HEALTH COLUMN.

Otago Witness, Issue 2923, 23 March 1910, Page 76

HEALTH COLUMN.

The Popular Bacillus. [

—How It Is Prepared as an Article of DietNothing in the realm of scientific discovery has appealed more strongly to the lay mind in recent years than the theory of phagocytosis —the theory that asks us to put cur trust in a mighty army of beneficent phagocytes that invade the bedy with the sole object of waging a desperate war on . the mischievous bacteria that are in possession. It seems a far cry from this theory to the latest freak of fashion, even when the two are connected by such promising links as a taste for curdled milk and the mode of life of the Near-Eastern peasant. It happens, however (says the Westminster Gazette), that the world of fashion has made Science the god of the moment; and ; "ourdled" milk is the offering to be ; consumed upon its altar. . I —The Theory of the Lactic Ferment.— Humanity has very few troubles for ; which the digestion is not in some .vay or other responsible; : but in Eastern Europe, -where the food of the people j is coarse and indigestible, but where fer- j mented milk is a favourite article of diet, j men are healthy and live long. Professor Metchnikoff, the famous Russian pathologist, associated this fact with his study of phagocytosis, and deduced from it that an inoculation of the system with a lactio fermentation might produce the good results that are found among the peasants in question. And from this be- | ginning comes the "soured milk cure." There are a number of different methods of fermenting milk now adopted in London; but for the purpose of studying the system, of observing the care with which the delicate and difficult work is performed, and of having the scientific aspect j of the matter thoroughly explained, a \ Westmnster representative singled out a laboratory in Pimlico, where a white-coated chemist handles Profesor Metchnikoff's j own "cultures": in the preparation of j what is known as "Lactobacilline" milk. I "Taste it, to begin with," he was urged. ! A bowl of a thick, white substance—less j solid than the most creamy cheese, but \ thicker than buttermilk —was produced, and sprinkled with sugar. It tasted sweet, j and yet had a suggestion of tartness —a [ delicate, seductive, flavour, driving all idea of " sourness" or "curdling" from the mind. And then came the visit to the laboratory. Here, in a huge boiler, subjected to pres- ' sure in order that an abnormal amount of heat might be obtained, milk that had j been sterilised while it was fresh drawn at Salisbury and brought to London closely I sealed up and with all possible speed, to ; preserve it from contamination, was being ' sterilised yet again, its air-tight recep- i tacles standing in brine that had been j raised above boiling point. Then, when ! this process was completed, it was passed I over a system of coolers, still without j exposure to the air; and, as it left them, i it was inoculated with just a trace of the "culture" of the all-important bacillus. In this, state it was drawn off into sterilised. jars, which were removed to an incubator, j in which they were to remain for nine $X \ ten hours —until the genial warmth had j encouraged the beneficent bacillus to re- j produce itself many millions of time®, and the milk was teeming with the living or- j ganisms. And nothing more remained but j removal to the cold-chamber, where the I prepared milk awaits its turn for delivery j to the consumer. At every stage of the j process the exclus-io nof the • surrounding j atmosphere—which may contain "foreign" i microbes capable of lessening tlie effect - 1 of the inoculation—the careful sterilisation, and the scrupulous cleanliness- with , which everything is done give the visitor I the • impression that he is in a hospital laboratory rather than in one attached to a modern "milk supply" establishment. —The Treatment of the Bacillus. — That is the commercial side of the business; but its chemical details are even more interesting. The bacillus is employed, to do the work of lactio acid, biat to do it considerably better. Lactio acid finds its way into the system gradually, and sometimes makes itself unpleasant; ' but the bacillus only begins its work when it has almost completed its journey through the system, and then, where it can be most effectual, develops "nascent" lactio acid, which gets to work on the rival bacteria at once. Profesor Metchnikoff has selected what is known as the "Bulgarian" bacillus for his purpose; but as this is so thorough in it® action that it might have some unpleasant effects, it is mixed, in certain carefully determined proportions, with a milder colleague that slightly modifies its ardour. The " cultures" come from Paris in small glass tubes, and from these minute traces are introduced into flagons of sterilised milk and placed in the incubator to breed, so that there is, each day, a large supply" \ of fresh and vigorous bacilli ready for ! use. ; At every stage, of course, both in the ' propagation of the bacilli and in the treatment of the milk careful microscopical examination has to he made to ensure that no unwelcome "germs" have made their appearance—the ordinary streptococcus in the milk, for instance, which is better out of the way, though it may not do much harm —and it is an interesting , fact that the milk itself is not susceptible I

' to this treatment if any "preservative' has been added to it before the process of inoculation begins. It has been claimed for the "cure"' that ,it remedies every mortal ill and prolongs life to an extraordinary degree; but it is not from the experts that these claims come. Their contention is that the bacilli purify the system, make the subject thoroughly " fit," leave few weak points at which disease can its ravages, and altogether make life thoroughly enjoyable—which, after all, is the best way of prolonging it. _ And the fact thatC though the commercial preparation* of the fermented milk has only been in progress for about twelve months, something like a thousand "bowls" a day of this variety alone are required to satisfy ■ the demands of fashionable London suggests that the bacillus has become decidedly popular.

Warts and Their Cure.

The formation of a wart is due to great accumulation of the horny epithelial scales of the skin, but the papillary layer of the corium. or the true skin, is also involved. This is easily seen when a wart bleeds on being cut; it could not do so if the oapillse, in which are minute blood-vessels, did not project up into it. Little is known as to the cause of warts, and sometimes they wall vanish quite suddenly without our being able to give any reason for the disappearance: They are a disfigurement wherever they may be, and several . methods of removing themhave been found successful. They may be taken out by means of a small spoonshaped knif* or scoop, in which case bleeding will, of course, follow, which must be arrested either by pressure or by cauterisation. A war' which stands up considerably above the surface of the surrounding skin is said to be pedunculated, and may be snipped off with _a pair of scissors, or fine silk may be. tied closely round the excrescence as near as possible to the root, when the wart after a little time will generally ' drop off. Another method of removal is to apply nitrate of silver, nitric aoid, glacial acetic acid,' or caustic potash,. either of which is painted on ,wkh a camel's-hair brush, care being taken not to let the acid touch the surrounding skin. A slower remedy Is the daily application of dilute acid., or equal parts of dilute muriatic acid and tincture of iron. It has long been believed by many people that ' the blood which ows from a wart when cut or wounded will cause others to grow on any part of the skin the blood may touch, but there is no truth in the supposition. .