-If he has nof taken too sanguine a view of the result of hie experiments' it i», putting '. the matter naldly to any, as the- Berlin doctors are reported to have done, that Dr. .Kooh'e discovery, is of .greater, importanoa than tHat p£_ chloroform, and the _ antiseptic treatment of 'wounds, which are generally regarded as the greatest achievements of ' medical science during the present century. . For consumption is without doubt the greatest scourge that afflicts the humaa race. In Europe it is estimated that it. Is responsible for no less titan one-seventh of the total mortality from all causes. New Zealand is supposed to be especially favored In regard to immunity from phthisis, but yet during 18S9out of • total of 5772 deaths, no fewer than 499 were set down to this disease, There is hardly anybody so fortunate as not to have lost friends from this dread destsoyer, and thousands of people have their lives rendered unhappy by the

knowledge that consumption is "in the family/ , , led the uncertainty as to .when and whew it may next mateeCits appear* ance. To these, and to multitudes of poor s&f&rers actoaUy-smifciea with, the disease, the news of Dr. Koch's discovery will come as the aost gladsome tidings could greet tiseir ears. It wOl be little,short of cruelty if it Bhould "prove that their hopes bare been raised oa2? to be dashed again to the greoad. , '" .

TfiAWMoh the moot eneoaragrejneat to.teke a sangnise view of tis' discovery ia the fact that Dr. Korfi has been cautions before committing himself to,-any statement regarding the Wnilte of was as far I>ack

M 1382 Wtte tevestls«ios Dssft , made an con-: sumption which gave an entirely new torn to W current cdt medical opinion regarding.-.-the disease. This, wae when he stated, as the result of his microacopic reeearobes, that Uβ had discovered an organism which he believed to be present in all eates of ooastmptlon proper, This was e>' minute., rod-like whioh he ohrietened bae&fas tuberculosis. The theory <& the baoiUtie origin of consumption soon found wide acceptance. One thing was at once proved to demonstration, and that was thfet the bacillus was found abundantly in the sputa of consumptive patients.) but of course it was still open to question wliaOier the organism caused the oon;Btittption, or only made its appearance after the disease was established. The 'majority of medical men seem to have accepted the theory that it actually caused the disease. The discovery did two things. In the iiret place, it confirmed the theory' whioh has gained considerable: strength of late years as to the infectiousness of consumption; and secondly, it caused medical men—Dr. Koch among othera—to cast about for some remedy, whioh, ifhen introduced into 'the body, should have, the effect of destroying the organism, and so curing the complaint. Various substances such as creosote vapor, iodoform, ice, hare been tried Iby way of inhalation and otherwise; but'with doubtful success. The bacillus seems pretty tenacious of life, and the difficulty was to find anything powerful enough to kill the organism without killing the patient at the same time. At the International Medical Congress, whioh was held recently at Berlin, Dr. Koch guardedly announced that he thought he was on the right track. Hβ stated that he bad then come across several substances that would destroy the bacillus in question, when acting upon and outside the diseased organ, and one that he was persuaded would destroy it within the diseased organ itself. So far hie experiments had not been made on human brings, but only on vertebrate, animals that were also miw , "'*!", but several eminent physicians who had been conferred with considered that what took effect in vertebrate animals of a lower |ype, could be applied with success .to the human frame also.

Dβ. Koch very wisely would not state what was the nature of his remedy until he had completed his investigations, so as to prevent rash experiments being made with it before he had received; really satisfactory evidence as to its therapeutic value. The latest telegrams seem to indicate that it is a process of inoculation. Dr. Granoher, who read a paper before the French Academy of Sciences the other day; expressed a strong hope, as the result of experiments which, he himself had made/ that before rloagf; inoculation would be found a remedy for tuberculosis. He declared that in Jihe case of rabbits he had fouud it not; only a cure .but also a that lie believed it would be posstbl6 by vaccination to protect a maa against consumption in the came way as it is now'used as 'a against emallppx. It will be remembered that the other day Sir Henry Boscoe, in » most interesting article ia the speaker, showed, the existence in the Wood of the higher animals ,of a land of pre ventiye police, which,, while is going on Veil, protects us disease. Ttherej •sreuertain cells in .termed phagpeytee.endowed with mption. Which pursue and deV'oulf' , anf baibilli with which,.they coinelia contact. Ib is only when those "watchful guardians of thß^body ,, fail in their outpoet duty that the bacilli enter the blood and disease is produced. Perhaps Dr. Koch n&s found some means of increasing the army of phagocytes or stimulating their action.

Whatbvbb may be the nature oi Dr. Koch's remedy, we may feel sure that so, soon as he has satiefied.himeelf as to its efficacy it will be made known| Were he to attempt to ' keep if to nimself 'he wbuld be ' going in direct opposition' tor the traditions,- andjaractioe of his , craft,, It, ie, Ihe , noblest feature connected ■ with the medical pfofeeaion that itf $i .considered positively disgracefuL among its members to keep secret any diecovery which may be made tending to relieve pain, or cure disease. The public, perhaps, hardly realise what amount oE self-saorifice the adherence to this' generous tradition may involve. For instance,, what an immense fortune might have been made by the discoverer of chloroform had he chosen to keep its composition to himself, and sell it m a proprietary artacje ? Again, ie, any sum.too great to name as the amount which Dr Koch might realise by the sale of his consumption remedy if ' it 1 really"'proves to be all, that is I predicted of itP Tetwe shall be very mnon mistaken if it is not oommnnicated 'freely to the medical profession, so $hat patients in all parts of the world may full advantage of it/ We trust that it i.wiU prove.a really effective remedy* in which cage the name of Dr. Koch, will undoubtedly be handed down as that of one, of the greatest benefactors of mankind.