EFFECTS OF CLIMATE. 11 



by a different form of germ, although in each case the 

 seat of the trouble is very local and well defined. It is 

 always primarily in the throat, but the microbe that pro- 

 duces diphtheria cannot engender a whooping cough, 

 and, vice versa, the germ that gives rise to whooping 

 cough never excites diphtheria. That they do not bring 

 about disease in everybody who inhales them is simply 

 due to the fact that the condition of the throat is not 

 favorable to their development, or that the vital powers 

 of the individual are sufficiently strong to resist them. 

 It will be understood, therefore, how it is that almost all 

 cases of diphtheria are preceded by what is called a cold. 



The special germ of this terrible disease has been iden- 

 tified and isolated by the director of the Pasteur Insti- 

 tute and M. Versin. They have succeeded in reproduc- 

 ing the disease in rabbits, fowls, pigeons, and guinea- 

 pigs by inoculating these animals with cultured mi- 

 crobes. They have also been able to isolate the special 

 product of fermentation caused by these microbes, and 

 by using that, without the germ itself, they have brought 

 about all the symptoms of diphtheria, including the 

 difficulty of respiration and paralysis of the muscles. 

 They have further shown that a person who is perfectly 

 healthy may inhale these microbes with impunity, but 

 that if there be any weakness of the mucous membrane 

 of the throat the disease is speedily developed. This ac- 

 counts for the security enjoyed by many people, and also 

 for the frequency of the disease after attacks of cold, 

 scarlet fever, or measles. It points to the necessity for 

 giving attention to sore throats or slight ailments when 

 diphtheria is prevalent, and to the necessity of fre- 

 quently washing the mouth and throat with such an 

 efficacious destroyer of microbes and micro-organisms as 

 that which, in my hands and among thousands of my 

 patients and correspondents, has not yet failed. 



Irrigations such as those mentioned should be made 

 with copious quantities of the fluid, a rule which my own 

 experience has taught me, and which is recognized by 

 all who have used less powerful parasiticides than mine. 



