JOURNAL OF THE [January, 



THE COMMA BACILLUS, THE REPUTED CAUSE OF 

 ASIATIC CHOLERA. 



BY p. H. DUDLEY, C. E. 

 {Read Octobe? 2 u/, 1887.) 



Dr. Billings, Surgeon General of the United States Army, in 

 a Lecture before the New York Academy of Sciences, stated that 

 the home of Asiatic Cholera was in the Delta of the Ganges, the 

 home of Yellow Fever in the West Indies, and the home of 

 the Plague in the Valley of the Euphrates. It seems to be a 

 well-established fact, that Cholera breaking out in other territory 

 can be traced back to its home as the origin of the epidemic, 

 the germs having been carried by travellers on land or sea, and 

 in many cases not by the persons, but in clothing packed in 

 trunks, etc. ' 



Koch, the discoverer of the Comma Bacillus, the reputed 

 cause of Cholera, is reported as saying that '* the germs are de- 

 stroyed by drying." While this may be true of the Bacilli, when 

 in the form of those shown in the unmounted photomicrograph, 

 taken from a slide said to be from his Laboratory, it is doubtful 

 whether the spores would be killed by drying. Probably some 

 of the members have made culture slides of this Bacillus, and 

 can answer the question. 



It seems probable that the spores can be disseminated some 

 distance by the air, as they are found in collected rain-water 

 in India. How far this distance may be is of considerable in- 

 terest, but it is hoped it is quite within the limits of Quarantine 

 of this city. 



What will destroy the germs is another question of great im- 

 portance. For upon proper germicides largely depends the 

 success of the efforts at Quarantine to prevent the ingress of the 

 Cholera to this country. Does experience show that fuming 

 clothing and vessels with sulphur effectually kills the germs ? 

 Must heat above 212° also be employed ? 



The Photomicrograph, showing the destruction of the mucous 

 coat of the intestines, will be of interest. It is thought that a 

 few Bacilli can be seen in this view. 



