THE AMERICAN 



MONTHLY 



MICROSCOPICAL JOURNAL 



YOL. III. 



New York, July, 1882. 



No. 7. 



Fowl Cholera and the Oerm- 

 Theory of Disease. 



BY D. E. SALMON, D. V. M. 



No longer than a year ago, there 

 were so many criticisms of the germ 

 theory continually appearing in our 

 medical and scientific periodicals 

 that the writer felt it a duty to place 

 the evidence bearing upon the ques- 

 tion before the working microsco- 

 pists of the country in such a connect- 

 ed form that they could scarcely fail 

 to appreciate it. Accordingly the in- 

 vestigations of the best studied of the 

 contagious fevers, viz., charbon were 

 reviewed in two articles published 

 in this Journal of April and May, 

 1881, and the conclusion reached 

 that there could no longer be a shad- 

 ow of doubt of this disease being pro- 

 duced by the multiplication within 

 the body, of the Bacillus anthracis, a 

 variety of bacteria. 



After patiently waiting a year to 

 allow those who oppose the germ 

 theory ample time to place their ob- 

 jections to this evidence on record, 

 without any such objection appear- 

 ing, it may be concluded that, up to 

 this time at least, there are no sub- 

 stantial grounds for doubts. Still, 

 we occasionally see elaborate articles 

 intended to prove that the bacteria 

 of contagious diseases are nothing 

 more or less than one of the forms 

 assumed by coagulating fibrin — that 

 the micrococcus is granular fibrin, 

 the bacillus, thread-like fibrin and 

 the spirillum spiral fibrin ;* and 

 though it may now be assumed that 



* Rollin R. Gregg, M. D. No Bacteria in 

 Diphtheria. — The Medical Record, Feb. i, 

 1882 



a majority of our scientific men are 

 convinced of the truth of the germ- 

 theory, the evidence upon which it 

 rests is yet entirely too slight if we 

 except the single disease already al- 

 luded to. 



As a working theory, we have seen 

 more light thrown upon contagious 

 fevers by its use for half-a-dozen 

 years than was gained before in the 

 whole history of medicine; but not- 

 withstanding this, its true friends do 

 not care to press its acceptance in ad- 

 vance of the actual results obtained 

 by scientific investigations. Charbon, 

 as we have seen, is the foundation of 

 our structure, and we may feel certain 

 that this foundation is secure, and 

 will never crumble beneath the suc- 

 cessive additions that may, from time 

 time, be placed upon it. Has the 

 time arrived, therefore, when we may 

 confidently announce that the first 

 story of the edifice has been reared 

 upon the foundation, and that it is so 

 well finished as to be perfectly safe 

 for use, and to serve in turn as a sup- 

 port for future work ? The writer 

 believes that this time has come, and 

 will proceed at once to a considera- 

 tion of the work accomplished. 



The domesticated fowls of various 

 countries, including our own, are sub- 

 ject to a most virulent and fatal dis- 

 ease which, year after year, almost de- 

 populates the poultry yards of vast 

 sections, and causes enormous aggre- 

 gate losses. This disease may be 

 communicated to healthy fowls by 

 placing these in the same enclosure 

 with sick ones; by feeding them with 

 the flesh or blood of recently dead 

 birds; or by introducing portions of 

 the flesh or blood of very sick or 



