ii2 The Story of the Bacteria 



if kept moist, and so the disease may be con- 

 veyed for long distances in bundles of in- 

 fected clothing. A few hours of thorough 

 drying, or steaming, or the application of 

 suitable disinfectants, such as strong carbolic 

 acid or corrosive sublimate, readily secures 

 total destruction of the life of the germs. 

 1 In Asiatic cholera, as in all of the other 

 bacterial diseases which we have thus far 

 studied, predisposition of the individual is an 

 important factor in the acquirement of the 

 disease. This simply means that there are 

 certain conditions of the body cells which 

 render them less able to resist the incursions 

 of foreign organisms like the bacteria, or 

 which furnish conditions favorable to their 

 growth and proliferation. 



We have seen that in tuberculosis this pre- 

 disposition to the disease, whatever its exact 

 nature is, may be in a certain degree heredi- 

 tary. In Asiatic cholera, a disordered con- 

 dition of the digestion appears to favor the 

 occurrence of an attack of the disease. In 

 typhoid fever, analogous predisposing fac- 

 tors seem to determine that when exposed to 



