WHITE SCOURGE

Stratford Evening Post, Volume XXXIX, Issue 91, 22 August 1923, Page 5

WHITE SCOURGE

THE SPAHLINGER TREATMENT. EXPERIMENTAL STAGES. ‘ Press Association—Copyright. Australian apj N.Z. Cable Associative. (Received 9.35 a.m.) London, August 21. A remarkable article in the Daily Express shows the risk of loss to the world through Spahiingen’s impoverishment. The Daily Express sent a special corresponds, Mr Philpott, to Switzerland, to 'investigate Spahlinger’.s tuberculosis cure.

Mr Philpott cables f: - om Geneva a long account of a process requiring infinite patience and extensive resources. Spah/ngor’s achievement: is based on theory, but unlike other bacilli which produce toxins as waste matter, the tubercle bacilli produce theirs only as a means of self-de-fence when attacked, Mr Philpott describes the Tour years’ processes which are necessary to produce the serum, btfenm ( ing with the innoculation of guinea pigs and ending with the painless bleeding of horses. Spahlinger discovered twenty-two different kinds of toxin. At. the end of the third year, he isolates those deadly varieties. Only one poison must be injected into the same horse, wherefore he’piust have a minimum of twnty-two horses for the preparation of one typo of specific. When the horses are bled, the result is twentytwo different kinds of*partial sera, which together make the complete sonun. In reality, however, the serum, although it brings an advanced case back to life, is less important than the vaccine, which both cures and prevents a further attack.

According to Spahlinger, an advan- • oed case restored by serum is on the same plane as a less advanced case for which the scrum is unnecessary, that is, where the vaccine is utilised. Spahlinger extracts from the trhorcule bacilli all its component p.arts and, injects them' one by on</ into the patient. The first series of injections was the defensive power of the patient to destroy that particular, component; the second and third set up defensive power against the, othor components, and- so on, until the patient’s organism is itself trained to produce its own antidotes, and achieve complete resisting power. Tims the serum; by eliminating the pqisons, enables the broken down defences to roestablifeh themselves. The vaccines give these re-establish cd defences the victory. Spahlinger thinks he could reduce tuberculosis by ninety per cent, by vaccination. He is now experimenting with cows to discover how' long immunity vaccination gives. Spahlinger has given cows enough tubercle to kill a township. Periodically, one is killed, and an autopsy made; yet in po case has the presence of tubercle bacilli been discovered. Spahlinger, owing |to impoverishment, has been obliged to sell some of his cows and horses; so the work lags, and even the partial sera and vaccines are becoming less.