818 lioAiM) (iK Aciacrr/iTRK, 



riihun's of IIh' .ircrms were siib.stitutod. Ai^ lUv itracticiil :ippli<;;ili«m (if 

 tlio motliod is comlueted on a «'(>iiiin»?reiiil or traile basis, little is Uiiowii 

 of tlu' 11 II i form i I. V of tiic vinilt'iico of tin- gorins. It is f-voii iiion' olijfctioii- 

 al)l»' tiiaii vaccination or inoculation in that llicrt- is suri' to he inlVction 

 of th<i proiniscs ami the pf)ssil>ilit.v c»f making a center for an epitleiuic. 

 The principle involved in this method is not a new one. it is only the 

 application in a commercial way and the extensive ailvcitisinj; that has 

 attracted attention. 



Dead Cultures.— It has been found in tlie course (tf many experiments 

 with disease jyerms that inuniiniiy may lie aciiuircd in some cases after 

 the injection of dead jrerms. 



For this pvu'pose tlie germs ;ire usually yrown upon some solid media 

 like agar agar, and when they have made a good growth they are scraped 

 oft by hand, dried and killed at as low temperature as possible. The germs 

 are then macerated in sterile water and injected. This has been tried in al- 

 most every conceivable way, using all Icnown and I might say all un- 

 known media and at different temperatures. The material prepared after 

 this manner is frequently called antitoxin and used for immunizing pur- 

 poses. It is not a true antitoxin and does not cin-e nor prevent in the 

 same way as antitoxin. There is probably some merit in the method the 

 same as may be said for all. It has not been iHM-fected to such a degree 

 that it can be recommended. 



In all the foregoing methods the o))ject has been to develop in the 

 body a substance or substances that will act as a protective agent for a 

 considerable period of time. The object sought has been to produce such 

 a mild form of the disease that a second attack will not occur even 

 though an epidemic be present in the community. The immunity that 

 would thus be acquired would be active. Tliere still remains two other 

 methods of securing immunity. 



Antitoxin.— In some diseases the marked effects upon tlic body are 

 due to the poi.son which the germs produce and not to the number of 

 germs present. This is notably true of diphtheria and tetanus. After 

 both of these diseases we find that the blood of the patient contains a 

 substance known as antitoxin and has the power of neutralizing the 

 toxine produced by the Ijacteria. This substance is so strong that Idood 

 may be taken from such a patient and if the serum be injected into the 

 body of a patient exposed to the disease, or is found to be diseasetl, it 

 will prevent or greatly- lessen the severitj' of the attack. We take ad- 

 vantage of this fact and use the antitoxin in a very large percentage of 

 cases witli better results than any other known treatment. In the making 

 of antitoxin for the treatment of diphtheria the horse is selected for pro- 

 viding the serum. A healthy animal is inoculated with a small dose of 

 the toxin and as soon as it makes a recoverj^ a little larger dose is given. 

 This is repeated at, short intervals for a period of from six to eight weeks. 

 At the end of this period the animal will be able to stand a dose a bun- 



