CONSUMPTION.

Press, Volume XLVII, Issue 7737, 17 December 1890, Page 6

CONSUMPTION.

—»iiii<) |y „- ■ 'On 2_th March, 1883, an addr®*, »* t serious public Import was deiivZJi* Bll I Koch-before the Thyaiol wicsl ';" Berlin. It touches a quwuTa iffe** * we are all at present Interested l experimental physi(s!ogy-~a n( | p** <& i therefore, be permitted to »b« m % "" i account of it in the Turns, rf'.* ' • a copy of which has been c.n»i r % \ sent co mc by Its author i_ e _t U S«? J , Etiology of Tubercular u D.»ea*t." lgL #» t skill and thoroaghne-s of M» _S_25K f on the contagium o£ splenic foyer l . process of inoculation and l tracod this terrible parasite thS* •* h its stages of develoDetneut and threiHl p' various modes of action. This „,™"t f investigation caused the young I to be transferred from a modest; rW s F practice, in the neighbourhood of fflN to the post of Government advisef i«T< Imperial Health department of fit?' I From this Department has lately i I a most Important series of I on the etiology of infective SSS 0 * Koch's last inquiry deals with JTS which, la pointofinorfcalitly.taaaJSS bead ot them ail. If, he sa? a ,T ! seriousness of a malady ba measurLir } the number of its victims, fchea _£»*? dreaded peats which have Wthenoftf t aged the world-plague and choWt ! eluded—must stand far behind ft* J* r now under consideration. Koch Z*%s I the startling statement that oomJJS of the deaths of the human raceawa„_'£* I tubercular disease, while fully oaTtffi those who die In active carried off by the same cause, pjuir I Koch it had been placed beyond doff 11 the disease was comnumicafcj*; ajJlr §•• aim of the Berlin physician fas. k**! I determine the precise character ofa f contagium which previous e_a«ari_>»!S 1 on inoculation and inhalation hffl2s2 1 to be capable of indehnlto transier aafS I production. He subjected this di.%£| 1 organs of a great number of ta_ Q m Htf § mals to microscopic examlna.ioa, {£ I found, in all cases, the tubercles i_l*S I with a minute, red-shapedI SS I' 1 Which, by means of a special dye, j* 3g 1, ferentlated from the surrounding Er 1. It was, he says, in the highest dfW<K 1 pressive to observe in the centre of £ |: tubercle-cell the minuto organism «%•* 1 had created It. Transf erring direcUitn 1 , inoculation, tbe tuberculous m_.tte.i»i 1 dlseaßedanimalstohealthyoaes,li%infe»*„ I instance reproduced th© disease. TobS 1 the objection that Itwas not the parftsitfti? f self, but some virus in Which it w « 1 imbedded in the diseased organ, that wis I the real contagium, he ciiltlrtsed hk I baelUrartlfidally, for long periods of iW I and through many successive fipnerauW j with a speck of matter, for example, W | a tuberculous human lung, ha infects a f substance prepared, after much UM, h# I himself, with the view of affording _«&&. I ■, ment to the parasite. Here ho permitted I it to grow aud multiply. From th© m« f feneration he took a minute sample *fe| I nfected therewith fresh nutritive matte 1 , thus producing another brood. &mm> I tion after generation of bacUU w» 1 i developed In this way, without tisiiatt?. I ventlon of disease. At the end el theory I' cess, which sometimes embraced 1 cesslve cultivations extending ever half ft I year, tbe purified bacilli were -Q.r©l®j»4 l< Into the circulation of healthy aoHaab of r various kinds. In every case iocculatbt P was followed by tha r-produccioa and 1 spread of tbe parasite aad the g«a.r&l}!_a 1; of the original disease. L Permit mc to give a further, though %tw | brief and sketchy, account of aesi'i P experiments. Of six gulaea-plgg, fOI 1 la good , health, four were iaa.BJm«3 1 with bacilli derived orlglaall? torn ¥ a human -lung, which, ia Si'daji t had produced, five successive gs»ar&. f tions. Two - of six animals wars I not infected. In every one of the Infected 1 cases the guluea-pig sickened .aad-lest 1 , flesh. After 32 days one oil them died, aad 1 after3s days the remaining flvo wera kills. I and examined. In tho Kuinea-pig &t| I , died, and in the three remaining infects 1 ones, strongly pronounced tube-ainu 1 i disease had set in. Spleen, liver mi lunus were found nlled-with tubers!..; I 1 while in the two uninfecaed, animate m ' trace of the disease wm observed. In g second experiment, six onto! eight guhgs_. pigs were Inoculated with Cttltwafed bacilli, derived originally from the tuber* culous luug of a raoukey, bted aad re-bf@i for 95 days, until eight generations had '. been produced. Every om of these animals were attacked, while ths W$ uzinfected guinea-pig. remalaed perfectly healthy. Similar experiments were made with cats,.rabbits, rats, mice aad cth4l animals, and. without exco.ttaa. It wai found that the Injection of the pam^ts .. into the animal system was .allotted bf decided, and ia most esse, virulent tubs? cular disease. ; In tbe -&H. 3 thus far .raeatiostd ia4 ' culation had been effected in tbeG.doa«es. The place of inoculation was afterward! . changed to the aqueous hutndarof the Vffa Thre. rabbits received each a apeck 0| bacillus-culture, derived orlglnslly irotn a human luug affected with p-aeumfeal&o ■ Ei.y;bty-nlne days had been demoted te ths culture ot the organism, Th. lutmt%% rabbits rapidly lost flesh, aad affesrtweatf* five days were killed and .summed, f m lungs of every one of them wers fsaad charged with tubercles. Of three e!&§? rabbits, one received an inj«ctSon of ease blood-serum in the aqueous hnmotiratli- - eye, while the other two were infected, ia l a similar Way, with the same «-.ra-i, €W tainiug bacilli derived origiß&uf feetis i i diseased lung, and subjected t© days" cultivation. After tw.nty-elfht mp the rabbits were killed. Til© am wbm had received an Injection oi par. mtm ' was found perfectly healthy, while 8m lungs of the two others wero Itftiad ®f& spread with tubercles. Other experiments are reccrded la tm , admirable essay, from which tho jwifa* tie«t practical conclusions mtybedfaw&i Koch determines the llmlisoi t.ap«rslSli between which the tuberclsbacilla. am develop and multiply. Tha mlnEman temperature he And* to be 38 deg, f-sr.« and the maximum 101 deg. Ho coaclß4t« that, unlike the bactllu- .anthrads ■« splenic fever, which can Sourish fr«l| outside tha animal body, ia tbeitemp&aH tione animal warmth is n®c«B»ary fat %m propagation of the newly discovered organism. In a vast number of e*sw Koch has examined the matter ®$9®>l torated from the lungs of peraoas t&lfeSwS with phthisis, and found In it awanu. m bacilli, while In matter ©Kp.ct.r«ted wm the lungs of persons not thus afiieted a* has never found the orKauism. the •»» Eectorated matter in tho former etw w«. Ighly infective, nor did -drying destw* its virulence. Guinea-pigs infected jws expectorated matter which had hsm mm dry for two, four and eight w®» respectively were smitten with tu*l> cular ■■ disease quite ss vlreleas a« that produced by fresh @xp.ctora|i«» Koch points to the grave danger wjaj haling air In which particles of the dr»« sputa Of consumptive patients nu*p_* with dust of other kiads. fc W a ».H mere impertinence on noy part tooi'ftWip obvious moral from these .xpsilffieata. -8 no other conceivable way than that IW sued by Koch could the true cfe_~**W** «J the most destructive malady by w*w» humanttr is now assailed be d.t@J®jw» And, however noisy tha fanaticism of moment may be, the commot- mm%w Englishmen will not, in the lo»U F%% permit It to enact cruelty In the oam*if tenderness, or to debar us from the utm and leading of such investisatiens 09 that which is here so imperfectly dGmnbm*

The death of Mr'J. Drew Gay &ep*f<® the ranks of th© older specUl ««____* poodenta of one of its best -6*-*! members. Mr-Gay had a- chequ****ed aa* in some respects remarkable mtott, *»■ son of a Baptist minister in IpovMb « commenced life as corresposd-saeo clew" m the well known firm of Ransoms s,. *4*t* cultural implement makers. A bent.Ja» journalism led him to contribute ally to the local press, and eveattjaily* m® smart piece of work which broeght ps ■to the aotice of Mr Le Sage, the' mm**" of tbe Telegraph, he obtained'« pteitiefi-sj the staff of that journal. Forttaae *&W* on him at Peterborough Court, and ■»• galoed each favour ia th® om*»,ta«>B| was selected to follow the movement*. f» the Prince of Wales during his tpnto India.-'and" a year or two fetor.,-*** the Ru%ao-Tarkish war broke ttft'M was sent as special conwmndantoi. IM 'paperto the-scene of actios. W&pMS Coastaatiaopl® he dlstiagaiahed i^f* B®**8®** by th© pubucation o£ a .coi»Bj«d*sßff purportißg to have passed *-«twee**3'"*wwe« between Mr Gladstone and a CJ*reeki?*eaW* >*man oa the subject of th© war. '-his M to a long and bitter coatrovesmy* eon' ducted on Mr Gladstone's "'flit*' InJM* loftiest style. When the EgyjAtoaptojMsi broke oat Mr Gay was dispatched «»• Telegraph's representative to Egypt*; *»-»• his career was of the briefest.. A ««B*a* tfonai tel*ap*am,auuouaeißg---«ri*o»eo«w»* it waa said-that attempts-were mM W Arabi's followers to blow in the torn * 'the' Sues Canal with dyuan-tlte, «g" brags to the authorities and he had ton* recalled.' Subsequently he procwsdjto, America aad engaged suits, hot' he "reture^time ataee aad. todk-servtei with. MMM with which paper he mttMtd.tgjMr, aected uatlf the time of his deaths a®w