ANTI-TUBERCULOSIS SERUM

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume LI, Issue 16920, 29 December 1925, Page 12

ANTI-TUBERCULOSIS SERUM

FRENCH DOCTOR’S DISCOVERY. PARIS, Nov. 20.— Tho announcement of a discovery by Dr. Calmette, of the Pasteur Institute, of a serum Avhich, administered to • neAvly-bom children, protects them against tuberculosis, has led to a Avidespread suggestion that its use should be made compulsory. The doctor, hoAvever, lias been first to protest against such an idea, declaring that, in spile of the Avonderful results already achieved, scientific exactitude demands that tho serum should bo tested for many years before final judgment is pronounced upon it. Already 2070 children horn of tuberculosis parents or living in an atmosphere of infection have been, treated Avith such astonishing results that, feAver than one-half per cant, have died ot tuberculosis. Before the application of tho serum, the tuberculosis death-rate Avas 25' per cent, in the first tAA’o years.

Experiments are being continued with monkeys, healthy young animals being made to live in contact with infected ones. It lias been found up to jioav that, while ingjikeys treated Avith this serum remained immune from tuberculosis, the others almost iuvanably contracted it. Tre serum is the result of thirteen years’ culture of a particularly virulent bacillus obtained from an ‘ox. During the thirteen years, the doctor has bred 230 successive cultures from this base, and soon found that each generation Avas less virulent than its predecessor, until thosor of the final culture were perfectly harmless, though they had retained full poAven.’ of provoking the formation of anti-toxins in tho organisms they attacked.