Diphtheria.

South Canterbury Times, Issue 5013, 22 May 1889, Page 3

Diphtheria.

M. Pasteur ( says the Paris correspondent of the London Daily Telegraph) has been asked his opinion relative to discoveries made by Drs Itoux and Yersin, who have isolated the bacillus of diphtheria or croup, and communicated diphtheritic affections to aniurn's, with a view to obtaining a prophylatic for the cure of the fell disease which makes so many ravages in France, and specially in Paris, M. Pasteur believes that the remedy will take a longer time to find out than did the discovery of the possibility of isolating the bacillus or microbe, which was comparatively easy. He thinks, however, that the two young doctors referred to have done enough to show that it will be possible to find a vaccine for the disease at no very remote period. The physiologist also mentions the experiment made by Ur Jules Simon, of the Sick Children’s Hospital, who found that the members of a family which left town for six months in the year were frequently laid up with diphtheria because they had the microbe of the disease in their rooms. After they changed their abode, according to the doctor’s advice, they were never troubled by diphtheritic affections. Dr Simon, therefore, believes that MM. Eoux and Yersin will ba able eventually to find a means of making people proof against the disease even when dwelling in places haunted by that " ugly customer,” the bacillus of diphtheria.