Vol. 60, 1909 - University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

EDITORIAL. 37
Siler, of the U. S. Army, in an instructive in what way the immunity is produced,
article published in the Post Graduate be- Very interesting theories have recently been
lieves that antityphoid inoculations are advanced concerning the true nature of lybeneficial
in that immunity is conferred phoid fever but our knowledge is still in-,
which greatly diminishes the liability to
infection. The vaccine used in the U. S.
Army is the same as that recommended by
complete and far from exact. However the
facts stand out for themselves. Those who
have employed the method and observed
Wright: a broth culture of the bacillus ty- the results are confident that not only is the
phosus which has been sterilized by heat, incidence of typhoid fever reduced by in-
At present it seems to be considered best to oculation, but that the mortality rate in
use an old strain of the bacillus that has a those who, after inoculation, do become
low degree of virulence. This old strain is infected, is distinctly lowered,
transferred to broth, and after 24 to 48
hours' growth, the culture is sterilized by the PREsiOBNr's ft>MJftu rVDDRESS
heating for one hour at a temperature of
.S,i° C. Experience has shown that
I'^'sewhere
this de-
m this issue we publish the
gree of heat is the death point of the
annual address of the president of the
iv- Medphoid
bacillus, and cultures
'cal
sterilized
Society of the State of North
at
Carolina,
this temperature rather than at 6(»° C. give I^""- J- I^- Highsmith, and it is only proper
much better protective results. It is prob-
^"^t ^^'^ ^'"ct the attention of our readers
able thst the action of the protective sub- ^^ >t- ^^^^^ f*" ^'^ distinguished abilily
stance present in the culture, is impaired ^'^ ^ presiding officer— a position which he
by the higher tenifierature. After the cul-
R^'^^^d and honored in every way, Ur.
ture has been heated for one hour, Miglismigh has given yet another evidence
it is
tested to see that the bacilli are dead. After °^ ^^^ eminent qualillcatioiis and has enithis,
a small amount of antiseptic solution
Piiasized his right to a place among the
is added, a 0.2.5 per cent, solution of
leaders
Ivsol
of his professien. The president's
having been found sufficient to preserve the
address shows a most comprehensive knowlvaccine
and prevent its becoming contain- ""^^^ °^ *e theme which was certainly most
inated. The vaccine is then
fittingly
standardized and appropriately chosen. Just
by ascertaining the number of bacilli in a
^^ t'"'* time our State—and indeed the engiven
quantity t're country—is of vaccine. The dosage awakening to a realization
is:
.SO(),0()(i,(K)U for the first inoculation. The of the importance of improved hygiefiic
standardization is so carried out that each
conditions and the fact that prevention of
1 c.c. contains 1,(JUO,()00.0(»() dead tl'sease is
germs,
the keynote of modern progress.
The first injection would therefore
Already
consist we are witnessing the effects of
of ..S c.c. of the vaccine. t'^^
This is followed
awakening in the campaign against
in ten days bv the second injection
certain diseases, nnd in legislation
consistregarding
ing of 1 c
public
c.
health affairs. And in many other
o*'^^'' "'=»>'«
Tliere is both a local and "^^ "'^
general reaction,
perceive a proper realizatbe
local reaction consisting
t>on
in a reddened,
of what Ur. Highsmith so eloquently
tender spot around the point of
emphasizes in his address.
infection, That our hon-
^''ed which is u.suallv not larger than I'lesident is
the palm a student of health conof
the hand. The general reaction
ditions could scarcely be denied after one
varies,
but the most severe form is manifested bv ^'^^ '"^^^'^ the pages to which we refer.
headache, loss of
articular
appetite,
stress is laid and occasionally
bv the writer
herpes labialis, nausea, vomiting and «" tl'e necessity of educating the public
trailsient
albuminuria. It is the general opin-
"'°"- the hues of hygienic and sanitary
ion tliat the amount of
prol'lems.
protection acquired
Medicine has made most woii-
clerful may be gauged by the
strides amount
during
of reaction:
the past few decades
—the more marked the reaction,
'"
the greater
every field. Great progress has likewise
the protection. Two ^^een
injections should be made in preventive medicine, but tins
given at an interval of ten
particular
davs and if the
branch has lagged behind, doubt-
less
reaction first and second injections is not
because of the seeming mystery which
noticeable, a third inoculation should be
envelopes the medical profession and begiven
after an interval of ten days. The cause of the neglect of any systematic alsyraptoms
all disappear,
tempts to instruct laymen concerning the
as a rule, within
12 hours, and for this reason
essential
the inoculareasons
for fighting disease and
tion is best given about four o'clock
disease-breeding conditions. I he special
in the
afternoon. The points of injection are over P^^^ "^ ^^'- Highsmith is for just this-eduthe
pectoral
^^tion
muscles or at the
Education of individuals with the
insertion of
the deltoid.
special view of fitting them to instruct the
Nothing definite is known as yet as to the multitude. Instruct the people through
duration of the immunity nor is it known every possible channel—the children in the